Thread: smoothness, sharpness, keenness, crispness??????

I see these terms a lot lately and I have to admit I really don't know what they mean. If a blade is sharp (bevel set, edge refined to high grit) then how could it not be smooth and comfortable to shave with? If the blade is super sharp, then wouldn't it just slice through the hairs effortlessly without pulling, and thus be comfortable? How can a well honed blade be "crisp"? What does crisp even mean?

Michael

I have no freaking clue anymore... I heard it put best by IIRC Jimbo one time and laughed till I cried,, "There is only a correctly Honed edge, there is no such thing as too sharp, there is only using to much pressure" or something rather close to that...

Anytime someone says too sharp, keen ,or crisp I look at my Kamisori razors and laugh, because they are on a whole different level of sharp

There is no end to the adjectives folks use to describe edges.

As far as I'm concerned if the blade gives you a shave you are happy with it's shave ready to you and that's all that's important. If your idea of shave ready is kind of skewed, well,that's where those adjectives come in.

We could quantify though...

I think we'd all agree that a Coti edge is very smooth.

Maybe some of us would agree that a Naniwas 12k is somewhat crisp.

Dunno....just sayin'

I think TBS put it best is his post above. To me there are only two levels a razor can have, shave ready or needs work. In honig a razor there are two major components that are needed, the first is the correct technique for the tools being used (hone and the razor being honed) and the second is patients. I have found that any razor made with a quality steel and properly heat treated can give a smooth shave and be as sharp as they get. The patients is in finding the best match in your tools, finding the proper technique to coax the steel into being all it can be and honing the razor until it meets my expectations which is sometimes called tweaking or tuning the edge. To me, all the adjectives used just describe a less than optimum edge. In the end you, the end user determines if the razor meets your needs and at what level it is acceptable. I would rather put my time into obtaining 'My shave ready' edge than in finding ways to describe the differences between them.

I know what you mean, but trying to convey how a edge feels is difficult and that edge would feel different to everyone so the description of the edge can only go so far... I don't know about you but my edges are Savage sharp! With an Animal-like roughness anything I could do to smooth it out?

Originally Posted by 111Nathaniel

I know what you mean, but trying to convey how a edge feels is difficult and that edge would feel different to everyone so the description of the edge can only go so far... I don't know about you but my edges are Savage sharp! With an Animal-like roughness anything I could do to smooth it out?

What are you honing on? Usually such an edge comes from a diamond hone if you are honing past 8K. Stropping will help but paste will usually tame most edges.



Take Care,
Richard