In order to measure DE razor blade width and other parameters, I purchased a digital caliper, specifically the iGAGING OriginCal 0--6 in. Absolute Origin IP54 Digital Caliper, as shown below. The digital caliper has a resolution of 0.01 mm and a reported accuracy of 0.02 mm, which is plenty accurate for its purpose here.
One can hold a DE blade in one hand and use the other hand to hold the caliper and move the slider to make the two outside measuring faces close onto the blade, but measuring blade width in this manner does not guarantee an accurate result since the blade might not be horizontal between the measuring faces and might not be flat, but have a little undesired bend to it. Further, measuring blade width with just one's hands and the caliper has an element of danger, sounds bad from the blade edges unintentionally scraping against the measuring faces when trying to hold the blade steady and in position, and can be frustrating. To resolve these issues, I made a fixture for holding the blade firmly flat and in the desired horizontal position between the caliper's measuring faces so that measuring blade width is quick, safe, and accurate.
The fixture was basically made with cardstock and glue sticks. I first laminated cardstock pieces together using glue sticks, and then, using an X-ACTO-like knife, I cut out the shapes that I had designed and glued them together to form the top and bottom pieces of the fixture, as shown below. Sanding with 600-grit sandpaper happened during assembly and finalizing for fine tuning. It took time to make the fixture, from the preliminary design, to the prototype, to the final construction, but it was worth it. I now have a simple device to use with the digital caliper to make easy, accurate blade width measurements.
The measuring process starts by cleaning the blade with rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol on clean white paper and allowing the blade to dry. This removes any excess film and debris that could affect the measurement. After this point, the blade is directly handled by only touching the blade tabs. The caliper measuring faces are also cleaned with rubbing alcohol on clean white paper by clamping the jaws onto the paper and sliding the jaws and paper apart. With everything clean and dry, the blade is ready to be loaded into the fixture. As indicated by the photos below, I simply place the blade on top of the bottom fixture piece and then press the top fixture piece into place. The blade is then securely held flat inside the fixture. (Don't mind the bit of photographic distortion that makes most straight lines and surfaces looked curved in the photos that are taken up close.)
The loaded fixture is then held into place around the left caliper jaw using my left hand while I move the slider over with my right hand and get the right caliper jaw into the fixture. The slider stops when the blade edges fully contact the measuring surfaces. The blade edges are exposed just enough inside the fixture such that they are the only things that contact the caliper measuring faces, and the outermost layers of laminated cardstock on the fixture surround the caliper jaws with just enough space to allow free movement of the jaws while keeping the blade horizontal during the measuring process. After the slider has moved into place, an accurate measurement can then be read from the caliper's LCD display. The slider force seems reasonable such that there does not seem to be any damage to the blade or the measuring surfaces. To remove the blade when measuring is finished, I move the slider back out, take off the top fixture piece, and grab the blade by the blade tabs, which are exposed enough to allow for easy removal.
The last two pictures show a used Wilkinson Sword blade being measured as having a 22.00 mm blade width. Since I only have two hands, I couldn't take a good picture showing the normal process of my left hand pinching the top and bottom of the fixture while my right hand holds the caliper and moves the slider into place, so I performed the measurement, put down the caliper, and took the pictures, which didn't change the 22.00 mm measurement.
The Wilkinson Sword blade used here is the exact same one that I previously used in my photo analysis for dimensions (blade angle, exposure, etc.) of the PAA DOC. Based on available information and my own crude measurement, it appeared that the blade had a precise 22 mm width, which is why I chose it. Thankfully, this particular blade really does have a precise 22 mm width! This means that I do not need to calculate blade exposure and guard span for a 22 mm width using measurements made with a non-22-mm-wide blade. Ultimately, as I do more photo analysis and collect more data, the dimensions of blade exposure and guard span will be normalized for a precise 22 mm blade width, which was always the intent, but now that I have a way to accurately measure blade width, I can now accomplish this goal. Also, from now on, I will be collecting blade width data for various blades. Badger & Blade will someday have a comprehensive blade dimensions table in the ShaveWiki, I hope.
