Razor Blades

Blades are the cheapest variable in wet shaving and one of the most consequential. They cost pennies each, they are the only genuinely consumable part of the kit, and swapping one changes the character of a shave more than most people expect.

The two properties that matter get conflated constantly. Sharpness is cutting force, how easily the edge severs hair. Smoothness is what the edge feels like crossing skin, and it comes from coating and grind consistency. The sharpest blade available is not the most comfortable one, and a blade that feels harsh is often rough rather than simply keen.

Blade life is personal and should be measured in shaves, not days. A blade dulls from cutting, not from sitting, so a coarse beard and a three-pass routine will burn through blades far faster than fine growth and a single pass. The only rule that always holds: when a blade starts to tug instead of glide, it is finished, and at these prices there is no reason to push it.

Because response is so individual, a variety sampler is genuinely the right first purchase. This hub covers blade comparisons, the sharpness spectrum, and how to make an edge last.