Thread: Howdy gentlemen! A question about sharpness...

I purchased a Dovo shave ready from a highly reputable vendor and I'm curious about sharpness. Yes, I'm fairly new at this, so obviously technique and such would be the place to look if there were problems. I don't particularly have a problem though, I'm just curious how sharp a straight razor should be? Compared to a double edge blade perhaps? It seems that a double edged blade is several orders of magnitude sharper than the razor I bought shave ready. Both will shave just fine, but there truly is a big difference in sharpness.

Is that the norm? Are straights a tad less sharp than double edged blades? No real complaint though, I have a shavette-type that accepts 1/2 double edge blades and I have to be super careful or it will cut me to shreds. Whereas the Dovo is much, much more forgiving - yet requires an extra pass.

So the question: Are double edge blades sharper than professionally honed straight razors?

Thanks Gents!

A well honed straight and a DE blade are about the same sharpness but there is a difference in feel.

A DE blade is coated in teflon to reduce glide which is why they get that "oversharp" feeling which some people like and others really dont. Some people actually prefer DE blades after a couple of shaves once the teflon is wearing away and the blade calms down a bit.

A straight razor blade doesnt have the teflon coating, but it is made of much higher quality steel and the blade is stiffer because the steel is thicker. I personally find that a well honed straight gives a better shave than a DE and takes a smoother edge.

You are right though, technique plays a big part. If you look back in the Beginners forum you'll see umpteen threads where peolple have got a new straight razor and the thread usually goes "I got this new razor shave ready, but the shave is nowhere near as good as my DE/Mach 3/Quattro. Is the blade not shave ready?"

The answer is always the same: "No, the blade is shave ready, its just your technique isnt so good as you're new to shaving this way. With practice things will improve." And then a few months later these guys are replying to new guys saying that they remember going through exactly the same experience. Its just the nature of the learning curve.

You'll find with practice that your straight razor shaves improve and you start getting better shaves with the straight than you do with your DE or shavette.

Good luck and keep us posted!

The obvious possibility here is your technique but most likely your stropping. No offence but if the razor came shave ready there is always a chance your stropping has made it less so. You can also consider different grinds in straight razors will give a different 'feel' to to the shave experience but if an edge is optimal it doesn't get any sharper.
As Stubear said a properly honed edge is smoother so a less smooth DE may givesthe illusion of greater sharpness. Think serrated edge versus plain edge both can be equally sharp yet seem different.

This thread just popped up recently and I think it is one of the best written by a beginner for beginners...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...n-apology.html


As to sharpness and comparing sharpness,,, Razors need to get down into the .50 micron level to start cutting beards.. Some are capable of slightly sharper edges than others but you are talking somewhere in the .40 -.50 micron differences here..

As Stu and Oz already pointed out the real difference in the DE vs SR edges is the finish, to get that same feel to a SR edge you have to learn to strop correctly...

There are SR's that are capable of getting as sharp if not sharper then a DE but everything has to come together right...Also those few 100ths of micron you really can't feel anyway...

I agree that stropping could be a culprit, but I am not experiencing any shaving problems. I get fine shaves every time with minimal irritation and rarely a nick. I had compared the straight blade with a D.E. upon first purchase of the straight, before any stropping. I've compared it a few times since, to make sure that I'm not stropping incorrectly as well.

Even out of the box it didn't seem quite as sharp as the D.E. blade, it generally takes an extra swipe to get BBS compared to the D.E. in the shavette. Since I'm using the same technique, (correct or not) with both blades, I think that there is a difference in sharpness. But, I agree it could be an issue with "smoothness" and adjusting to the different strength of steel.

Perhaps it takes a different angle/pressure to use one versus the other. I hadn't considered this possibility. I wonder if there are others who have used both and noticed any differences?

Either way, I'm happy that I get a good shave with either type of blade! It just seemed odd to me that there seemed to be a sharpness difference. Maybe I need to throw them under the scope next time I have it professionally honed? Just a thought!

