Blade Sharpness Research Project

[Sweeney_]

Taking one for the team with that Viking, eh?

I'm curious if you ever got around to trying that Energizer Personna after you put it through the ringer.

 

[Ron R]

I said it should be fairly easy to test everything I didn't have available locally in my small town, and I've done it. CVS didn't have any double edged blades, and Rite Aid had the VDH Basics, which I already tested and their own brand of blades, the Daylogic For Men Stainless Steel blades. It comes in a blister pack, and inside that is a really nice feeling and looking steel and plastic blade bank with 15 blades in it. The blades are made in Germany, so maybe they will be really good.

View attachment 1883805
View attachment 1883807
View attachment 1883806

The blade just has some arrows on it. The printing on the blade bank is cool. It looks like something that was designed before we had computers. I has old school automotive type paint on it. I wonder if it is new old stock from someplace. I wouldn't be shocked if Rite Aide had a hiatus from selling DE blades and kept a bunch of old blade banks in a warehouse until they got popular again.

View attachment 1883808

Under a microscope, the blade looks alright. The scratch pattern is coarse an uneven, and the coating is thick, but it looks like the edge is honed.
View attachment 1883809

Nope. The steel is terrible. It squishes and chips like the worst of the worst.
View attachment 1883810

It turns out this is the dullest and least durable blade I have tested. It is defective at best and incompetently produced at worse. So much for German blades. Maybe Merkur looked into the same supplier before deciding to put their brand on Czech blades.

When I first started testing this blade, I got half way through the second measurement set and decided it might be a bad individual or a damaged individual, so I scrapped it, grabbed another, inspected the edges under a microscope and found no damage, and re-started the measurement process to get what we have here. The special rules for dead spots that support 250g of force on the mono-filament applied to this blade. Both edges were bad. If you are going to buy a blade in my town, get the VDH Basics.

Information Summary:
View attachment 1883824

Date	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24
Blade	Daylogic	Rite Aid	Stainless Steel	Germany	March 24, 2022
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	79	67	66	24	47
Median F (g)	83	250	250	250	250
Mean F (g) Btm	165	217	218	250	238
Mean F (g) Top	95	201	195	230	218
Mean F (g)	130	209	206	240	228
BESS Adj. Factor	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	137	180	181	208	198
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	79	167	162	191	181
Median adj. F (g)	69	208	208	208	208
Mean adj. F (g)	108	173	171	199	189

View attachment 1883822

Stay away from this blade, or buy it for the cool blade bank, but don't use it for shaving.

Blade Sharpness Test Index


Complete Data:

Date	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24
Blade	Daylogic	Rite Aid	Stainless Steel	Germany	March 24, 2022
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	79	67	66	24	47
Median F (g)	83	250	250	250	250
Mean F (g) Btm	165	217	218	250	238
Mean F (g) Top	95	201	195	230	218
Mean F (g)	130	209	206	240	228
F (g) 1	250	250	250	250	250
F (g) 2	250	250	250	250	250
F (g) 3	67	250	250	250	250
F (g) 4	142	250	250	250	250
F (g) 5	181	71	250	250	250
F (g) 6	250	52	250	250	250
F (g) 7	250	250	96	250	250
F (g) 8	77	250	76	250	250
F (g) 9	59	250	250	250	250
F (g) 10	75	250	250	250	250
F (g) 11	250	245	250	250	250
F (g) 12	58	250	95	250	250
F (g) 13	250	130	250	250	250
F (g) 14	65	250	250	250	71
F (g) 15	250	250	250	250	250
F (g) 16	117	250	250	243	185
F (g) 17	74	250	106	215	250
F (g) 18	67	149	119	250	250
F (g) 19	71	250	250	250	250
F (g) 20	53	240	250	250	250
F (g) 21	72	195	250	192	250
F (g) 22	139	250	116	250	121
F (g) 23	83	250	121	193	158
F (g) 24	104	250	124	250	250
F (g) 25	77	250	210	143	250
F (g) 26	83	99	250	250	168
F (g) 27	104	250	250	250	227
F (g) 28	72	82	250	250	250
F (g) 29	250	145	250	220	250
F (g) 30	59	108	124	250	155

Good information and great photography on razor edges. Thanks!

 

[PALORAZOR]

I find this Personna to be very good on a single shave. Made in Germany. Don't think this one has been tested?

 

[helicopter]

Taking one for the team with that Viking, eh?

I'm curious if you ever got around to trying that Energizer Personna after you put it through the ringer.

