Blade Sharpness Research Project

[Frito Ray]

This chart really illustrates how the coating held back performance during the first cut test

I really like this part of the test, one can see which blade has thicker coatings.

Perhaps this info could be used by the folks concerned about Teflon coatings. Knowing that it is on pretty much all blades out there, they could make an informed choice and get a blade with a thinner coating.

 

[helicopter]

I present the Fatip, which is "Made in Europe" for the Sicilian razor company of the same name.

That packaging looks familiar and so does the blade. The printing on the tuck is classic Fatip, but the cardboard, the paper wrappers, and the laser etching on the blade are the same as the Boker blade.

The grind and the coating also look identical to the Boker.

After the test, it looks like the Boker and the Tatara. The new Tatara has a heavier coating, but now that it is worn off, the steel is the same. There is some medium chipping along the edge which is typical of razor steel that isn't durable.

The performance is the same as the Boker. The wear curve is the same. The Tatara is a little bit better overall.

I was wondering if the breakdown of one edge was an anomaly, but we see some local failure in the same edge of the one I shaved with today. There is also some local razor burn on my neck. The overall performance also matches the Boker.

Date	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24
Blade	Fatip	Stainless Steel	Ice Tempered	Europe	~2024
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12	1
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper	Face
Measurements	20	20	20	20	20	20
Std. Dev.	5	7	13	14	20	17
Median F (g)	49	46	56.5	60.5	69	48
Mean F (g) Btm	52	46	52	58	65	47
Mean F (g) Top	47	50	63	70	84	60
Mean F (g)	49	48	58	64	74	53
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	63	56	64	71	79	57
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	57	62	77	86	102	73
Median adj. F (g)	60	56	69	74	84	59
Mean adj. F (g)	60	59	70	78	90	65

My chin is really hard on blades, but I think it should have been in better shape after a few passes and one session on my face. I am not going to buy any of these "Made in Europe" blades again soon, but if I were, I would go for the Tatara with the thicker and better performing coating.

I think this is the exact same blade as the Boker. I am fairly confident in this. I also think this is probably the exact same steel and grind as the Tatara, but perhaps the Tatara has a thinner edge. That this is the same as Boker explains the identical appearance of everything, including microscopic properties. There is only a difference in the printing on the outer tuck. It also explains the extremely similar wear curve.

 

[helicopter]

Another private label European blade, the Van Der Hagen Ice Tempered is proudly made in Germany. Van Der Hagen also sells a Chinese blade, which was measured previously. It does not appear to be related to the VDH Basics blade. It is reasonably durable, reasonably consistent, and quite sharp.

The orange plastic tuck for this blade is from the same mold as the white one for my Timor blades, but I haven't tested those yet. The Timor is also German. We will be able to compare them after I measure the Timor. I prefer a cardboard tuck, but the packaging is very nice. There clean printing on the blade, and good graphic design.

It is ground in three stages. The primary and secondary bevels are of medium and uneven grind, and the honing is smooth at the edge. Among German blades, it reminds me of the Wilkinson Sword.

We see some small and medium chipping along the edge after testing, and the bevels have smoothed out quite a bit.

Date	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24
Blade	Van Der Hagen	Ice Tempered	Stainless	Germany	~2024
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	24	24	24	20	20
Std. Dev.	9	9	18	20	26
Median F (g)	53.5	46	46	49	52
Mean F (g) Top	59	50	52	58	61
Mean F (g) Btm	47	44	52	55	61
Mean F (g)	53	47	52	56	61
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	72	62	63	71	74
Av. Adj. F (g) Btm	58	54	63	67	75
Median adj. F (g)	65	56	56	60	63
Mean adj. F (g)	65	58	63	69	75

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[helicopter]

Since it raised some questions in the previous test, I took a look at this Timor Ice Tempered blade from Solingen.

The blade is very sharp, exceptionally consistent, and quite durable. It is a blade of excellent performance. I think this might be the reason the "Made in Europe" people are so embarrassed about their blades. It is an expensive blade, at $6/10, but I think the price is reasonable if you consider the quality, heritage, and high cost production location. I am not going to run out and buy a bunch of them when they cost more than twice as much as Feather or Accutec Personna, and four times as much as Bic CP, but I also don't feel like they pulled they price out of the air like the Boker and a handful of other expensive European blades.

