which super steel for shaving?

G

gwgang

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Aug 25, 2013
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So I am sitting here and idlely shaving arm hair with my sebenza. S35vn edge last pretty long for shaving. It lasted longer than my s30v, cts -204p Paramilitary. Then again, this edge is near mirror polished. So which steel do you think will make the longest lasting shaving edge,? Assuming same geometry and polished edge, and disregard difficulties in sharpening.

I edit this post to clarify. Which super steel will hold a shaving edge longest, even after EDCed to cut up a whole bunch of cardboard boxes.
 
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I couldn't see any knife edge wearing out from just shaving arm hair, this thread is stupid in so many ways.

I wonder if you really even have a sebenza...
 
Maybe it won't seem so stupid when you consider this....

The guy really raises a valid question. The razor industry will tell you that shaving the average male face is the equivalent of running a blade through a field of copper wire of the same diameter and density. Whiskers, i.e. facial hair, have an identical hardness to copper. I doubt there is that much difference in arm hair where 'hardness' is concerned.

Maybe when put in that perspective it can be seen as a valid blade criterion for discussion here. The razor companies use copper wire to design/test/refine their edges. If this has changed it's only recently.
 
EChoil said:
Maybe it won't seem so stupid when you consider this....

The guy really raises a valid question. The razor industry will tell you that shaving the average male face is the equivalent of running a blade through a field of copper wire of the same diameter and density. Whiskers, i.e. facial hair, have an identical hardness to copper. I doubt there is that much difference in arm hair where 'hardness' is concerned.

Maybe when put in that perspective it can be seen as a valid blade criterion for discussion here. The razor companies use copper wire to design/test/refine their edges. If this has changed it's only recently.
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Yup...
 
gwgang said:
So I am sitting here and idlely shaving arm hair with my sebenza. S35vn edge last pretty long for shaving. It lasted longer than my s30v, cts -204p Paramilitary. Then again, this edge is near mirror polished. So which steel do you think will make the longest lasting shaving edge,? Assuming same geometry and polished edge, and disregard difficulties in sharpening.
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If your blade fetish is trimming armpit hair then go out and get a sale package of no-name razors from the grocery store. These are ordinary carbon steel and are cheap, and won't leave you crying, so that tells you something. The Yuppie stainless alloy crowd has been striving for decades to try to attain what a 5 cent piece of carbon steel can do! Whatever it is you're equating with 'top drawer' is solely rust proof/dishwasher safe and not much more. Find an old guy that will carefully grind down a car spring or old file into something you want and then tell us again about your experiences with shaving.
 
My cts-204p Para will shave the first two days, then it became increasingly harder. My sebenza just seem to bite more into the hair after even four days. But as I mentioned in original post, it was near mirror polished. I only sharpen the Para to 1000 grit, then stropped with black and white compounds. I don't have a S35vn Para to compare. Btw, I change the 4 blade razor cartridges every 15 days to get the closest shave in the morning.
 
In response to OP,


Dude.......


Let me start with.....Sorry but S35vn will NOT last longer than 204P. Its just not possible, taking into account the alloy, and especially considering how soft CRK runs their s35vn. The fact that you say this, has me questioning the entire thread. Never mind the retarded question you pose. For one, shaving hair is not going to do shit to any modern super steel. Especially since arm hair is far thinner and finer than facial hair. Razor blade companies are referring to the thick, course hair on you face. Thats the stuff that can wear your edge down. And you have to understand that most steels used in razor blades are far inferior to the ones you mentioned, so anything up to modern super steel spec will undoubtedly perform at least a few times better. Translation: any super steel will do just fine for shaving hair, and I seriously doubt you will find one that actually gets dull from it. I can tell you one thing though, if any DID get seriously dull from just shaving hair, it would take forever for it to happen.

The results you are experiencing can likely be attributed to other factors. For example, the geometry of the knives you are using, or the fact that you may have just done a poor job sharpening them in the first place. You tests are by no means scientific. If they are even real at all...Im still not convinced you even tried this


Oh and completely off topic, but congratulations sir! You made me waste my 420th post on this dumb thread!:grumpy::D
 
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My experience with high alloy steel is that it's almost the same as lower alloy steel for holding a shaving edge.
In general edge geometry makes more of a difference than anything.
 
