So we all say things like "this razor is a smooth shaver" or "this razor shave sooo smooth" or "this hone produces a smooth edge", etc, etc, etc.

What does "smooth" mean to you? How is it different than sharp?

Does smooth mean that the razor glides around your face like a squeegee and the whiskers are completely effortlessly removed as if they weren't even there in the first place? Or is this sharpness?

Does it mean that maybe the razor doesn't glide as effortlessly as possible, but that the razor doesn't cause any irritation at all, even if you let your technique slip a bit?

Does it mean something else entirely?

Personally, I define the first statement as sharpness - that the razor just completely effortlessly removes hair, and I define the second as smoothness - that it is difficult to cause irritation.

I get the feeling, though, that everyone's definitions of the two vary. It's really difficult to interpret what people are really saying if they don't tell you how they define sharp and how they define smooth. The ideal thing here would be to make a "standard" for the two words, but that's probably not possible, so really I'd just like to hear how everyone else defines and uses the the two words.

Please note that I'm NOT saying that a razor cannot be both sharp and smooth. I've found that by my definitions, a razor can be either sharp but not smooth, smooth but not sharp, and of course, the best kind, both smooth and sharp.