What is the sharpest edge you have experienced?

[kohalajohn]

So.

What is the sharpest edge you have experienced?

Today I put a fresh blade in my Feather Artist Club, a Professional blade. Ahem. Quite sharp.

My Dovo Bismark honed on balsa with .1u diamond dust was pretty sharp. But this was more.

 

[Legion]

Feather DE blades are about the sharpest blades I have encountered, to the point I found them irritating in most razors. If the artist club blades are like those then you would want a light touch and a steady hand.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I would suppose the 0.1 micron pasted edges I've tested recently... though there are a number of other edges that shave me as closely; so I would assume a good number of edges bounce around on the limits of sharpness for the particular steels and angles involved. With a number of finishes on certain razors you can hit a point where they barely last through the shave or in some cases don't last through the shave on particularly sharp razors (generally <15*)... that's as sharp as you can get because anything sharper dulls before that sharpness can be brought to bear.

 

[McBlade]

A shavette which takes 1/2 DE blades with just about any blade.

I like a mild edge on a straight. Much easier to shave with so long as you're happy not doing an ATG pass.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I use Feather Professional blades in my Artist Club DX and they are the sharpest blades I have used; way sharper than any DE or straight I have used, it is not even close.

 

[kohalajohn]

Yup, I think Eclipse is right.

 

[rbscebu]

I have not had the opportunity to try a Feather DE blade in my shavette, however I have (and still do) use Gillette London Bridge blades. @Mark1977 rates the sharpness of London Bridge blades as just a tad under Feather and better than Kai blades.

As for my SR edges, they are all honed up to 0.1um diamond pasted balsa strops. After being put through the full diamond pasted balsa strop progression the first time, each edge is eminently shave-able. I then run them through the full diamond pasted balsa strop progression after each shave for the next 3 to 5 shaves. This tends to bring them up to their maximum sharpness. After that, they are just maintained on 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop after each shave.

With all the above, what I have found is that my normal high carbon steel SR blades develop a sharpness that is close but not as good as the London Bridge blades - probably on par with Mark's Kai. My normal stainless SR blades develop a sharpness about equal to the London Bridge blades. My specialist stainless steel SR blades develop a sharpness that is noticeably better than the London Bridge blades. I don't know if they match or better Feather DE blades.

So, until recently, the sharpest SR edge that I have ever experienced is a specialist stainless steel blade that has been through a full diamond pasted balsa strop progression about 5 time over 5 shaves. This was recently bettered by the same SR being finished off on a chamois strop after its normal clean leather stropping. More on that later when I have more definitive results.

 

[Tomo]

The sharpest edge I’ve gotten so far is with diamond pasted balsa. Extremely sharp but too willing to cut you.

The black ark isn’t far behind in terms of sharpness but is mich more skin friendly.

 

[JohnEzra]

Another one here for the Feather Professional, they’re absolutely wicked sharp.

sharpest edge I’ve felt from a straight razor was probably off of lapping film, crazy sharp but a bit on the harsh side.

 

[Slash McCoy]

The sharpest edge I’ve gotten so far is with diamond pasted balsa. Extremely sharp but too willing to cut you.

The black ark isn’t far behind in terms of sharpness but is mich more skin friendly.

Most shavers find that lowering their shave angle and stretching the skin more strongly will eliminate most cuts. Something to remember if you ever try the balsa again.

 

[KW Driver]

.1 on balsa is the sharpest. I've had plenty of good sharp, often smooth JNats. I love a good coti edge too. don't like escher/thuri/ark edges, because they're too toothy, and unrefined feeling to me.

I've always used feather pros in an AC. that's all about technique due to blade bevel angle, blade thickness, and AC/DX/SS rigidity (much like a big wedged straight). I have fallen way away from using them, and when I do I'll tend to get a weeper or two until I tighten up my technique. first and often the second shave on a Pro can feel too keen. 2-25 or so are perfection with good technique.

 

[KW Driver]

Another one here for the Feather Professional, they’re absolutely wicked sharp.

sharpest edge I’ve felt from a straight razor was probably off of lapping film, crazy sharp but a bit on the harsh side.

depends on how you finish. I started with film and learned to stop at 1 micron, then film on top of wet printer paper for some cushion and convexing of the edge. or take it to .1 on balsa. below 1, but not going to .1 were always harsh to me too. that .1 on balsa is just magic for smoothing out the edge. and I never much liked CrOx/FeOx on balsa once I figured out what I was doing. Diamond/CNB were always better than CrOx/FeOx.

 

[pdieten]

My first attempt with an open blade was a Weck Sextoblade handle with some Japanese blades for it. Want to say that the name on them was Annie.

They were impossible to handle. Cut myself three times in eight strokes the first time I tried. Even after I had a few shaves with a real straight razor (which went far better) I still could not manage the Weck with those blades. Threw the blades away and gave away the handle.

I have seldom cut myself with a real straight unless I was being particularly careless.

 

[Tomo]

Most shavers find that lowering their shave angle and stretching the skin more strongly will eliminate most cuts. Something to remember if you ever try the balsa again.

Balsa has the potential to get sci-fi scary sharp and it’s fairly forgiving during honing. I can easily get through shaves with it unscathed but it’s always there and ready to get you if you slip up. I used it exclusively for the first eight months and the results were very good. So good that I had no real incentive to spend the money to try anything else. Eventually curiosity got the better of me and I started my odyssey into natural finishers.

