Research on Sharpness of Razor Blades *LINK*

Wow

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>That was quite a read. Thanks for posting.

Interesting but incomplete and many assumptions

woodburnbob

>The micrographs are attractive but I now wonder how much they really tell us.

It seems clear one can potentially measure edge width and straightness/contour on micrographs, as well as have a qualitative sense of the degree of burr formation or fold-over. And, I agree, it makes intuitive sense to define "sharpness" as lowest EW, straightest/smoothest edge and least burr. But that simply creates a sort of tautology, or circular definition: sharpness defined by geometry, which defines sharpness.

What's needed is some sort of very repeatable functional definition, like you're working on Steve, to validate a struction/function correlation.

Professor Verhoeven's pictures and text are great and confirm general experience, I think. What's left out though is whether any of the blades he so carefully prepared differ in the slightest in use...particularly in woodworking use. For instance, how long might any of his tiny burrs last on a plane blade when it's used? We all think a polished blade "lasts" longer than one that's not. But I wouldn't mind see the proof. I particularly noticed his distinction between pushing a blade straight on versus slicing it as a skew, which I think gives reason to remain skeptical.

I think there are still lots of basic questions unanswered.

I just came across yet a new perspective to consider while reading the eye-opening comments of Lee Grindinger in a carving archives thread.

Lee Grindinger