Fact or Fiction: Blades “Get Sharper” After their First Use?

[Goblin]

Welcome to another thread in which I nerdishly over-analyse something that is ultimately trivial!

"Blades get sharper after the first use." This is something I see said frequently, sometimes in reference to certain brands, but many folks seem to consider it a universal maxim.

I have to say, it doesn’t reflect my own experience, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me either. We know that whiskers do an absolute number on the fine edges of a razor blade in terms of micro-chips and deformations, and I can’t believe that the effect of whiskers on an edge is ever anything other than destructive.

That said, I do agree that fresh blades often go through a noticeable change, smoothing out during the first shave. I assume this is down to “polishing” the coating on the blade and perhaps knocking off any burrs they might have formed, as SEM images show that sometimes the accretion of PTFE around the edge can be quite craggy and messy. However, by the time I clean my sideburns, cheeks and moustache area on my first pass, that smoothing process seems to be mostly complete, and from there onwards it’s pretty much downhill in terms of blade performance. At least, I would say this is the case with Feathers and Personna Plats, which are probably the blades I am most familiar with.

“Ah-ha!” you will say. “The data at refinedshave PROVES that blades DO get sharper after the first use!”

Well, I agree that seems to be the case...based on the data collected by that guy, shaving his face, with his razor, his technique, his prep routine, etc, etc. I theorise that perhaps the lack of lumpy PTFE (that has been knocked off or smoothed out during the first shave) is sufficient to reduce the cutting force by changing the profile behind the edge. This would certainly be interpreted by the equipment as the edge being sharper, whilst a human being (i.e. me) might interpret this as an increase in smoothness, rather than pure sharpness. It’s not a very good theory, but it’s all I got!

What do you guys think? Have you experienced blades becoming noticeably sharper after the first shave?

 

[Alex Jr]

Try a Bic and you’ll notice it clearly. At least I do.

Quick edit: *feel* sharper. What happens to the edge I have no clue.

 

[luvmysuper]

Any cutting device, when used to cut, cannot possibly get sharper.
If a razor blade has a "coating" and that coating wears off exposing the sharp edge, then the edge may be sharper in terms of what is going against the cut object now has the blade against it rather than the coating.
That doesn't make the blade sharper.
It merely allows the blade to come into direct contact with what is being cut.
If I use my sheathed knife to try to cut cord, and I eventually wear through the sheath so the knife edge is exposed - it doesn't mean the knife got sharper.

 

[JAHE]

Any cutting device, when used to cut, cannot possibly get sharper.
If a razor blade has a "coating" and that coating wears off exposing the sharp edge, then the edge may be sharper in terms of what is going against the cut object now has the blade against it rather than the coating.
That doesn't make the blade sharper.
It merely allows the blade to come into direct contact with what is being cut.
If I use my sheathed knife to try to cut cord, and I eventually wear through the sheath so the knife edge is exposed - it doesn't mean the knife got sharper.

That's it.

 

[Goblin]

Any cutting device, when used to cut, cannot possibly get sharper.

Thank you. My thoughts exactly. You have encapsulated my argument in 11 words...rather than the several hundred I used!

 

[rudygu]

…by the time I clean my sideburns, cheeks and moustache area on my first pass, that smoothing process seems to be mostly complete, and from there onwards it’s pretty much downhill in terms of blade performance.

This is my experience as well. I used to go 3 uses with all my blades until I realized very few of them held up through 2 full shaves for me. I want the same performance from the first stroke to the last. Too many blades work well from the beginning to suffer through inferior performance so that I can really enjoy it 3 shaves later. Life’s too short, as we like to say in the One and Done thread. YMMV and all that.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Thank you. My thoughts exactly. You have encapsulated my argument in 11 words...rather than the several hundred I used!

Brevity is the soul of wit.

 

[nemo]

I've read here 'gets smoother' but not sharper.

Me, I just use 'em and toss when they go bad, not analyzing the first shave or two.
Which for me and the blades I use is good.

 

[mcee_sharp]

A scientist, but not THIS kind of scientist, just thinking out loud:

It almost becomes a philosophical question, but I think for effective/apparent sharpness we have to take the coating into account until it has all been sacrificed through usage.

The underlying steel structure has no choice but to get duller once the coating is removed, but prior to that the edge is getting keener as its cutting edge is exposed more in the absence of sacrificial coating.

