Thanks for doing so! It’s really fascinating to see this data compared.
Though I’m mildly sad now that I realize my 2013 box of 100 personna blades isn’t going to last forever. I’m down to about 5. C’est la vie. Have to find a new goldilocks blade.
Blade Sharpness Research Project
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Thanks for doing so! It’s really fascinating to see this data compared.
Though I’m mildly sad now that I realize my 2013 box of 100 personna blades isn’t going to last forever. I’m down to about 5. C’est la vie. Have to find a new goldilocks blade.
Honestly, the Bic Chrome Platinums feel remarkably similar. I recently purchased some current production Personna CC's, and while definitely sharp, I wasn't thrilled with the smoothness. On a whim I tried some Bics and feel like they mimic the old Personna CC's very well.
Hmm, will give them a whirl. Looking at the graph results, the Energizer Personna have nearly flat results over time compared to almost all other tests, who often fall off toward heavy use. There are so many blades tested though, it’s possible I missed one that had like durability to the 2013 Personnas
I looked at the graph as well. Looking at the data, the Bics are significantly sharper than the old Energizer personnas, but to me they feel just as smooth. So far as durability goes, there are some threads with guys claiming to have gotten 20-30 shaves with the Bic. I don't know what their hair types are, but I have fairly coarse, southern European hair and change the blade out after about 5 or 6 shaves. At that point, the blade still feels like it can last longer, but being as cheap as they are, I don't usually stretch them out beyond 5 or 6 shaves.
Looking at the chart though, the Schick blade might fit your bill. Sharper than the old E Personna, but seems similarly consistent.
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Yeah, initially my lean was toward the Schick of the tested makes, but I think I’ll try them and the CP Bics and the new Accutek Personnas, because the Schick seem a bit costly in comparison but feather-level sharpness always gave me nicks and burn after one or two uses. I also never do more than 6 shaves with a blade, myself. Why bother eking out diminishing returns?
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I would try the Accutec and Bic first, just because of the price. The Schick is a great blade, too, but it is $30/100. They all perform well and feel really nice to me.
Appreciate the insights. And deeply appreciate the work you’ve put into this blade analysis.
I hear you on the feathers. I've had the same experience. They just don't play nice with my skin type. I recently started shaving with a Feather Artist Club straight, and my experience with their professional blade is similar. If I use Proraso Blue for sensitive skin I can get away with using them, though I feel their A/C blades are a bit milder than their DE blades.
If you ever decide to test Artist Club style blades, let me know. I have feather Professionals, feather Pro guards, Kai PINK milds, Kai captains. I've got some Schick Proline P-30's on the way as well.
Treet Dura Sharp blow Treet Platinum out of the water, imho.
All YMMV, of course.
@Eric_75
Are these the two you are talking about?
I was planning on trying one of them out in my Gillette pre-war Tech and wanted to choose the sharper of the two. Thanks for any opinions good or bad on both blades.
I haven't tried the Dura sharp yet but what I like so much about the Treet Platinum is that (unlike Feather, Personna Comfort Coated and German Wilkies etc.) they don't change drastically after the first shave.
They don't vary much from lot to lot either in my experience. I'm surprised the test results here was so mediocre. I don't ever recall observing a difference from one edge to the other. Oh well. I am glad this project is doing good work.
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0.1mm grid is here.
This is a Russian Astra SP (1).
The photography just keeps getting better
I'm still confused what I am seeing here, is this blade that buggered after only one shave!?
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The steel is good, but the coating is very uneven from wear, and it is a little dirty with skin and maybe some nanopolymer beads from a cream.
I just wanted to show the grid in the background, which can be used to scale the image and measure things like bevel height and the scratches in the grind.
Here is the idea:
I thought surely it was a German Wilkie at first due to all the tiny golden
specks of pixie dust.
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Finally, I have had some time to measure another blade. This is the Personna Platinum Chrome Super Stainless Blue-Red blade. It was produced in Israel for the UK market on May 15, 2019. It was generously provided for testing by @WVShaver, who took some photos of the package. It comes in a plastic tuck with ten blades, single wrapped plain waxed paper.
It has a date code, which I like to see.
It has mirrored printing so the individual halves are printed the same. For symmetrical blades like this, I have been putting a "T" for "Top" on the edge that is on top when I open the wrapper the normal way. I decided to mark it before taking the photo so I wouldn't get mixed up.
It has a 3-stage grind. The entire bevel is 0.37mm. The primary bevel has an uneven medium grind. The portion with a secondary grind, including the honing at the edge is 0.13mm. The secondary bevel had a fine uneven grind. The honed portion of the edge is 0.03mm and has a fine polish. The entire bevel has a fairly thick coating. The blade is 0.100mm thick. I got a micrometer.
