The Science Of Razor Blades
Sometimes, scientists may seem like they are a bit divorced from reality. But this topic is interesting even for regular mortals.
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
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The amount of money both men and women pay for razor blades is quite ridiculous. The biggest reason for this is the fact that razor blades do not last long and a dull blade doesn’t shave very well, instead, it tends to rip out the hair and cut you. So, experts from MIT decided to learn by razor blades dull so quickly.
Razor blades (similarly to scalpels or good knives) made from stainless steel. But to make them sharp you need even harder materials such as carbon. And while you can sharpen your knives you can’t do the same for razor blades.
The main goal of the study was to figure out why do razor blades get dull when they come into contact with a material that is fifty times (or more) softer than the steel. Experts used one-use razor blades to shave a face and after every single use, they took a picture of the razor blade with an electron microscope.
So, how exactly does the blade get dull? The scientists found that during shaving the blades get deformed that has a bigger impact than just the regular wear and tear. This stress creates fractures.
Insidious Microfractures
Whenever the initial fracture gets formed it only makes the blade more prone to further damage that leads to more and quicker damage of the blade. To say it simply, if the structure of the steal is damaged it gets more easily damaged. And as the microfractures accumulate the blade gets dull.
The fractures get created based on the angle at which the blade comes in contact with the hair and whether some microfractures are already present. The scientists are convinced that with their research they will be able to help companies produce longer-lasting blades.
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I think razor companies don't want their blades to last longer, their main profit is selling the blades. I use an old single edge steel razor. My blade is still working after a year ( I shave ~ once a weak)
I was for a long time considering buying an old-school type razor.
But buying a quality one is highly expensive, plus you need to learn how to sharpen it, etc. etc. etc.
So in the end I ended with a decent quality trimmer. The blades last about half a year if I shave (or rather trim) about once per week.
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This is interesting. So warping and deformaties create microfractures that chip the blade and dull it.
This is also a big problem in aerospace particularly with turbine fan blades.