For the sages - just how durable are these coatings they put on the blades ("Teflon," "Super Iridium," "Unobtainium")? Wash off with soap? Barbisol soluble? Gone with the first pass? Just curious....
Blade Coating
- Thread starter Scaramouche
- Start date
The top layer should always be something like PTFE. It will wear down over several shaves, but I do not think much of anything else will affect it. One Gillette patent talked about stripping off excess with a strong acid, but said that a thin film still did the job.
Any coatings under the PTFE are mostly for hardness, and usually made of neutral, stable materials like platinum.
I think "super iridium" and similar terms are meant as branding, not descriptions of a coatings.
Any coatings under the PTFE are mostly for hardness, and usually made of neutral, stable materials like platinum.
I think "super iridium" and similar terms are meant as branding, not descriptions of a coatings.
My thoughts were that sideways friction (physical force) could also disrupt the coating. In trying to see if anything was written about that, I came across this new Gillette patent application that I found very readable, in discussing coatings. Also, notice that Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) and Amorphous Carbon are mentioned as under the PTFE coatings. I believe I read that the Mach 3 blade was the first to use DLC as a coating.
http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20140090257
Good find. Thanks for posting the link.
- Thread starter
- #5
Interesting link - thanks!
Which they no doubt removed once the Fusion went on the market
That sounds very plausible indeed.
Which they no doubt removed once the Fusion went on the market
I still see Mach 3 packages advertising the DLC coating on the blades, so unless you can literally lie on the packaging now, it seems it's still on there.
My understanding is Gillette first developed the DLC coating as early as 1992, using it for the Fusion ca. 2006 and then the Mach3 ca. 2012: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/369877-Mach-3-blades and http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/309085-New-Mach-3-commercial
Incidentally the Gillette patents on DLC coating should now have expired, one in 2011 and the other in 2012. At this point any blade maker could develop similar products.
Incidentally the Gillette patents on DLC coating should now have expired, one in 2011 and the other in 2012. At this point any blade maker could develop similar products.
Haven't we a member who analyzed a few blades with an Electron Microscope? If I remember well, there was absolutely no Iridium in the composition of the Super Iridiums.
Edit:
Here we are, found it.
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