All the finishers I’ve tried including balsa have worked very well. All feel and behave a little differently and can dramatically change the nature of a razor. If ultimate sharpness and repeatability is the goal, I would choose balsa every time. There is a very compelling case for balsa. If ultimate comfort is the goal, the naturals have the edge for me. Often you gain comfort without sacrificing anything in closeness. There’s also an emotional element with natural stones that not everyone will understand. Using a 500 million year old natural stone from some far flung corner of the globe to sharpen your razor is kinda cool. Using the hardest mineral known to man that has been precisely graded to sub-micron levels is kind of cool too though.

At any rate, it’s great to have so many options these days. Anyone who’s serious about straight razors owes it to themselves to see what’s out there. The balsa method represents one of the extremes of honing with it’s perfectly polished bevels, complete absence of honing scratches and extreme sharpness. It should be on everyone’s bucket list. Considering the cost of entry there is no excuse not to try it.

I have mixed feelings on if it’s the best edge for beginners. There are more forgiving edges out there but they take more skill to get. The balsa edges are crazy sharp and you start getting good ones right away if you follow the instructions. In my view an edge that’s a little too sharp is 100x better than one that’s not quite sharp enough. On balance I think it’s a good way to go if you plan to hone your own from the start. I’m glad that I started out that way. You build transferable skills that are useful for anything you choose to try later and it’s a great backup to have on hand. I stuffed up a few edges when I started experimenting with slurries stones. With a method setup on hand, I had no issues bring them back to where I needed them.

 

[Zig the Pirate]

I was able to get my Steinen Rose to a super scary sharpness. I re-profiled it and went gradually, eventually finishing on a .1um balsa strop.

 

[JoWolf]

.1 on balsa is the sharpest. I've had plenty of good sharp, often smooth JNats. I love a good coti edge too. don't like escher/thuri/ark edges, because they're too toothy, and unrefined feeling to me.

I've always used feather pros in an AC. that's all about technique due to blade bevel angle, blade thickness, and AC/DX/SS rigidity (much like a big wedged straight). I have fallen way away from using them, and when I do I'll tend to get a weeper or two until I tighten up my technique. first and often the second shave on a Pro can feel too keen. 2-25 or so are perfection with good technique.

(much like a big wedged straight). I have fallen way away from using them, and when I do I'll tend to get a weeper or two until I tighten up my technique

I’m trying to like two wedges a 1/2 and 1/4. They have 19 degree bevel angles. How do you adjust or tighten your technique to get nice shaves switching from more acute angles? I have tried a little more shallower shave angle but still don’t like the cut and comfort.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I’m trying to like two wedges a 1/2 and 1/4. They have 19 degree bevel angles. How do you adjust or tighten your technique to get nice shaves switching from more acute angles? I have tried a little more shallower shave angle but still don’t like the cut and comfort.

With a bigger shave angle treat it like a dull razor. Go one full spine thickness away from the face. A TINY bit more, maybe. At some point it should start shaving. And here, more than anywhere, you need to absolutely max out the sharpness. A 19 degree wedge can be made to shave with quite satisfactory closeness, and comfort is practically a given, but you can't slack off on the honing if you want a good shave.

 

[JoWolf]

With a bigger shave angle treat it like a dull razor. Go one full spine thickness away from the face. A TINY bit more, maybe. At some point it should start shaving. And here, more than anywhere, you need to absolutely max out the sharpness. A 19 degree wedge can be made to shave with quite satisfactory closeness, and comfort is practically a given, but you can't slack off on the honing if you want a good shave.

Thank you Slash. I like the razors a lot and want them to work for me. I prefer a 16 degree angle but fancy the heft of a wedge. I have become comfortably paranoid about observing and confirming edge keenness with a 10X loupe. I’ll make sure it’s sharp before my shave. I’m only 13 shaves old. Less on the honing. Right now I like honing more better than shaving. It’s safer for me. Your consul is needed and greatly appreciated.

 

[kohalajohn]

Hello all.

Am healing up nicely.

I've actually been shaving a lot with that AC Professional blade and no problems other than that one time. And that was just me not paying attention when going over the cleft in the chin.

A huge advantage of the AC blades over putting a DE in a shavette is that the AC blades have rounded corners. Those hard angular corners on DE blades can be a real pain in a shavette. They act like a Spanish point. The AC blades with their rounded corners solve that, which is good.

It feels like I've been chasing after sharper, never imagining that there could be such a thing as too sharp. Like you spend your life always hungrily upgrading your sports car for more horsepower. Then one day you buy a new Corvette with a 700 horsepower engine and to your surprise, you find yourself thinking "ok wait a minute. 700 horsepower? Maybe I was wrong in thinking there's never too much power. I think my old porsche with 350 horsepower was just fine. 350 will let me do everything I want to do in a car. Ok, it's great that the engineers can make a 700 horsepower or 1,000 or 2,000, but above 350 horsepower I don't think that improves my experience."

I feel .1u balsa edge is plenty sharp enough. To move up to AC Pro, well it's interesting in a scientific inquiry way, to experience this. And I'm still enjoying the amazingness of it. And oh my god the ease of just pushing an injector and bam you have instant perfection. That's not nothing, that's something.

But the lesson for me is that surprise, surprise, there is such a thing as "enough" sharpness. And it's the .1u balsa. Or a black ark and some patience.

The AC is great for travelling. Enjoying a perfect, super sharp SR with no stropping or fuss, heck, that's great. And the metal box holds the spent blades. This is going into my dopp bag.

But I already know that after the Feather AC excitement has calmed down, I'll be back to my german and spanish straights.

 

[ajduplessis]

Sharpest edge I’ve experienced is my own. Some customers claim they are sharper than Feather’s. Honestly I don’t care, nor do I have the means to truly test/verify. I like them and so do others, that’s all that matters.