Anything sharper than a feather?

SiBurning said:

You just have to try different blades and see what you like. I find that some blades work a little different, and I need to sort of adjust my technique. You can also try them in different razors. Each razor puts the blade at a certain angle and one blade might extend further out than another. So a particular blade might work better in a particular razor. By technique, I mean not only the angle that the blade makes with the face, but the angle with the grain. Some of us can use pretty much any blade in any razor, even if we have some preferences. I like to put a Derby in a comparatively mild Gillette TTO which feels a bit like scraping the hair away, though it actually leaves me less irritated than a feather, but I also like a Feather in a Merkur slant which is often harsher to my face. I can use either in a Tech, which feels very mild to me. They all feel different on my face, but I can get the same end result either way.

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+1. Very true. I can't use Feathers in Super Speeds, it tears my face up. But in 3 piece razors or Merkurs, they're great.
The only blade that is on par and maybe sharper than Feather is a KAI. KAI's are as sharp but smoother. The reason that they're not as popular is their high price.

Nope, nothing.

Feathers are what i call my date/job interview blade, meaning they never disappoint. Since I'm married and have a solid job, I use a host of others. They all give me a good, comfortable shave. Once in a while I load a Feather. They're relatively expensive but worth it.

One of these may be sharper than a Feather:

Yes. Astras in the olive are very sharp but are very harsh.

Feathers may be the sharpest, but not the smoothest. Best smooth/sharp combo for me are Med preps and 7 o'clock blues/blacks.

I regularly use Feathers and Gillette Yellows--according to reviews and to my own experience, the sharpest of the Russian and Indian 7 O'clocks, and according to some reviews, as sharp as Feathers--but to me Feathers are a bit sharper.

Tonight I finished my fifth 3 and 1/2 pass shave with a gillette yellow in a fat handle tech and it was a nice smooth DFS+ with no irritation whatsoever. Granted this is my first time with the yellow, but I've been really impressed with the combination of sharpness with smoothness.

TallyShave said:

Statements like this always crack me up. Please, dear master of all that is sharpness related, explain why your opinion is so definitive but all those who disagree with you are "kidding themselves". I think it is clear who is kidding themselves here.

I have shaved with these blades back-to-back several times. I stand by my statement.

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My opinion is my opinion, however I have tested a few of the 'upper end' blades for sharpness in a weighted drop rig, and the blade slicing into a latex pencil eraser. Obviously the sharper blade will slice further into the eraser.

I found that the Feather was the one to cut deepest into the eraser. The Silver Blue was next, and the 7OC Black was third. I haven't tried the 7OC Blues as I only have a limited supply of them. So as far as I am concerned in a straight-down, blade unbent in a razor situation, the Feather is sharpest.

Also, nothing else slices through the hairs protruding my face, no matter what razor I put it in. The Black is a good blade and plenty sharp for most people. I tend to drop Blacks into my Vintage Gillettes where they perform really well, but the Feather goes through them like a laser in the same handles. I am completely unaware what razor you are using to compare the blades, however I have a big range of razors to choose from and never found one where the Black felt sharper than the feather, it did however produce a better all-around shave (Smoother, less irritation) than the feather which was just too aggressive for my skin.

The OP asked if there was anything else out there that rivals a feather for sharpness. It is my opinion that there really isn't anymore, but the Silver Blues would be the closest you can currently get, and the 7OC Black down the list.

StubbleShaver said:

I disagree with you there friend, The Blacks can feel just as sharp when slotted in to the right Razor

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I will agree that there are certain razors which make the difference much harder to ascertain. The R41 is one such handle for me, but the Feather is still better in sharpness.

The biggest issue with the R41 and a feather if the irritation I get from that is crazy. The Black I can feel a couple of spots that are a little tender, but the Feather makes my face feel raw all over. Suffice to say that sharpness is not everything.

At the end of the day, my suggestion is that this "what blade is sharper" debate is pointless. It doesn't matter which one is sharper. It matters which one gives you the best shaving experience. Its obvious that you have an affection for Feathers, an affection shared by a lot of other experienced shavers. Nothing about that needs to be defended.
There's also nothing to defend about feeling that Blacks are my current favorites even though I still have 40 Feathers in my stash. Its just a subjective observation. Just like yours. Its fun to compare experiences.