And I actually read that post just last night that you linked to sixgun. I agree that if I was comparing them post stropping I would have to contend with that as a factor as well. I am not in the least saying the blade isn't sharp or shave ready, it has plenty of both of those quantities! I definitely have no complaint on the sharpness, it is everything it needs to be and then some. I am more just curious as to how the sharpness between these two items should be. Thanks for the blade width numbers, the science behind this is great to know. Perhaps someday we can all get some of these (Synthetic Diamonds Offer Key to Razor Blades That Last Years, Not Weeks | Ecouterre) and forgo the stropping anyway!

Thanks to all, I'll keep looking for replies. This really is a great forum!

I can assure you that my straights are less sharp, in sensation, than a DE razor. The stropping can make them exponentially smoother though. This becomes particularly more apparent with every shave I complete with the same DE blade.

Beyond the technical issues, I, as a casual shaving layman, can confirm that the DE "feels" sharper. It also provides a lot of extra nicks/weepers to go with the sensation, especially from a heavy headed DE razor.

When I work hard at trying to ensure that the edge is in fact just as sharp, in sensation, as a DE, I end up with problems. The shave starts to become uncomfortable.

This likely has little to do with the technical issues explained above in previous posts though. Sharpness and the sensation of sharpness on the skin are vastly different issues.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Beyond the technical issues, I, as a casual shaving layman, can confirm that the DE "feels" sharper. It also provides a lot of extra nicks/weepers to go with the sensation, especially from a heavy headed DE razor.

I agree with this 100% IME. One of the reasons I like the edge finished on an Escher or coticule is for that smoothness that I never found with a DE or an SE blade. As my stropping, skin stretching and shaving technique improved so did my shaves.

The DE will feel sharper mainly because it's thinner. That filmy-thin blade will naturally seem sharper, though I actually don't know if it is.

The straight, with a pretty hefty blade, a slope down to the bevel, and the actual cutting edge a very narrow point, will always feel different.

Perhaps the real question is the relationship between the blade's bulk and its sharpness, I don't know.

But the important thing is whether it's sharp enough and smooth enough to shave.

Originally Posted by grande

I purchased a Dovo shave ready from a highly reputable vendor and I'm curious about sharpness. Yes, I'm fairly new at this, so obviously technique and such would be the place to look if there were problems. I don't particularly have a problem though, I'm just curious how sharp a straight razor should be? Compared to a double edge blade perhaps? It seems that a double edged blade is several orders of magnitude sharper than the razor I bought shave ready. Both will shave just fine, but there truly is a big difference in sharpness.

Is that the norm? Are straights a tad less sharp than double edged blades? No real complaint though, I have a shavette-type that accepts 1/2 double edge blades and I have to be super careful or it will cut me to shreds. Whereas the Dovo is much, much more forgiving - yet requires an extra pass.

So the question: Are double edge blades sharper than professionally honed straight razors?

Thanks Gents!

Originally Posted by grande

Perhaps someday we can all get some of these (Synthetic Diamonds Offer Key to Razor Blades That Last Years, Not Weeks | Ecouterre) and forgo the stropping anyway!

Thanks to all, I'll keep looking for replies. This really is a great forum!

There was anther thread about these diamond coated things & I'm still wondering what happens when you damage the blade ? Diamonds are hard but also brittle. They don''t wear but they will fracture. Another planned obsolescence technology IMHO.

Originally Posted by grande

Perhaps someday we can all get some of these (Synthetic Diamonds Offer Key to Razor Blades That Last Years, Not Weeks | Ecouterre) and forgo the stropping anyway!

Thanks to all, I'll keep looking for replies. This really is a great forum!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I just watched that video in that link and saw that they are slicing a hair long ways. I haven't gotten into honing yet, but I kind of remember reading that if your razor is cutting in this way, its not as sharp as you want it.

YouTube - Diamaze-PSD razor blade slicing a human hair.mpg