The Israeli Personna Platinum Chrome Super Stainless blade produced on February 3, 2013 for American Safety Razor Company, which is Ever-Ready, has a thicker coating and a shorter secondary bevel than this blade; the primary grind looks similar to it.
After testing, the coating is gone, the bevels have smoothed, and the chipping at the edge is extremely fine. This steel is very tough, resilient, and durable.
Information Summary:
There are some changes to the format here. @BigAlVista has generously offered his help in re-formatting my existing data to be more useful for analysis, by putting everything into a single table. He has spent a lot of time on it, and it will enable much more sophisticated analysis of things like consistency of sharpness across the length of an edge, or between edges of various blades. He is an expert in data science, and I wouldn't have thought to do things how I am doing them now without his recommendations and help. I changed the formatting a bit so this summary report can be produced automatically. This is the first blade for which I have used the table to collect the raw data.
Here you can see it with all of the Personnas I have measured.
In overall sharpness it is most similar to the Red Israeli Ever-Ready Personna, but this blade is sharper and more durable. It also has a different grind and coating. I suspect the steel is similar, the improvement is sharpness comes from the thinner edge, and the improvement in durability is a combination of a better coating, this blade is 6 years newer, and the sharper starting point; just my best guesses; I am not confident in that hypothesis.
Blade Sharpness Test Index
It has a date code, which I like to see.
It has mirrored printing so the individual halves are printed the same. For symmetrical blades like this, I have been putting a "T" for "Top" on the edge that is on top when I open the wrapper the normal way. I decided to mark it before taking the photo so I wouldn't get mixed up.
It has a 3-stage grind. The entire bevel is 0.37mm. The primary bevel has an uneven medium grind. The portion with a secondary grind, including the honing at the edge is 0.13mm. The secondary bevel had a fine uneven grind. The honed portion of the edge is 0.03mm and has a fine polish. The entire bevel has a fairly thick coating. The blade is 0.100mm thick. I got a micrometer.
The Israeli Personna Platinum Chrome Super Stainless blade produced on February 3, 2013 for American Safety Razor Company, which is Ever-Ready, has a thicker coating and a shorter secondary bevel than this blade; the primary grind looks similar to it.
After testing, the coating is gone, the bevels have smoothed, and the chipping at the edge is extremely fine. This steel is very tough, resilient, and durable.
Information Summary:
There are some changes to the format here. @BigAlVista has generously offered his help in re-formatting my existing data to be more useful for analysis, by putting everything into a single table. He has spent a lot of time on it, and it will enable much more sophisticated analysis of things like consistency of sharpness across the length of an edge, or between edges of various blades. He is an expert in data science, and I wouldn't have thought to do things how I am doing them now without his recommendations and help. I changed the formatting a bit so this summary report can be produced automatically. This is the first blade for which I have used the table to collect the raw data.
| Date | 20-08-2024 |
| Blade | Personna Platinum Chrome UK Red-Blue - 12/1899 - (Israel) |
| Shaves | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | Avg 0-6 |
| Location | Bottom | Bottom | Bottom | Bottom | Bottom | |
| Medium | Stren 6 .22 | Stren 6 .22 | Stren 6 .22 | Stren 6 .22 | Stren 6 .22 | |
| Dulling Substrate | New | Paper | Paper | Paper | Paper | |
| Measurements | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | |
| Adj. Std. Dev. | 5 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 10 | |
| Median F (g) | 53.5 | 50 | 49 | 49.5 | 56 | |
| Mean F (g) Top | 51 | 47 | 47 | 53 | 62 | |
| Mean F (g) Btm | 56 | 57 | 55 | 56 | 54 | |
| Mean F (g) | 54 | 52 | 51 | 54 | 58 | |
| BESS Adj. Factor | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | |
| Av. Adj. F (g) Top | 63 | 57 | 57 | 65 | 75 | |
| Av. Adj. F (g) Btm | 69 | 69 | 67 | 68 | 66 | |
| Median adj. F (g) | 65 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 68 | |
| Mean adj. F (g) | 66 | 63 | 62 | 66 | 70 | 64 |
Here you can see it with all of the Personnas I have measured.
In overall sharpness it is most similar to the Red Israeli Ever-Ready Personna, but this blade is sharper and more durable. It also has a different grind and coating. I suspect the steel is similar, the improvement is sharpness comes from the thinner edge, and the improvement in durability is a combination of a better coating, this blade is 6 years newer, and the sharper starting point; just my best guesses; I am not confident in that hypothesis.
Blade Sharpness Test Index
Your existing work is already amazing, but this new format is exceptional. Cheers to you for your constant pursuit of improving your process as well as proving useful additional commentary. And the new photos of course.
Also, cheers to Mark for helping enable these changes!
Also, cheers to Mark for helping enable these changes!
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