Synthesizing blade info

[unmodern]

This is just a short theoretical experiment. Feel free to ignore.

I approached the process of finding the right blade for me the same way I approach anything, namely, reading widely and synthesizing. What I have found is that, contrary to the law of "YMMV," there are categorical, objective attributes of blades, and if one is attuned to one's facial characteristics it is possible to predict with some accuracy which blades will feel the best and yield the closest shave. There are two active characteristics of blades recognized on the fora: sharpness and smoothness. I hold these axioms to be true for most faces:

(1) Beards can be coarse or thin. Coarser beards require sharper blades whose coatings last longer.

(2) Skin can be sensitive or non-sensitive. More sensitive skin requires smoother blades.

(3) With reference to Rule 2, sharpness trumps smoothness. In other words, those with sensitive skin and coarser beards must choose smoothness over sharpness if necessary in order to avoid irritation.

If these three axioms were well understood, we would avoid a lot of the arguing we are doing---because our faces, while all unique, do tend to fall into these categories. Unsurprisingly, the two biggest complaints against blades are that they are either not sharp enough (spoken by one with a coarser beard) or that they cause irritation (spoken by one with a more sensitive face---or maybe the blade is just harsh!). In all of this, the biggest variable is smoothness, as it is more subjective, and what does not irritate one person may in fact irritate another. Leaving aside the question of allergies to coatings, however, according to my rudimentary system the optimal blade would be the one that is as sharp as possible without causing irritation. In other words, it is the sensitivity of the skin and not the thickness of the beard that sets the bounds for blade choice.

I know that in broad strokes I am not saying anything new, but I think it's useful to establish some common ground so that reviews of blades can be more than subjective impressions without adequate data to make them generalizable.

Another result of this line of thought is that what is most necessary in a review is a careful description of the level of smoothness. We all know which blades are sharper than which, but people disagree wildly over what constitutes a 'smooth shave.' If we become more precise about this factor we can help beginners to the right blade (or at least a good blade) more quickly.

 

[gurana]

Interesting, but as you said, these things are subjective, and thus probalby immune to any set of axioms (save, "YMMV").

for the first part, there's no standard for 'coarse v. thin', and even if there were, it would be kind of a sliding scale. Furthermore, people with categorically the same hair classification might independently classify their hair as both coarse and thin... then there's those that insist they have thin, but super tough hair...

for the second part, again, sensitivity is mostly subjective to a person's tolerance for pain. There's probably some measurable aspect to this (e.g., how close to the surface nerve endings are, or the majority of the capilaries...)

for the last part, I don't think anybody should necessarily chose between the two (smooth v. sharp.) Also, giving up sharpness for a little smoothness, might lead to more irritation for some... and if not, probably a less close shave.

 

[jgjoneslaw]

My only problem is how do you measure if you have a coarser beard than average or more sensitive skin than average. It would seem to me there isn't an objective measure of this and so the only way I can tell if I have a coarse beard is to use a sharp blade and see how it works or if I have sensitive skin to use a regarded smooth blade and see how that works. But this just takes us back to YMMV as I have no idea how to measure a person who tells me that a blade is good to be able to tell if they have a similar coarseness to their beard or sensitiveness of skin.

 

[unmodern]

I don't think it's necessary to develop an objective measure of coarseness of hair. I'm just suggesting that a very basic awareness and statement of one's own attributes would allow us to relate reviews to ourselves to a degree of precision that is now lacking. Although the finer points are of course to be left to trial and error, it does seem to me that a high percentage of the arguments about blades are missing the point entirely. Sensitivity and coarseness can be figured out reflexively by shave qualities with different blades. If, for instance, you become irritated by all but the smoothest blades, well, you have sensitive skin! So mention it when you review a blade. If Derbys or some other middle-of-the-road blade aren't sharp enough for you, then you have a coarse beard! &c. At the very least we ought to be conscientious about appending to any review our favorite blades; in this way I think we can start to build face profiles (even if we don't fully understand the root causes).