My entry to this is ....I get 5 great shaves with Astra. I get 9 great shaves with Feather. I get 5 great shaves with Wilkinson Sword.
I get crap with Derby. I get 3or 4 with Shark.

crfcom said:

At the end of the day, my suggestion is that this "what blade is sharper" debate is pointless. It doesn't matter which one is sharper. It matters which one gives you the best shaving experience.

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Ding Ding Ding...we have a winner! Well said.

crfcom said:

At the end of the day, my suggestion is that this "what blade is sharper" debate is pointless. It doesn't matter which one is sharper. It matters which one gives you the best shaving experience. .

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This morning I got one pass BBS with a three shave old feather

The thickness of a Feather razor blade is 0.1016 mm. The primary bevel on a Feather is ground to about 13 degrees. The bevel that forms the actual cutting edge is ground to 20.5. degrees. The cutting edge is about 3.5% of the overall length of the bevels combined. In terms of the acuity of an angle, some folks would not consider 20.5 degrees to be very sharp.
It helps to remember that the blade is extremely narrow at the edge.

I got some Polsilvers [Made in Poland] recently, a pack of ten just to see if they are any good. The guy I got them from thinks they are as sharp as Feathers but smoother. Not having tried Feathers I can't compare them but the Polsilver are much sharper and smoother than my usual blade the Astra SP.
As always YMMV.

Early Morning said:

The thickness of a Feather razor blade is 0.1016 mm. The primary bevel on a Feather is ground to about 13 degrees. The bevel that forms the actual cutting edge is ground to 20.5. degrees. The cutting edge is about 3.5% of the overall length of the bevels combined. In terms of the acuity of an angle, some folks would not consider 20.5 degrees to be very sharp.
It helps to remember that the blade is extremely narrow at the edge.

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Can you elaborate please. I don't understand what you are saying, nor how it compares to other blades.

Early Morning said:

The thickness of a Feather razor blade is 0.1016 mm. The primary bevel on a Feather is ground to about 13 degrees. The bevel that forms the actual cutting edge is ground to 20.5. degrees. The cutting edge is about 3.5% of the overall length of the bevels combined. In terms of the acuity of an angle, some folks would not consider 20.5 degrees to be very sharp.
It helps to remember that the blade is extremely narrow at the edge.

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These are actually pretty interesting hard numbers that would be useful if you had the same spec's on all the other blades. But then you have to remember that an even more important spec is the degree's of angle your razor put's the blade edge relative to the base. In other words, every blade is going to behave differently in different razor head designs. Then, factor in the idea that different blade angles may be more or less effective depending on the coarseness of the beard being shaved, and feel differently according to the sensitivity of the skin the blade is shaving, and you can see that this is not really an objective experience at all. Its subjective and individual.
In other words, YMMV.

crfcom said:

These are actually pretty interesting hard numbers that would be useful if you had the same spec's on all the other blades. But then you have to remember that an even more important spec is the degree's of angle your razor put's the blade edge relative to the base. In other words, every blade is going to behave differently in different razor head designs. Then, factor in the idea that different blade angles may be more or less effective depending on the coarseness of the beard being shaved, and feel differently according to the sensitivity of the skin the blade is shaving, and you can see that this is not really an objective experience at all. Its subjective and individual.
In other words, YMMV.

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The included angle at the edge of a Super Iridium approximately 19.5 degrees. This surprises me I’d like to think razor-sharp is an acuter angle than 19 or 20 degrees at the edge. I am wondering if this is not the standard, more or less.

jwilock said:

Can you elaborate please. I don't understand what you are saying, nor how it compares to other blades.

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If you compare it to other blades, you will notice that the primary bevel on the Feather is ground at an acuter angle (top view). The advantage to this is that it allows for a thin beveled edge that is sturdy because it is not very acute (side). Think of that edge as being an isosceles triangle with a base roughly 35 times thinner than the thickest part of the blade. The 20.5 degree beveled edge is more precise at that scale, I suppose.

xillion said:

To my face Gillette Silver Blue are very sharp, perhaps just a bit sharper than Feathers. But as always with blades YMMV.

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I traded for a small quantity of Silver Blues a while back and have used one for my last 2 shaves after your post reminded me I had some and that my early impression was that it was a very good and a very sharp blade.

After these last (2) shaves, I believe it's the sharpest non-Feather blade I've used for several weeks. Maybe months. That includes Personna Meds and Labs, Super Iridium, Polsilver, and Astra SP. For me it's still not as sharp as the Feather.

The other blade that I tried a while back that I thought was approaching Feather sharpness was the Gillette Bleue Extra (NOS). I haven't used one recently however.