Comment on Wednesday SOTD Thread - July 31st, 2024
gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social 4 months agoMaybe sputtering the edge …
Yeah, I thought of that too. Normally, that wears away after the first few days, though. (Among the many useful takeaways I’ve had from previous AAs 🙂)
djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social 4 months ago
I must have missed our forgotten the evidence of that. Is the sputtered metal (and its removal) visible under your microscope?
gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social 4 months ago
Yes. It’s generally gone within the first few days. I think, now, that the added comfort of the sputtered material comes from reducing the harshness of a freshly machined edge.
djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social 4 months ago
I’m a bit confused here. My understanding is that the polymer coating is here to increase glide and reduce the harshness. The sputtered tungsten, titanium and whatnot is sputtered onto the edge, under the coating to add wear resistance, but it makes the surface rougher, which I thinkshould translate into a harsher feel.
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gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social 4 months ago
I obviously don’t know, but from videos I’ve seen of making DE blades, the tradeoff between cost and precision favors cost. My assumption on the sputtering is that it normalizes the edge and that the coating reduces harshness when the blade is at its sharpest.
My scope is calibrated so the 50 micron scale at the bottom left is reasonably accurate. It’s amazing how much better the resolving power of a SEM is at similar magnification.
After AA I’ll do a sequence with a DE blade. I’ve only done a GEM and Kismet so far.