DE blade pictures

I've just started taking pictures of DE blades - to see how they compare at 100x magnification. I'll continue to add to it as I try different blades. As far as I can tell, the shave does correspond fairly well what the blade edge looks like.

For each blade, I've taken 3 pictures - each lit from a different angle. One is direct lit with the light pointing right at the blade. This gives a fairly harsh picture with not much ability to distinguish between blades. The second is reflected light. These are the pictures that I've posted - as they are the most pleasing, and it is quite easy to tell blades apart. The third is lit directly from the side at a 90 degree angle to the grind. This gives a good idea of how polished the edges are.

http://picasaweb.google.com/toolmaster/DEBlades?authkey=Gv1sRgCMyd0NenzYmFFA#

I've only got 4 blades up so far - but if you have any blades you want to see under a microscope - just send 'em over my way.

The pictures are below, but if you click the picasa link above, it'll show comments about each blade.

Dorco Blue Platinum
2 Bevels
High Polish

Old Schick Blade
3 bevels

Shark Super Stainless
2 Bevels
High Polish
Pitted Edge

Old King Gillette Blue Blade
2 bevels
Minimal polish

Shark Super Stainless With Hair

(matched your pictures with the comments you made, hope you don't mind!)

Great pictures! Keep 'em coming! Would love to see blades such as Merkur, Feather, & Derby Horizontal vs. Derby Vertical

I'd be happy to post pictures of those blades....and others.

I've been a straight razor shaver for 3 years now. I've just gotten tired with the honing and stropping, so for now, I shave with one of these.



I can get the kind of shave I'm looking for without all the hassle of a straight razor.

I plan on ordering a sampler pack of blades in the near future - and I'll post pictures of blades in that pack. But if anyone wants to send me blades to take pics of, I'll gladly oblige. Of course, I'll keep them and shave with 'em.

huntmol said:

(matched your pictures with the comments you made, hope you don't mind!)

Great pictures! Keep 'em coming! Would love to see blades such as Merkur, Feather, & Derby Horizontal vs. Derby Vertical

Click to expand...

Is that a Parker? How is that working for you compared with the straight?

You don't get nearly the same feedback as a straight razor. You have to be very light with it, and it's much more likely to catch and cut you than a real straight razor.

Once you get the feel of it, you can get a great shave with minimal effort.

Here's a pic to show what I'm shavin against. I keep the mustache and goatee, but the rest gets a trim every day.

W_B_K said:

Is that a Parker? How is that working for you compared with the straight?

Click to expand...

Edit - yes, it's a Parker. I like it - holds the blade very firmly, feels nice in my hand. It is a bit smaller than a real straight though, which takes some getting used to. So far, I've only had a couple shaves with the Shark Super Stainless. I'll reserve my comments until I have a few more.

Cool, I've so been wanting to do that but don't have a microscope, so THANKS!

I'd like to see more blades, Derbys, Red Persona/Crystal/etc (to see if they really are the same), keep em coming!

I was curious, so I took a picture of the shark super stainless at 400x resolution. I'm using a cheap high school laboratory microscope for these pictures. It's a bit of a chore to take pictures with it, especially at 400x. A real microscope setup would supply the light through to reticle, or have something built in for different angles of light close to the lens. With this microscope, I have to light it with a flashlight close to the razor. I have a point and shoot fuji f10 that has the ability to macro focus through microscopes and telescopes - and it does a pretty fair job at it. At 400x, the lens is so close to the razor that it doesn't let much light come in, so the only option is to light it from the side perpendicular to the grind.

ghostknife said:

Cool, I've so been wanting to do that but don't have a microscope, so THANKS!

I'd like to see more blades, Derbys, Red Persona/Crystal/etc (to see if they really are the same), keep em coming!

Click to expand...

These pictures are always interesting, but it isn't clear whether they tell you anything about the quality of a given blade. After all, it is the front of the blade that does the cutting, not the top. The un-evenness (jaggedness) that is sometimes seen is not necessarily a bad thing, since it is on a scale that is smaller than the size of a hair. Could actually make the blade sharper! My guess is that the three parameters that really matter are the ones not revealed in these photos: the angle of the wedge on the leading edge of the blade, plus the stiffness and the hardness of the steel.

Can you take some pictures of the blades after 1,2, or 3 shaves. I am curious about the degradation and if "past its prime" characteristic is visible.

Thanks

You do get an idea of the angle of the primary edge. All of these blades were 0.0035 inches thick. The width of the grind will be directly related to the angle, and as they all have the same thickness you can compare them to each other.

I have not shaved with the Gillette blue blade - but of the other three, the old shick blade was the best shave. You can see in the pictures that it has the steepest grind with 3 bevels, and that the edge of the blade doesn't look all that smooth. It looks almost serrated.

moshulu said:

These pictures are always interesting, but it isn't clear whether they tell you anything about the quality of a given blade. After all, it is the front of the blade that does the cutting, not the top. The un-evenness (jaggedness) that is sometimes seen is not necessarily a bad thing, since it is on a scale that is smaller than the size of a hair. Could actually make the blade sharper! My guess is that the three parameters that really matter are the ones not revealed in these photos: the angle of the wedge on the leading edge of the blade, plus the stiffness and the hardness of the steel.

Click to expand...

I'd be happy to. As I only currently have a supply of the Shark blades, I'll have to do it with one of those.

global_dev said:

Can you take some pictures of the blades after 1,2, or 3 shaves. I am curious about the degradation and if "past its prime" characteristic is visible.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Nice pics.
Please post the blades that you need to continue your study.

You tell me. This is everyone's study now.

calcustom said:

Nice pics.
Please post the blades that you need to continue your study.

Click to expand...

Good job! Many thanks for the pics!

toolmaster said:

You tell me. This is everyone's study now.

Click to expand...

I am wondering what an Astra SP blade looks like.
Thanks