It has a nice looking design, and comes in a white plastic tuck. The blade is printed. You can see it is single wrapped in waxed paper with four wax dots.

Compared to VDH Ice Tempered, left, the only difference in the tuck is the color. They both bear the number "3" at the top of the photo.

It is ground in three stages, and the primary bevel is uneven and medium coarseness. All I can say from the photos is that this blade might be the same as the German Wilkinson or the German VDH. The primary bevels look almost identical in the photos, and the rest of the grind and the coating looks similar, but not identical. I can't say if there are any design differences, or if there are just some batch variations.

The secondary bevel smoothed out a lot during testing. The edge remains in excellent condition.

The durability curve and the overall sharpness are very similar to the German Wilkinson Sword blade I tested previously. The VDH Ice Tempered blade wasn't as sharp or durable as those blades, but they are close enough that it would not surprise me if they are just different batches of the same blade. My understanding is that Timor is a family-owned factory, Edgewell owns Wilkinson Sword in Europe, and another company owns Van Der Hagen, so I can't make enough sense of it to draw any conclusions. This Timor blade did perform better than those other two.

Date	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24	8/4/24
Blade	Timor	Ice Tempered	Solingen	Germany	~2024
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	24	24	24	20	20
Std. Dev.	7	4	4	4	6
Median F (g)	49	44	44	46.5	49.5
Mean F (g) Top	51	43	44	46	48
Mean F (g) Btm	46	47	47	48	54
Mean F (g)	49	45	45	47	51
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	62	52	54	56	58
Av. Adj. F (g) Btm	56	57	57	59	66
Median adj. F (g)	60	54	54	57	60
Mean adj. F (g)	59	55	55	57	62

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[NorthernSoul]

I hope I am not the only person who finds this a bit hilarious .

It is so bad.

FWIW, I've been using the China made London Bridge blades this past week and the printing on them looks much closer to the original. Not blurry or uneven like those. Maybe not laser precise, but just normal looking.

I think the newer London Bridge blades are quite good considering they sell for something like $3.50/100 in Indonesia.

 

[Dimitri]

Been following this thread with interest. This is some great work you're doing. I'm wondering how Accutec branded Accuthrive and Accuforge would compare to the Personnas. Hopefully someone following this thread has some and can send them your way.

 

[helicopter]

FWIW, I've been using the China made London Bridge blades this past week and the printing on them looks much closer to the original. Not blurry or uneven like those. Maybe not laser precise, but just normal looking.

I think the newer London Bridge blades are quite good considering they sell for something like $3.50/100 in Indonesia.

How many times are you using them?

It looked like it would be alright if you didn't push it.

 

[NorthernSoul]

How many times are you using them?

It looked like it would be alright if you didn't push it.

So far, three shaves per edge in a Parker SoloEdge that takes half DE blades. I think I can get four shaves per edge. The blades have been very smooth, I was surprised by them. Not usually a fan of Chinese blades.

 

[helicopter]

So far, three shaves per edge in a Parker SoloEdge that takes half DE blades. I think I can get four shaves per edge. The blades have been very smooth, I was surprised by them. Not usually a fan of Chinese blades.

It's got a honing over about 60% of the bevel, and a durable coating there. The steel isn't durable, but you are probably only taking it to about cut test P3-P6 if it still feels good after 4 SE shaves. It is probably fairly mild and just starting to get some small chipping by then.

You must not be too picky about where a blade falls on the sharpness spectrum, at least from fairly sharp to quite mild, like 65-75g at least, and not too hard on the blades, maybe only equivalent to one sheet of paper on a SE shave. You could probably find another moderate blade with a smooth 2-facet bevel in better steel and use it for a long time.

 

[NorthernSoul]

It's got a honing over about 60% of the bevel, and a durable coating there. The steel isn't durable, but you are probably only taking it to about cut test P3-P6 if it still feels good after 4 SE shaves. It is probably fairly mild and just starting to get some small chipping by then.

You must not be too picky about where a blade falls on the sharpness spectrum, at least from fairly sharp to quite mild, like 65-75g at least, and not too hard on the blades, maybe only equivalent to one sheet of paper on a SE shave. You could probably find another moderate blade with a smooth 2-facet bevel in better steel and use it for a long time.