Yup. 3 shaves. In the 1-10 thread.

 

[Jay21]

I tested the Dorco Prime Platinum STP300, which @Sweeney_ was kind enough to send to me. It is a Vietnamese blade made under license from a Korean company. I am not sure when it was manufactured. The ones I see for sale online are in plastic tucks, and this one comes in a cardboard tuck. The packaging is almost perfect; the only thing missing is a date code. It is a tuck of ten blades in double wrappers with high quality printing and paper including waxed inner paper. The stenciling on the blade is colored, which is a nice touch. There is also some foil and a hologram on the tuck. This excellent blade is sharp, durable, and looks smooth at the edge under a microscope.

View attachment 1883770

View attachment 1883771

The new blade has a medium grit moderately consistent primary grind, and a smoothly honed secondary grind that comes about a quarter of the way up. It has a heavy coating.

View attachment 1883772

After testing, the edge is in excellent condition, with some fine denting and almost no chipping at the apex, and a smooth secondary bevel. I bet it would feel fine on your face at this point.
View attachment 1883773

Information Summary:
View attachment 1883787

Date	7/26/24	7/25/24	7/25/24	7/25/24	7/25/24
Blade	Dorco STP300	Prime Platinum	Extra Stainless	Vietnam	Cardboard Tuck
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	14	11	11	10	14
Median F (g)	76.5	73	74	74	81
Mean F (g) Btm	82	72	80	75	81
Mean F (g) Top	72	70	66	75	83
Mean F (g)	77	71	73	75	82
BESS Adj. Factor	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	68	60	66	62	67
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	59	59	55	62	69
Median adj. F (g)	64	61	61	61	67
Mean adj. F (g)	64	59	61	62	68

View attachment 1883786

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data:

Date	7/26/24	7/25/24	7/25/24	7/25/24	7/25/24
Blade	Dorco STP300	Prime Platinum	Extra Stainless	Vietnam	Cardboard Tuck
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	14	11	11	10	14
Median F (g)	76.5	73	74	74	81
Mean F (g) Btm	82	72	80	75	81
Mean F (g) Top	72	70	66	75	83
Mean F (g)	77	71	73	75	82
F (g) 1	100	85	85	78	92
F (g) 2	62	75	83	84	88
F (g) 3	79	77	78	67	92
F (g) 4	61	83	83	64	83
F (g) 5	81	92	89	79	96
F (g) 6	103	60	65	64	82
F (g) 7	74	60	89	70	77
F (g) 8	84	78	75	80	70
F (g) 9	107	63	83	62	80
F (g) 10	78	55	70	76	67
F (g) 11	71	66	62	75	79
F (g) 12	76	59	76	78	74
F (g) 13	100	79	74	90	91
F (g) 14	84	75	88	64	66
F (g) 15	69	77	96	88	78
F (g) 16	59	60	63	62	77
F (g) 17	78	68	70	70	74
F (g) 18	64	83	56	62	86
F (g) 19	80	59	57	58	95
F (g) 20	68	68	62	95	53
F (g) 21	58	50	81	73	87
F (g) 22	77	52	85	86	91
F (g) 23	69	80	70	84	93
F (g) 24	61	88	64	70	65
F (g) 25	63	91	74	90	72
F (g) 26	68	75	64	69	121
F (g) 27	80	77	52	70	108
F (g) 28	98	71	74	73	62
F (g) 29	83	67	62	76	79
F (g) 30	68	68	61	84	88

The Dorco Prime is an amazing blade and one of my favorites.

 

[helicopter]

Taking one for the team with that Viking, eh?

I'm curious if you ever got around to trying that Energizer Personna after you put it through the ringer.

Linked it wrong

What did you use today? +Rate the shave 1-10 (10 best)

www.badgerandblade.com

I'll see if I measured it when I get my computer up.

 

[Sweeney_]

Linked it wrong

What did you use today? +Rate the shave 1-10 (10 best)

www.badgerandblade.com

Ah yes, thank you.

 

[helicopter]

Ah yes, thank you.

Looks like I didn't measure it, but long story short, The first two shaves were good and the third was OK. Still very impressive for a blade that had been through testing.

 

[helicopter]

Today I tested the red German Personna blade. This is an Edgewell product, the same parent company as Schick. I don't see a production date, but it is a recent purchase with a 2019 copyright. This blade is sharp and looks very smooth. It is consistent through the first cut test, but it isn't durable and falls apart after that. The steel appears to be soft and resilient. It comes in a cardboard tuck of five blades single wrapped in printed waxed paper.

