Originally Posted by
mparker762
I believe you are mistaken or at least confused on this point. For a given grit, chrome oxide and diamond produce similarly sharp edges, but the chrome oxide will be more comfortable to shave with. However, diamond is available in much finer grits that will get you to a sharper edge.
Regarding empirical evidence: If a member notices that chrome oxide shaves smoother and more comfortably than equivalent grit diamond, that *is* empirical evidence that chrome oxide edges shave smoother than equivalent diamond edges. These photos, while interesting, are *not* empirical evidence of any statement about shaving quality; they are empirical evidence of bevel smoothness, scratch density, etc. It may not be obvious to the newer guys, but these pictures don't actually tell you much about how sharp the edges actually are or how well they shave, they just tell you how smooth the bevel is, and something about how smooth the fin is. But they don't actually tell you how thick the cutting edge really is, or how it feels on your face. So it's easy to invest more meaning into these photos than is actually there. There is a common mistake among newbies, we get a lot of posts along the lines of "what does a sharp edge look like under a microscope" and there's no answer for this, because while sharp edges tend to look a certain way, dull edges can also look that way.