My favorite blades in this razor so far have been BIC Chrome Platinum and Personna Med Prep. Perma-Sharp Super half-blades have also been very good. I don't think the London Bridge is at that level, but still quite usable, at least IME. Most of my razors clamp and support the blade close to the edge (such as Gillette New SC or Fatip Grande). I sometimes wonder if your simulated test conditions might be harder on the blade than shaving under normal conditions would be.

 

[cranewarrior]

It's got a honing over about 60% of the bevel, and a durable coating there. The steel isn't durable, but you are probably only taking it to about cut test P3-P6 if it still feels good after 4 SE shaves. It is probably fairly mild and just starting to get some small chipping by then.

You must not be too picky about where a blade falls on the sharpness spectrum, at least from fairly sharp to quite mild, like 65-75g at least, and not too hard on the blades, maybe only equivalent to one sheet of paper on a SE shave. You could probably find another moderate blade with a smooth 2-facet bevel in better steel and use it for a long time.

I'm impressed. You're like a doctor or pharmacist except with razor blades!

 

[helicopter]

Here we have another "Made in EU" blade, the Razolution Ice Tempered Stainless blade. It is obviously the same blade as the Boker, Tatara, and Fatip, except that this one is defective and shouldn't have left the factory. I think it has a bad heat treatment, because it looks fine. The first one I started measuring had >125g dead spots on the very first two measurements. I ran my finger over the edge and found it had chipped in two places as soon as it touched the 0.22mm nylon. My first thought was that it might have gotten damaged, so I examined it under the microscope and found it was only damaged in those two spots. I binned it, and grabbed a fresh blade from the middle of the tuck. The results are for the fresh one.

I am not sure if "Razolution" is a portmanteau of "razor" and "solution" or "razor" and "revolution," but I don't see this one actually 'solving' any problem and it certainly isn't 'revolutionary." "Razoscrap" might have been a better name for this batch of blades, since it should have gone right into the scrap bin.

It is double wrapped in a cardboard tuck of ten blades with small glue dots. It has a parchment look, but that is printed on white cardboard and paper. The packaging is basically perfect, except it is missing basic information including a date code, specific production location, and the coating used. True perfection would also tell us the alloy they used and have better graphic design.

It is funny they don't even bother to customize the program for the laser printing on most of these, but it makes sense because, along with the vague production location, they don't actually have to schedule any production except for printing the outer wrapper and tuck. They can just grab the blade off the shelf, box it up, and ship it to the customer. It is the generic European blade.

It is exactly the same as the others visually, before testing.

This blade shows a combination of lots of denting and large chipping. Proper razor steel will have either some small chipping, some small denting, and the best steel will remain in excellent condition through the end of the test. This steel is neither tough nor hard, but they still shipped it.

Date	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24
Blade	Razolution	Ice Tempered		European Union	~2024
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	20	20
Std. Dev.	26	22	21	17	15
Median F (g)	63.5	71	106.5	124	125
Mean F (g) Top	67	80	99	111	117
Mean F (g) Btm	78	76	106	113	117
Mean F (g)	72	78	103	112	117
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	81	97	121	136	143
Av. Adj. F (g) Btm	95	93	130	138	142
Median adj. F (g)	77	87	130	151	153
Mean adj. F (g)	88	95	125	137	142

Exceptionally bad performance from this batch. I didn't expect them to disappoint me further, but they managed to do it. Whatever you do, don't buy this specific blade from TRC until they have had time to get rid of this defective batch. The batches in Tatara and Fatip packaging are cheaper anyway, so get one of those from TRC if you want to try these.

It is an embarrassment, but it is also sort of par for the course with razor blades in general. A lot of these production facilities just don't have their processes under control. It isn't the first time I have tested a blade that never should have made it past inspection. This is something they could have easily detected without even using a microscope or a force meter. All they would have to do is push it through some office paper and then run their finger over the edge.

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[BurnFree]

@helicopter, consider teaming up with our in-house blade manufacter @Eric_75. Create something that beats those Schicks, then send them over to @Sweeney in marketing.

Joking aside, thank you for your commitment to this valuable project.