Until the coating is removed I think the coating is an inherent, but not structural, part of the "blade". Then it's all downhill from there.

 

[T Bone]

I guess it depends on if you count the coating as part of the blade, and if you define "sharper" as "requiring less force to cut". I would answer Yes to both of those, therefore some blades can get sharper after the first use.

 

[captp]

Smoother, not sharper. I think of that 1st shave as kind of a stropping, getting rid of any wire edge or general gunk left after manufacturing.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I have limited experience with DE blades, so please take that into account. I’ve never made it through an entire 3rd shave with any of my DE blades. Every time I’ve tried, I get annoyed with their performance and switch blades to a fresh one.

That lead me to two and done. I stayed with that routine until the One and Done thread was started. They graciously accepted me as a Two and Done (r), but after a while, I noticed, (as always, for me), the second shave wasn’t as nice as the first one. I’m one and done now. As I’ve mentioned previously, I might be missing out on some great second shaves, but my limited experience suggests otherwise.

 

[Alex Jr]

I theorise that perhaps the lack of lumpy PTFE (that has been knocked off or smoothed out during the first shave) is sufficient to reduce the cutting force by changing the profile behind the edge.

Isn’t that what sharper means?(cutting force reduced). That’s how sharpness is measured.

I agree with you and @luvmysuper though. A blade isn’t honing itself against the whiskers. That part is done when it leaves the factory.

But like @T Bone said above, the coating is part of the blade and if by reducing it the edge requires less force to cut an object then in theory it gets sharper.

It seems like a philosophical discussion doesn’t it?

Great thread!

 

[railer489]

Any cutting device, when used to cut, cannot possibly get sharper.
If a razor blade has a "coating" and that coating wears off exposing the sharp edge, then the edge may be sharper in terms of what is going against the cut object now has the blade against it rather than the coating.
That doesn't make the blade sharper.
It merely allows the blade to come into direct contact with what is being cut.
If I use my sheathed knife to try to cut cord, and I eventually wear through the sheath so the knife edge is exposed - it doesn't mean the knife got sharper.

So when a knife is rubbed on a sharpening stone it gets duller? Is that along the lines of your logic? Haha!

 

[luvmysuper]

After experimentation, I've found that blades get sharper after being removed from the wax paper wrapper.

The few examples of blades that feel better on the second shave can feel better on the first shave by running them through a cork.

If you're using your face as a cork, that's entirely up to you.

 

[luvmysuper]

So when a knife is rubbed on a sharpening stone it gets duller? Is that along the lines of your logic? Haha!

Perhaps there are some folks out there whose skin is gritty and hard enough to abrade steel like a sharpening stone does.
Mine doesn't. Does yours?
You could start up a business honing peoples razors and shave for free!
I get a cut of the profit for the idea.
I wager though that honing is different from cutting.
If you try to cut your hone with a razor, it will get dull.
See "bread knifing".

 

[ButterfaceX]

Yes, luvmysuper nailed it!

Sharp / Sharper...
Makes me think of my dad went I was young.
He would say...
Son, you are sharp as a marble...

You got to love a little dad humor!


BFX

 

[thombrogan]

They get duller. Can still be sharp enough to cut whiskers after use one, but they’re duller all the same.

 

[Goblin]

Isn’t that what sharper means? (cutting force reduced). That’s how sharpness is measured.

I guess what I was trying to articulate (badly) was that maybe the process of “tidying up” the PTFE behind the edge equates to more sharpness as measured by a machine that can only measure sharpness; but my epidermis, which measures a lot of different things with somewhat less precision, simply interprets this as the blade smoothing out.

Meanwhile, even before that “smoothing out” is complete the edge is probably starting to take damage and deteriorate.

I guess what we need is a series of SEM images showing a blade after 1 pass, 2 passes, 3 passes, etc. It would be fascinating to see what is really happening.

 

[Hawkweber]

So, if the first shave (or corking for those that do it) is essentially wearing down the coating on the blades (PTFE, maybe the platinum or other exotic metal, etc.), and the blade then is "sharper" and/or "smoother" as its keen edge is now exposed, then really what is the point of putting on the coating in the first place? Marketing? Assuming the blade isn't carbon steel but stainless, the chances of it rusting (in most cases) isn't great. Or am I totally missing something here?