What Gives? A Total Lack of Information From Blade Manufacturers!

[GlennConti]

Oh, I can't seem to do things like charts without requiring a revision after more thought. After more consideration, the Gillette Super Stainless blade has less Longevity/Anti-corrosive(ness) than the Gillette Stainless blade. The heat when applying the PTFE coating weakens the stainless steel. Therefore, I was in error when I gave them both the same ranking of "3". The un-coated Gillette Stainless will have a greater longevity than the Super Stainless, so I have changed the ranking for the Gillette Super Stainless to a "2" while keeping the Gillette Stainless at a "3". I like how it the chart looks now. Here it is:

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Thanks, @GlennConti (Glenn), for your extra information and thoughts. Great work! They sure did a lot of research at Gillette, and I don't think that our data here is at odds with what Shnitzler found. You just have to look at it from a different perspective. The user ratings here are for different blades with different widths, thicknesses, edge honing angles, edge honing uniformity, edge coatings, etc., from users that are experienced with DE shaving and probably have good shave preparation. Shnitzler found how shave prep and blade coatings were significant, and with our users that are presumed to have good prep, they can better tell the differences between blades outside of shave prep. Those differences are still there, even if they aren't as significant as shave prep and blade coating. Technique is huge, too, and varies from person to person. User ratings are valid, and their averages are even more significant when the sample size is large. They reflect what users experience with those blades that have so many different characteristics. Even with the few blades that have been surveyed so far, it looks to me that sharpness and smoothness generally go together, but it may be premature to draw that conclusion. It may be that user ratings will eventually show that platinum-chromium alloys and PTFE coatings are best. In any event, we'll have user ratings that speak for themselves and will hopefully clear up confusion on the whole sharpness-smoothness issue.

 

[GlennConti]

Thanks, @GlennConti (Glenn), for your extra information and thoughts. Great work! They sure did a lot of research at Gillette, and I don't think that our data here is at odds with what Shnitzler found. You just have to look at it from a different perspective. The user ratings here are for different blades with different widths, thicknesses, edge honing angles, edge honing uniformity, edge coatings, etc., from users that are experienced with DE shaving and probably have good shave preparation. Shnitzler found how shave prep and blade coatings were significant, and with our users that are presumed to have good prep, they can better tell the differences between blades outside of shave prep. Those differences are still there, even if they aren't as significant as shave prep and blade coating. Technique is huge, too, and varies from person to person. User ratings are valid, and their averages are even more significant when the sample size is large. They reflect what users experience with those blades that have so many different characteristics. Even with the few blades that have been surveyed so far, it looks to me that sharpness and smoothness generally go together, but it may be premature to draw that conclusion. It may be that user ratings will eventually show that platinum-chromium alloys and PTFE coatings are best. In any event, we'll have user ratings that speak for themselves and will hopefully clear up confusion on the whole sharpness-smoothness issue.

Thank you for your considered reply. What did you think of Gillette's idea that one blade fits all and to customize the shave to an individual it is best to have an adjustable razor?

 

[Rwoodreno]

Gillette had everything under their control when they made DE razors and blades, and had 70% or so of the shaving market. Now for the DE market we have a very wide variety of razors and blades with razor aggressiveness and blade dimensions and materials varying considerably. Why I wonder about any DE blade testing as there are too many variables it looks like to me. Change one variable and change the results. At least in testing injector and SE Gem type blade razors we have much more limited blade choices and most come from the same maker, ASR for shaving grade Gem type blades and Chinese Schick or Ted Pella for injector blades. Only one maker of Valet compatible blades and two for the wide blades for safety razors that take shavette 50mm blades.

I found the article on the development of the Gillette Guard razor for the Indian market very interesting as their first attempt to develop a new razor for India bombed as it did not tale into account shaving conditions for many Indian shavers, using Indian students living in the USA with access to running hot water. What is needed can vary depending on use conditions as evidenced by this.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

Thank you for your considered reply. What did you think of Gillette's idea that one blade fits all and to customize the shave to an individual it is best to have an adjustable razor?

It might go too far to presume that one blade could be found or created to fit all. Also, adjustable razors aren't adjustable in every way, but only with one degree of freedom that varies the guard span and blade exposure at the same time. The combination of razor and blade is what matters, and even for an adjustable razor, a user might find that one blade with a certain blade width and sharpness works best at one setting while another blade with a different width and sharpness works best for another setting. So, I guess that you could say that I'm skeptical of presuming that one blade fits all and that an adjustable razor can be found to compensate for lack of blade choices for all users. I haven't bought the Rockwell 6S or the OneBlade, but I'm impressed by both. The Rockwell 6S has very good reviews with its different base plates, and the OneBlade team went through an optimization process with respect to the Feather SE blade of choice. The OneBlade team claims to have found the optimum combination of guard span, blade exposure, and blade angle, and maybe they have. Maybe that optimum is the best on average, but it doesn't mean that it's the best for YOU or ME. Even that $400 razor might not be the best for every guy. The same goes with the much more versitile and less expensive Rockwell 6S, which I'd be more open to purchasing for myself.