 

[helicopter]

I measured the Dovo Super Platinum Stainless blade, which is made in Germany for the famous Solingen straight razor maker. It doesn't seem to be related to any other blade tested so far. It is a moderate to mild blade with a beautiful smooth triple grind, made from tough and resilient steel that isn't as hard and durable as most razor steels, but has great performance compared to other tough steels. I measured two of them, because I had some concerns about the first one, but comparing two of them, I think both sets of measurements represent the blade reasonably well. It is one of the most expensive blades I have tested; it costs $10/10.

It comes in a white plastic tuck with single thick waxed paper wrappers and four wax dots. Dovo's graphic design is fantastic.

This is funny. I don't doubt it is true for many people who are happy with a milder blade.

It is ground in three very even stages, which start out fine and work to a polish at the edge. The coating is thick and sloppy. I don't think it is related to the other German blades that have been tested. It looks like they may have used more expensive synthetic abrasives to get an exceptionally even grind at each of the three stages.

It looks great after the test, with the coating gone, the bevels smoothed out, and only a tiny bit of small chipping at the edge. If the sharpness suits you, then it will probably shave nicely. It is a tough and resilient steel of reasonable hardness, which keeps it smooth, but it is not as durable as harder steels that tend to be more brittle. A softer but tougher steel is classically European, and this one does a very good job of achieving excellent toughness without sacrificing too much hardness.

This first one was a little sharper, but with more variance. I think it actually represents the overall performance better due to lower standard deviation for the edges taken individually. Therefore, this one goes on the chart. I suspect the variances we see are partially due to grind, and partially due to the sloppy coating.

Date	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24
Blade	Dovo	Super Platinum		Germany	February 14, 2023
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	24	24	24	20	20
Std. Dev.	8	10	10	11	14
Median F (g)	58.5	63	67	71.5	70
Mean F (g) Top	66	73	75	80	81
Mean F (g) Btm	51	54	59	62	58
Mean F (g)	58	63	67	71	69
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	80	89	92	97	98
Av. Adj. F (g) Btm	63	66	72	76	71
Median adj. F (g)	71	77	82	87	85
Mean adj. F (g)	71	77	82	87	84

I have a hypothesis that perhaps the dull bottom edge variances we see are due to the simple fact that blades are often stored and handled top-up because top-up is right-side-up and makes it easier to read labels and more aesthetically pleasing. During production, bottom edges are more likely to be closer to floors, people, machines, and so on. They probably get bumped, dropped, scuffed, and otherwise changed on the bottom edge most of the time. It is easy to measure an honest coin's tendency to land with the same side up after a flip for the simple reason that side gets more airtime. I don't see why we shouldn't expect an incredibly simple explanation for the trend in variances, either. I don't have any good way to test or verify this, unfortunately.

Date	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24
Blade	Dovo	Super Platinum		Germany	February 14, 2023
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	24	24	24	20	20
Std. Dev.	6	4	7	12	10
Median F (g)	56	66.5	74.5	71.5	72
Mean F (g) Top	57	69	77	85	81
Mean F (g) Btm	54	65	69	65	68
Mean F (g)	55	67	73	75	74
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	69	84	94	103	99
Av. Adj. F (g) Btm	66	79	84	79	82
Median adj. F (g)	68	81	91	87	88
Mean adj. F (g)	68	82	89	91	91

I put the sharper one on the big chart.

This blade is very expensive, and is not especially consistent, but I am not going to say not to try it. I think there might be something to the combination of excellent even grind and a more resilient steel. For shavers who like milder blades, and have big budgets to buy lots of expensive blades that don't stay sharp for very long, it might be worth trying.

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[helicopter]

I got the Chinese White Label Extra Stainless blade that is suspected to be the stock for the mysterious PolSilver Extra Stainless Blade. I comes in plain packaging, but they will customize it for you if you want. The one in their ad had identical printing to the PolSilver Extra Stainless, but mine doesn't have any printing. They will customize printing for you if you order a lot of them.

It looks exactly like the PolSilver Extra Stainless. The grind, the distal coating, even the belt chatter proximal to the primary bevel are the same. It is fairly similar to the Known PPI PolSilver Super Iridium in grind, but that one has an even coating and lacks the proximal belt chatter scratches.

After testing, it looks extremely similar to both PolSilvers. The diagonal wear marks resemble the PPI blade, and the worn bevel resembles the PolSIlver ES.

