Thread: Razor sharpness compared to other types of blades

Scalpel is a very broad term. Most of us have seen a basic Steri-Sharp™ plastic handled scalpel with a permanently 'loaded' #15 or #10 blade. While a useful clinic tool, this is the Bic razor of scalpel world and shouldn’t be confused with the array of tools being used in the operating room.

Modern manual surgical cutting tools are made up of reusable handles and disposable blades each fashioned for a particular task. It would not be far off to compare them with DE razors. In fact Feather of Japan makes many surgical blades.

Before lasers, the blades used for eye surgery were very sharp, very thin, and yes, very fragile.

So, some surgical blades are going to be sharper than your straight razor (or katana) but keep in mind they might be swapped or changed after only a few cuts.