Photo album:
http://imgur.com/a/2QA9j
One can hold a DE blade in one hand and use the other hand to hold the caliper and move the slider to make the two outside measuring faces close onto the blade, but measuring blade width in this manner does not guarantee an accurate result since the blade might not be horizontal between the measuring faces and might not be flat, but have a little undesired bend to it. Further, measuring blade width with just one's hands and the caliper has an element of danger, sounds bad from the blade edges unintentionally scraping against the measuring faces when trying to hold the blade steady and in position, and can be frustrating. To resolve these issues, I made a fixture for holding the blade firmly flat and in the desired horizontal position between the caliper's measuring faces so that measuring blade width is quick, safe, and accurate.
The fixture was basically made with cardstock and glue sticks. I first laminated cardstock pieces together using glue sticks, and then, using an X-ACTO-like knife, I cut out the shapes that I had designed and glued them together to form the top and bottom pieces of the fixture, as shown below. Sanding with 600-grit sandpaper happened during assembly and finalizing for fine tuning. It took time to make the fixture, from the preliminary design, to the prototype, to the final construction, but it was worth it. I now have a simple device to use with the digital caliper to make easy, accurate blade width measurements.
The measuring process starts by cleaning the blade with rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol on clean white paper and allowing the blade to dry. This removes any excess film and debris that could affect the measurement. After this point, the blade is directly handled by only touching the blade tabs. The caliper measuring faces are also cleaned with rubbing alcohol on clean white paper by clamping the jaws onto the paper and sliding the jaws and paper apart. With everything clean and dry, the blade is ready to be loaded into the fixture. As indicated by the photos below, I simply place the blade on top of the bottom fixture piece and then press the top fixture piece into place. The blade is then securely held flat inside the fixture. (Don't mind the bit of photographic distortion that makes most straight lines and surfaces looked curved in the photos that are taken up close.)
The loaded fixture is then held into place around the left caliper jaw using my left hand while I move the slider over with my right hand and get the right caliper jaw into the fixture. The slider stops when the blade edges fully contact the measuring surfaces. The blade edges are exposed just enough inside the fixture such that they are the only things that contact the caliper measuring faces, and the outermost layers of laminated cardstock on the fixture surround the caliper jaws with just enough space to allow free movement of the jaws while keeping the blade horizontal during the measuring process. After the slider has moved into place, an accurate measurement can then be read from the caliper's LCD display. The slider force seems reasonable such that there does not seem to be any damage to the blade or the measuring surfaces. To remove the blade when measuring is finished, I move the slider back out, take off the top fixture piece, and grab the blade by the blade tabs, which are exposed enough to allow for easy removal.
The last two pictures show a used Wilkinson Sword blade being measured as having a 22.00 mm blade width. Since I only have two hands, I couldn't take a good picture showing the normal process of my left hand pinching the top and bottom of the fixture while my right hand holds the caliper and moves the slider into place, so I performed the measurement, put down the caliper, and took the pictures, which didn't change the 22.00 mm measurement.
The Wilkinson Sword blade used here is the exact same one that I previously used in my photo analysis for dimensions (blade angle, exposure, etc.) of the PAA DOC. Based on available information and my own crude measurement, it appeared that the blade had a precise 22 mm width, which is why I chose it. Thankfully, this particular blade really does have a precise 22 mm width! This means that I do not need to calculate blade exposure and guard span for a 22 mm width using measurements made with a non-22-mm-wide blade. Ultimately, as I do more photo analysis and collect more data, the dimensions of blade exposure and guard span will be normalized for a precise 22 mm blade width, which was always the intent, but now that I have a way to accurately measure blade width, I can now accomplish this goal. Also, from now on, I will be collecting blade width data for various blades. Badger & Blade will someday have a comprehensive blade dimensions table in the ShaveWiki, I hope.
Photo album:
http://imgur.com/a/2QA9j