Now for the fun part.

The Chinese white label blade is sharper and more durable than any of the PolSilvers or Wizamets tested. Of course it is. Also, it most closely resembles the known PPI Polsilver SI in metal wear. Of course it does. We certainly aren't going to dismiss the rumors that the PolSilver ES is a counterfeit made from the White Label ES, but I don't think we proved the rumor either. Still, this isn't good news for people who have the PolSilver ES. I can say that the no matter what, the Polsilver ES is not an inferior copy. You can always go and buy the White Label ES if you want to pay a fair price a good blade of known origin.

I have a bunch of vintage PolSilver and Wizamet blades from Poland and Russia on the way, so maybe we can learn something else in another test.

Date	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24	8/5/24
Blade	White Label	Extra Stainless		China	~2024
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom	Top/Bottom
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	9	5	5	6	5
Median F (g)	52.5	49	46.5	52	51.5
Mean F (g) Top	61	53	51	53	54
Mean F (g) Btm	46	46	44	47	49
Mean F (g)	54	50	48	50	52
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	75	64	62	65	66
Av. Adj. F (g) Btm	56	57	54	58	60
Median adj. F (g)	64	60	57	63	63
Mean adj. F (g)	66	60	58	62	63

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[Flanders]

That blade looks like they actually tried to reverse engineer the Polsilver SI, the Polsiliver ES looks more like a totally different blade. I am both impressed and not ready to pick out seasoning for my hat! I still wouldn't rule out the ES being something other than CN manufacturing, but then the business case looks a lot worse. If they were stuffing these blades that you found into fake packaging, I don't think anybody would have thought to question the legitimacy. I have my pack of ES blades here and will be trying one soon.

 

[tehdragz]

where can you buy the white label blades?

 

[helicopter]

where can you buy the white label blades?

 

[helicopter]

Here is a new Dorco Titan. This is the big head one and it was produced in Vietnam in 2021. It has the new and current logo. It was generously provided by @WVShaver who took the pictures of the tuck.

It has a nicely printed wrapper.

There is a normal Julian date on the tuck. Some of them are more cryptic, but nothing that stops ChatGPT from cracking the code.

It has a 2-stage grind with a fine even bevel and polished honing right near the edge. The coating is thick and uneven. I can't tell from pictures or measurements if this is made to the same specification as any of the others. It is pretty similar to them, but not similar enough for me to draw a conclusion.

After the test, the coating is worn and we see some small chipping at the edge.

It is sharp and very durable and consistent. I see some of them for under $5/100 online, but I am not sure if those are the same thing because there are reports of fakes and some inconsistencies in the blades I have measured. If you can actually get one like this for $5/100, it is quite a bargain. You may need to do your homework and be lucky to do it, though.

It doesn't match any of the other Dorcos tested well enough to say it is the same spec as one of them, but it is close enough to the STP300 and ST300 I measured that it could be. The STP300 had more distal honing, but the ST300 was similar to this one and has a similar sharpness curve as it wears. This one was significantly sharper than ST300, but maybe it is just batch variation. None of the Dorcos measured seem very consistent, but we will have a better idea about the bigger picture when more of them have been tested.

Information Summary:

Date	8/3/24	8/3/24	8/3/24	8/3/24	8/3/24
Blade	Dorco Titan	New Edge	New Logo	Vietnam	November 14, 2021
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	24	24	24	24	24
Std. Dev.	8	7	4	6	5
Median F (g)	53	52.5	52	51	52.5
Mean F (g) Btm	58	56	55	53	52
Mean F (g) Top	45	51	51	49	53
Mean F (g)	52	53	53	51	53
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	71	68	67	65	64
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	55	62	62	59	64
Median adj. F (g)	65	64	63	62	64
Mean adj. F (g)	63	65	64	62	64

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[WVShaver]

The Titans came from Connaughts a few months ago but they seem to be sold out at the moment. I had about $5 in them for 100 so figured I’d give them a shot. They were already sold out of the Primes or I would have grabbed those as well.

On my face with 1 blade and 1 shave the Titan felt fairly sharp but I don’t remember it being as smooth as my favorite Russian blades. I’m glad to see it’s quite consistent across the shaves and I’m impressed.