EChoil said:
Maybe it won't seem so stupid when you consider this....

The guy really raises a valid question. The razor industry will tell you that shaving the average male face is the equivalent of running a blade through a field of copper wire of the same diameter and density. Whiskers, i.e. facial hair, have an identical hardness to copper. I doubt there is that much difference in arm hair where 'hardness' is concerned.

Maybe when put in that perspective it can be seen as a valid blade criterion for discussion here. The razor companies use copper wire to design/test/refine their edges. If this has changed it's only recently.
Click to expand...

Umm, I don't know about you, but the hairs on my face are definately much thicker than the hair on my arms. On the other hand, we're talking about pocket knives, not razors. A standard folder will have a much thicker grind than a razor and will hold up to a lot more abuse.

So when you consider that, it is pretty stupid. Who the hell is gonna shave with a sebenza when you could get something that was designed to shave hair.
 
Blues Bender said:
Umm, I don't know about you, but the hairs on my face are definately much thicker than the hair on my arms. On the other hand, we're talking about pocket knives, not razors. A standard folder will have a much thicker grind than a razor and will hold up to a lot more abuse.

So when you consider that, it is pretty stupid. Who the hell is gonna shave with a sebenza when you could get something that was designed to shave hair.
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No one's shaving, man. Some of us are seeing a bigger picture.
 
If I ever decided to shave my armpit, I will use my electric shaver, thank you very much. Is high carbon steel the best answer? I have a Spyderco Caly 3 in Super Blue. I don't remember being super impressed. Is there a steel with higher carbon content made into a folder? I am not looking to buy something to shave my arm hair. I am just curious which steel willl hold a shaving edge longer.
 
singularity35 said:
So being curious about knives and steel is now considered stupid in BF? That IS news to me.
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Let me ask you, do you A) go around shaving arm hair to see how the latest and greatest steels hold up?

Or do you B) actually use your knives to do work (like cut grape vines, straps, cardboard, wood, plastics, etc) and see how the steel hold up?

If you answered A, then yes, that's pretty stupid...

I guess I should start opening mail with my knives to see how well they hold up:rolleyes:
 
gwgang said:
If I ever decided to shave my armpit, I will use my electric shaver, thank you very much. Is high carbon steel the best answer? I have a Spyderco Caly 3 in Super Blue. I don't remember being super impressed. Is there a steel with higher carbon content made into a folder? I am not looking to buy something to shave my arm hair. I am just curious which steel willl hold a shaving edge longer.
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Be patient. Someone will deliver a treatise on the subject within 24 hours.
 
gwgang said:
If I ever decided to shave my armpit, I will use my electric shaver, thank you very much. Is high carbon steel the best answer? I have a Spyderco Caly 3 in Super Blue. I don't remember being super impressed. Is there a steel with higher carbon content made into a folder? I am not looking to buy something to shave my arm hair. I am just curious which steel willl hold a shaving edge longer.
Click to expand...

Longer from what? Shaving, whittling, cutting Manila rope?

This question is so vague, you made it seem as if you are trying to test steels based upon how well they shave hair. Nobody shaves with their folder (at least I hope) so this is pointless.

Go out and put those knives through some real work, then see if they still shave, that says a lot more.
 
Blues Bender said:
Let me ask you, do you A) go around shaving arm hair to see how the latest and greatest steels hold up?

Or do you B) actually use your knives to do work (like cut grape vines, straps, cardboard, wood, plastics, etc) and see how the steel hold up?

If you answered A, then yes, that's pretty stupid...

I guess I should start opening mail with my knives to see how well they hold up:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I grew up in on two farms(my mother and father owned one each) and have been taught to use sharp edges and points since I was a child. I had my own farm by the time I was 25. I built my own bamboo and thatched roof hut(more than twice) with rudimentary tools too(including a bolo and a knife).

Anything that adds knowledge is never stupid.

The OP just managed to phrase his query in terms that aren't very practical but the desire to know about which steels hold a razor edge the longest is a pretty legitimate question here.

What's stupid is the inability to look at the words and derive the meaning.
 
I will take this thread more seriously when the OP provides a picture of the knife and his arm in question. I am with Blues Bender on this one old chaps.
 
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