It looks super smooth under a microscope. The scratch pattern on the bevel is moderate, but most of the bevel is honed smooth and heavily coated. It should feel nice.

After testing, the coating is gone, and we can see it was honed in two stages. We also see some denting along the edge. The dents showed up as dead spots by the penultimate cut test. The steel isn't tough or durable, but since it doesn't chip like most razor steels, it should feel smooth for a few shaves before it starts to dull significantly.

I don't think this is this is the same blade as the Daylogic, because that blade was honed in a single stage, right at the distal part of the bevel near the edge. The primary grind, the coating, and the soft steel are all similar, though.

Information Summary:

Date	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24
Blade	Personna Red	Stainless Steel	Edgewell	Germany	~2023
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	19	21	27	43	73
Median F (g)	72	71	82	89	119.5
Mean F (g) Btm	79	85	95	105	143
Mean F (g) Top	79	72	82	97	140
Mean F (g)	79	79	89	101	142
BESS Adj. Factor	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	66	71	79	87	118
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	66	60	68	80	117
Median adj. F (g)	60	59	68	74	99
Mean adj. F (g)	66	65	74	83	118

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data:

Date	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24	7/26/24
Blade	Personna Red	Stainless Steel	Edgewell	Germany	~2023
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	19	21	27	43	73
Median F (g)	72	71	82	89	119.5
Mean F (g) Btm	79	85	95	105	143
Mean F (g) Top	79	72	82	97	140
Mean F (g)	79	79	89	101	142
F (g) 1	89	85	92	116	70
F (g) 2	78	86	74	123	74
F (g) 3	96	66	68	72	164
F (g) 4	77	131	101	65	143
F (g) 5	66	73	65	126	131
F (g) 6	79	97	138	89	109
F (g) 7	93	129	122	87	250
F (g) 8	78	56	143	135	56
F (g) 9	72	63	65	91	149
F (g) 10	72	69	63	65	250
F (g) 11	100	75	120	150	181
F (g) 12	67	63	76	95	250
F (g) 13	70	138	80	55	106
F (g) 14	76	85	113	147	140
F (g) 15	76	66	102	152	67
F (g) 16	61	74	68	89	72
F (g) 17	51	69	86	107	81
F (g) 18	59	70	57	107	250
F (g) 19	70	61	109	67	250
F (g) 20	127	60	83	71	80
F (g) 21	69	96	64	93	250
F (g) 22	68	75	145	82	250
F (g) 23	69	98	99	172	81
F (g) 24	71	65	59	62	250
F (g) 25	72	71	58	62	68
F (g) 26	104	66	82	59	130
F (g) 27	66	71	69	86	81
F (g) 28	141	68	82	71	90
F (g) 29	92	71	53	70	74
F (g) 30	65	66	123	250	100

 

[PALORAZOR]

Seems blades in the 65-70 F(g) range that have a heavy coating do really well on my single shave aggressive razor tests. Given the price of some of these, I don't mind getting one or two shaves out of them.

 

[helicopter]

Blade Sharpness Test Index
Blade	Test
7AM Plus Hi Platinum	5
Assured For Men (AFM) blade from Dollar Tree	2
Astra SP Green India	19
Astra SS Blue Russia	41
Bic Chrome Platinum	11
Cloud Super Stainless Red	32
Daylogic Rite Aid	50
Derby Extra Stainless Orange	52
Derby Extra Super Stainless Green	31
Dorco Prime Platinum STP300	49
Feather New Hi-Stainless Yellow Japan	8
Flydear SP	3
Flying Eagle Gillette Carbon Steel	33
Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp Stainless India	4
Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum India Black	38
Gillette Blue	51
Gillette Minora Stainless Russia	25
Gillette Permasharp Stainless Russia	7
Gillette Platinum Russia	17
Gillette Silver Blue Stainless Russia	16
Gillette Super Nacet	47
Gillette Wilkinson Sword India saloon	18
Gutche	29
Jifuli Platinum Edge Stainless GF-4395 Baolai	30
Kai	36
King C Gillette China	24
Leaf Single Edge Blade	1
Lord Platinum Super Stainless	34
Matgicol Super Platinum Swedish Stainless	23
Merkur	44
Nacet Stainless Russia A	10
Nacet Stainless Russia B	20
Personna Comfort Coated Blue USA blade by AccuTec	12
Personna Energizer USA	27
Personna Red Edgewell Germany	54
Polsilver ES	48
RK Stainless Henson	40
Schick	45
Shark Platinum	15
Shark Super Chrome Super Stainless	13
Shark Super Stainless	14
Shavely DG	46
Silver Star	42
Suneko My Way Amorphous Diamond Super Stainless New Platinum	22
Tiger Platinum Grey	35
Treet 7 Days Platinum	6
Treet Dura Sharp	26
Treet Platinum	37
Van Der Hagen Basics Super Stainless China	28
Vikings Mild	53
Voskhod Teflon Russia	9
Weishi	43
Wilkinson Sword Germany	21
Wizamet Super Iridium Extra Stainless	39

