Thread: can a straight razor ever

ever be as sharp as a De blade ?

i have just got some feather De blades , wow they are sharp ,,

In one word, yes.

Originally Posted by aardys

ever be as sharp as a De blade ?

i have just got some feather De blades , wow they are sharp ,,

In general the answer to your question is no. However; a lot depends on the quality of the str8 you are using. A honemeister, given a high quality razor can get very close and in some cases even match that of a standard DE blade. In performance, a straight might feel and seem to be sharper then a DE. I would attribute this to the strength and mass of the blade. Regardless, most proficient str8 shavers will achieve better and more comfortable shaves with their str8 then they do with a DE. I know I do.

You can slice of an ear with either. I think the observation could be "you can get just as close a shave with a good str8 or a good DE"

There are some members on the board that I bet can give you the microscopic comparisons. Maybe they will chime in.

Interesting

Originally Posted by aardys

ever be as sharp as a De blade ?

i have just got some feather De blades , wow they are sharp ,,

One difference though is the commercial blades are coated in teflon (or something similar with a proprietary name), and according to at least one manufacturer (Schick) this is done to reduce corrosion and to reduce the pulling and tugging sensations by lowering the friction between the blade and whisker as it's being cut. There was a metallurgy professor that used an electron microscope to take photos of commercial razor edges and straight razor edges and he was able to actually measure the sharpness of the edges and found they were the same, so I think that the reason DE and cartridge blades seem sharper is purely the coatings.

As for Feather DE blades, I've found that they rust easier than other brands, so it may be they just have less chromium in them which would allow them to be made harder (hence sharper) than their competition. Lots of guys have noticed that when feathers start getting dull they become useless very quickly, which is consistent with the low chromium theory since their corrosion resistance would be mostly from the plastic coating instead of the alloy itself.

If you take a Feather AC blade and strop it on denim to remove the coating you'll find that they shave about like a well-honed straight. They're actually quite nice like this, and had I discovered this trick before I switched to straights I would almost certainly have stuck with the feather.

thanks for that ,, i use half a DE in my straight razor ,, and i found the Feather blades to be the sharpest by far ,, so far ,
as for dulling well i only use them for one shave then change for a new blade , always guarantee a sharp shave then ,
but i will keep an eye on the open pack to see if they rust while in the cabinet ..

Originally Posted by aardys

...but i will keep an eye on the open pack to see if they rust while in the cabinet ..

I doubt they'll rust in the cabinet since they have plastic baked into the surface, then they're sealed in their little wax paper packages. But I found that if I put them in a DE and shaved with it and put it away that there would be visible rust on the blade in about a week. None of the other stainless steel blades would do that to me.

Originally Posted by Kenrup

....most proficient str8 shavers will achieve better and more comfortable shaves with their str8 then they do with a DE. I know I do.

Absolutely! Fewer ingrown hair issues as well.

Originally Posted by Dewey

Absolutely! Fewer ingrown hair issues as well.

+1 Shave with both but my straights are my preference for a smooth shave...

I noticed that the DE was just too sharp for my face. I gave it 4 tries and really concluded it wasnt for me. The M3 was way better for my skin. I realized that I always wanted to try the str8 razor. I found out from reading that people get closer and more comfortable shaves than a DE and it is the real way to shave. Im just waiting on my blade before i begin.

Originally Posted by Kenrup

In general the answer to your question is no. However; a lot depends on the quality of the str8 you are using. A honemeister, given a high quality razor can get very close and in some cases even match that of a standard DE blade. In performance, a straight might feel and seem to be sharper then a DE. I would attribute this to the strength and mass of the blade. Regardless, most proficient str8 shavers will achieve better and more comfortable shaves with their str8 then they do with a DE. I know I do.