Why No Innovation?

I've actually shaved with a piece of obsidian. It does work and is pretty efficient. No burn or irritation either lol.

Sometime that which exists constrains our ability to see that which is possible.

ShadowsDad I agree with you, if something is doing the job, why invest time and money to find a better way to do the job? I mean look at shoelaces?? On the manufacturing machinery, that stuff can have an incredibly long productive life span such that it can stifle innovation. If you look at why Japan and Germany became global industrial powerhouses after WWII its because all of their industrial capabilities were bombed into rubble and then completely re-constructed with state of the art machinery, The rest of the industrialized world continued working off the economic life span of industrial machinery that in some cases had been in operation since the late 19th century. Hard to compete but there hasn't been a WWIII. Yet.

I now want an obsidian blade.

I had a student two years ago whos grandfather was an elder from the Chinook tribe who helped me teach Northwest Native American culture in my classroom. When he saw me looking at DEs on ebay on my break he laughed and said, "Hey, use your usual soap and try and use this. We didn't use soap the way you do, but this is what they shaved/cut hair with (and used it for many other things), and it is actually sharper than steel." He was pretty skilled at making projectile points and other things out of obsidian. The two pieces he gave me really were sharp as hell. I only did the flat areas of me cheeks though. No way in hell was I going to try and go around my chin. It would have been like trying to hold a DE blade with your fingers. No thanks, but it did work. He also said that most NA have very little facial hair so shaving wasn't a big issue. He said besides obsidian they could pluck it or singe it also.

https://youtu.be/QWSTE6WLB0Y

That gent didn't state it, but that edge is sharp down to the molecular level. Steel can't be sharpened to that degree. Since it's so hard the edge will last for many more shaves than steel also. But don't drop it because as hardness goes up so does brittleness ordinarily and everyone knows how sharp and brittle glass is.

And as I wrote the above I had a question that I don't know the answer too, but I suspect I know the answer. Obsidian is "dirty" glass, that is, glass with lots of impurities. That's why it's black and not clear. Since it's sharp on the molecular level and it has impurities, if someone obtained a hunk of pure glass from a glass maker, just how sharp would that edge be when knapped?

Marko, you want your innovation? Find out how to make repeatable knapped glass blades for a mass produced razor. It would be a "sapphire " razor for the masses. Or possibly the glass blade could be honed to final sharpness but I don't think it would be as sharp as a knapped edge that the gent in the video is using.

The wiki article linked below states: Pure obsidian is usually dark in appearance, though the color varies depending on the presence of impurities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian

Thank you for that video ChiefBroom , it made me smile The beauty of the obsidian is that it doesn't even need knapping, it just flakes off sharp as, well, sharp as obsidian flakes. Very cool. I liked his do not try this at home warning.

ShadowsDad obviously mass produced high quality obsidian blades would be a challenge. I wonder if molten glass poured in moulds then knapped would be a practical alternative. Inputs for glass are cheap as dirt. I suspect that there is probably a point where a blade for shaving could be too sharp. Maybe thats why were still working with 100 year old blade technology - its as sharp as it needs to be.

Do you think that its possible that the whole YMMV with razor blades is more a quality control issue than an actual blade brand issue? Next time I try a blade that doesn't work for me I'm going to change it out for another blade of the same brand, maybe from a different tuck to see if I get the same thing.

Marko, I believe quality control can come into play. The first blades I found I could shave with were Derby, though I have since moved on. One time I opened a fresh tuck and started shaving with a brand new blade and thought I was shaving with a hand saw. I have also found other brands where the blades in the same tuck could vary from one to another. Bolzano comes to mind, there. Overall, I find these to be the exception to the rule but it does seem to happen on occasion.

Thank you for that video ChiefBroom , it made me smile  The beauty of the obsidian is that it doesn't even need knapping, it just flakes off sharp as, well, sharp as obsidian flakes.  Very cool.  I liked his do not try this at home warning.  

ShadowsDad obviously mass produced high quality obsidian blades would be a challenge.  I wonder if molten glass poured in moulds then knapped would be a practical alternative.  Inputs for glass are cheap as dirt.  I suspect that there is probably a point where a blade for shaving could be too sharp.  Maybe thats why were still working with 100 year old blade technology - its as sharp as it needs to be.  

Do you think that its possible that the whole YMMV with razor blades is more a quality control issue than an actual blade brand issue?  Next time I try a blade that doesn't work for me I'm going to change it out for another blade of the same brand, maybe from a different tuck to see if I get the same thing.

I suspect you're correct on both counts.

But don't disregard new alloys that are just used for blades with no fanfare. If an alloy is available that's better the manufacturers will use it to make their blades better.

Could be that molded (or extruded) and knapped glass would work. I have no idea what the R&D would cost but I suspect someone would need deep pockets. I think I'd like to see it though. I can't imagine how fantastic the shave would be even if the blade didn't "speak" to me during the shave.

Marko,
Personna figured this out back when the P74 kicked but on the blade market. When you make a blade thats sharp and lasts for 2 months worth of shaves, they could easily put themselves out of business. Blade progression peaked then. Blade mfrs are in the business of selling you replacement blades. Your need goes down, their their sales go down. I dont think any of them want to do that to themselves again. I think Feathers are walking that fine line of being a sharp blade and might last twice as long as a regular blade, but still gets noticeably dull, dull enough for you to slap in a new blade. For sure not the longevity of a P74.

I think your questions are about blades not razors.

If asking about razors, all current production razors are designed around existing blades. Without designing a entirely new blade, razor design peaked by the 80s, and you will be hard pressed to find any new razor that improves on a Ball Tech, and Old Type, or a run of the mill Super Speed. Fancy handles dont cut hair, and a catchy name doesnt give you a closer shave. Yea, aside from my 37C, I'm a vintage only guy. I dont see technology improving on vintage razors so I just see current production razors as novelties and discussion board topics only.