 

[WVShaver]

On my shave tests I tried the same German Personna a couple days ago and it was very smooth and felt fairly sharp. That’s the downside of only doing 1 shave with each blade before trying the next one out…. It appears this one would decline fast but if your a one and done guy this German Personna is a pretty good blade.

I’m quite surprised the steel is that soft. It’ll be interesting to see if the older Israeli ones used the same softer steel or not. And if the German ones in the 200 pack are the same blades as the red ones above (they probably are).

 

[Flanders]

On my shave tests I tried the same German Personna a couple days ago and it was very smooth and felt fairly sharp. That’s the downside of only doing 1 shave with each blade before trying the next one out…. It appears this one would decline fast but if your a one and done guy this German Personna is a pretty good blade.

I’m quite surprised the steel is that soft. It’ll be interesting to see if the older Israeli ones used the same softer steel or not. And if the German ones in the 200 pack are the same blades as the red ones above (they probably are).

It seems pretty unlikely that the older Israeli blades used softer steel, those were one of the blades people were pushing to a week or more for the last decade. It's still possible, which would be kind of funny since everybody thought they were super high quality blades. Even the Crystals didn't rate as lasting as long by the same people. This one is likely down to the two blades having different grind profiles as seen in older microscope images. One of the persistant older rumours was that the red box blades were some kind of budget blade because they were cheap once.

The other question is why are they using softer steel at the same plant for Personna, and store brand, blades and presumably higher quality steel for Wilkinson Sword and Schick blades. Is this further proof that the Personna brand was intended to be budget focused all along?

 

[helicopter]

Here we have another blade generously offered by @Sweeney_ , the Gillette Rubie from PPI Russia. This is a blade that has become highly valued since its supply dropped off. It has a strong following. I am a big fan of PPI blades, so I have been really interested in trying it. I definitely wasn't ready to pay the current secondary market prices, which seem to be around $3 per blade for a delivered tuck, when I have so many blades here already. It is milder and more finely ground than other PPI blades I have tested. I shaved with it yesterday, and found it very similar to the Wizamet Super Iridium from 2023 that I tested. The Wizamet has a heavier coating, but a similar grind, so if you miss the Rubie, go and try the Wizamet.

The Rubie comes in a typical cardboard PPI tuck with weak glue containing 5 blades in single waxed paper wrappers with medium wax dots.

The blade is laser etched on one side only, it doesn't have grind numbers, but it does have a date and designation, which is very nice to see. The Accutec Personna I tested also had a laser etched date.

It has an excellent fine and even grind that reminds me of Feather, and it has a moderate and even coating.

After testing, we some some very fine chipping along the edge, and most of the coating on the bevel remains. This is a tough and resilient steel of reasonable hardness. Even though it dulls at a fairly ordinary rate, it dulls smoothly and evenly, which means that as long as the sharpness is still enough to cut your hairs, it should keep feeling nice on the skin; the durable coating should also prolong its effectiveness. I actually put this through an extra paper cut test, so its smoothness at the edge is even more impressive.

Information Summary:

Date	7/28/24	7/28/24	7/28/24	7/28/24	7/28/24	7/28/24
Blade	Gillette Rubie	Stainless Steel	PPI	Russia	June 18, 2019
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12	P15
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	29	30	30
Std. Dev.	16	15	16	20	21	25
Median F (g)	78	79	89.5	97	104.5	112.5
Mean F (g) Btm	84	84	92	82	103	98
Mean F (g) Top	82	84	87	105	104	115
Mean F (g)	83	84	89	93	103	107
BESS Adj. Factor	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83	0.83
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	70	70	76	68	85	82
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	68	69	72	87	86	96
Median adj. F (g)	65	66	74	81	87	93
Mean adj. F (g)	69	70	74	77	86	89

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data:

Date	7/28/24	7/28/24	7/28/24	7/28/24	7/28/24	7/28/24
Blade	Gillette Rubie	Stainless Steel	PPI	Russia	June 18, 2019
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12	P15
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29	Stren 8 .29
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	29	30	30
Std. Dev.	16	15	16	20	21	25
Median F (g)	78	79	89.5	97	104.5	112.5
Mean F (g) Btm	84	84	92	82	103	98
Mean F (g) Top	82	84	87	105	104	115
Mean F (g)	83	84	89	93	103	107
F (g) 1	103	71	105	71	122	118
F (g) 2	78	77	91	75	106	113
F (g) 3	84	64	80	71	128	112
F (g) 4	84	102	96	79	108	86
F (g) 5	76	107	89	67	143	80
F (g) 6	85	79	74	67	120	122
F (g) 7	78	78	116	105	90	73
F (g) 8	82	79	90	70	123	74
F (g) 9	79	80	88	76	116	88
F (g) 10	103	88	99	104	67	92
F (g) 11	74	89	90	105	113	75
F (g) 12	75	109	96	75	78	89
F (g) 13	78	89	77	93	70	136
F (g) 14	76	78	75	110	91	121
F (g) 15	108	76	109	60	69	94
F (g) 16	64	94	76	99	82	140
F (g) 17	117	91	73	104	83	86
F (g) 18	73	67	79	129	132	157
F (g) 19	81	74	59	124	120	124
F (g) 20	126	120	107	104	131	128
F (g) 21	64	68	102	112	103	113
F (g) 22	75	60	79	118	100	91
F (g) 23	83	112	83	69	96	129
F (g) 24	105	70	101	82	118	138
F (g) 25	64	101	74	124	91	82
F (g) 26	88	86	106	120	86	90
F (g) 27	74	77	59	95	82	63
F (g) 28	65	86	121		114	117
F (g) 29	67	68	101	97	121	137
F (g) 30	78	79	80	97	101	136

 

[NorthernSoul]

...I don't think this is this is the same blade as the Daylogic, because that blade was honed in a single stage, right at the distal part of the bevel near the edge. The primary grind, the coating, and the soft steel are all similar, though...

The Daylogic blades closely resemble the older Personna "barber" blades which are a more generic, low-cost blade.

 

[Sweeney_]

I'm withholding comments on the Personnas until this one is tested:

But I can say the only Personna blade that I didn't get on with - of those I've tried - was the Personna X Series.

 

[WVShaver]

I figured the Rubies would be a little sharper then that based on what I feel but either way it’s my go to blade if I had to pick just one. I’ve only ever used one date and they are from 2020. I figure those 2019 ones are about the same.

I picked up some 2019 ones a few months ago but I’m not sure if it’s the date tested. I’ll have to check and give them a try to see if they’re the same feel as the 2020s.

On the German Personnas I’ve tried 3 so far with each being a different batch. One red like above that felt great on the first shave. And 2 in the blue plastic tucks from different batches - 1 felt similar to the red tested above but the other didn’t feel as good to me. If I had to guess I’d say they’re all the same blade with batch variations.

I’ll be sending in some of the Personna X, Israel Red, Tomy, Edison, Viking Sword, and Crystal for testing. I’m hoping to get some blades packed up and shipped off tomorrow if all goes well.

 

[lasta]

Hmm, I expected Rubie to be sharper as well.

But, I guess it's hard to argue with objective evidence. Gillette studies also concluded that consumers' ability to judge sharpness (through use) is unreliable.

 

[lasta]

I was going to stick this in my journal, but...

I wonder if the edge is very finely finished making it feel sharper than it is. Best of both worlds if it goes through the beard smoothly, but the lower measured sharpness might be kinder on the face. It also explains my sample that I likened to broken glass, I forgot that it might have been a wire edge and I should have corked it on the first shave after feeling it.

Hmm, IMO wire edges have no place on a razor blade!

I don't remember seeing wire edges on any of the 2014 SEM thread, Mr. Helicopters microscope shots, nor my very unprofessional loupey peaks.

But I agree with your hypothesis, while looking through the 2014 thread, how smooth the bevels are polished had a direct impact on how much I liked the blade!

 

[Flanders]

Hmm, IMO wire edges have no place on a razor blade!

I don't remember seeing wire edges on any of the 2014 SEM thread, Mr. Helicopters microscope shots, nor my very unprofessional loupey peaks.

You're probably right, it's just technically possible. It was probably the coating as I originally thought, should have left the comment in my journal. I'll delete it even though it will stick around in the quote.