Thread: Seraphim Seramix (tm) razor in process...

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Look at posts #42&#43, by all accounts the ceramic edge is very near to that of the steel razor.

There is not enough magnification to see the edge of the edge though. Electron microscopes have shown that steel edges can be as sharp as 0.4 microns thick, what's the sharpness of ceramic edges?

According to several Chefs after testing Ceramic knives. They don't get as sharp as good carbon kitchen knives

Kiocera says ceramik is too dangerous for a razor blade
they probably used testers that never shave with a straight before
lots of cuts and nicks then they report dangerous and too sharp

Originally Posted by Seraphim

I must state for the record that fate has thrown in my lot with the could-have-beens, the Haffenbottoms and Mingsleys of this cruel world.

The bright shining possibilties of the ceramic razor are still left unfulfilled.

You bring great shame to SRP.
Harakiri is the only way out.
Please use steel blade.



What a disappointment after all that work. Still, I bet you learned a thing or two along the way.
Thanks for sharing the journey with us.

Perhaps now we may finally understand what the good Mr. Carroll prophesied when he wrote, "The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!"

As it turns out I too may have some blades that have appear to be vorpals. And snicker-snack is a fine euphemism for macro/micro chipping or the bedeviled bevel syndrome.

Originally Posted by badboris

Kiocera says ceramik is too dangerous for a razor blade
they probably used testers that never shave with a straight before
lots of cuts and nicks then they report dangerous and too sharp

I have no idea why you assume incompetence on the part of the Kiocera testers? Are there specific reports on the experiment that point that way? If it really is too sharp like they say, I could imagine it slicing into the skin at a 30° angle, or even a lower angle for that matter?
In the mean time, our friend Seraphim seems to have the opposite problem.

Originally Posted by Cornelius

I have no idea why you assume incompetence on the part of the Kiocera testers? Are there specific reports on the experiment that point that way? If it really is too sharp like they say, I could imagine it slicing into the skin at a 30° angle, or even a lower angle for that matter?
In the mean time, our friend Seraphim seems to have the opposite problem.

That is precisely why I too assume incompetance on the part of the Kyocera testers. I doubt very much that those guys shaved with a straight prior to picking up whatever it was they tried to test-shave with (was it something like mine, perhaps?). How many folks with their first straight shave cut themselves? Most all.

From my experience there is nothing uber-sharp about the ceramic. It is capable of getting as sharp, or sharper than a steel edge. I have finished my edge off to 0.1um grit diamond hone. I don't think the Kyocera guys may have even gone that far. But who knows? Perhaps they did.

The night previous to my test shave above, I used the ceramic razor to shave the back of my neck (hey..I had to test it on something...) It seemed to cut rather clean and easy, so I was quite looking forward to the actual shave itself. However, I'm still not sure what the dynamic is that is preventing proper whisker removal It certainly seems sharp according to any tests and observations I have made.

I will say that the ceramic does feel nice and smooth gliding across the skin, which is what I was most interested in finding out about improving upon the steel razors. DE blades have PFTE coatings that aid in glide, and I was hoping that ceramic may have proved similarly slick against the skin.

The issue may be that they are also too slick against a well lathered whisker? Perhaps I should back off from the 0.1um edge, perhaps toa 1um edge, to give a slight degree of serration to grab and saw at the whiskers?

I suppose that's the next step to try.

Originally Posted by Bruce

Perhaps now we may finally understand what the good Mr. Carroll prophesied when he wrote, "The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!"

As it turns out I too may have some blades that have appear to be vorpals. And snicker-snack is a fine euphemism for macro/micro chipping or the bedeviled bevel syndrome.

I had some stronger language for my razor than "snicker-snack" after that first pass, let me tell you!

I will also say that after the first pass failed, I did think that perhaps the ceramic blade required a different angle, so I went back and tried a steeper one, to no avail...

Originally Posted by Seraphim

I will say that the ceramic does feel nice and smooth gliding across the skin, which is what I was most interested in finding out about improving upon the steel razors. DE blades have PFTE coatings that aid in glide, and I was hoping that ceramic may have proved similarly slick against the skin.

Don't you expect orders of magnitude less maintenance as well?

Originally Posted by Quick

Don't you expect orders of magnitude less maintenance as well?

Perhaps, but to tell the truth, just picking up a straight and shaving with it felt alot less satisfying then stropping with it first. Low-maintenance may not be all that its' cracked up to be!