How Are Razor Blades Made?
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The Steel
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Razor blades are made from a very hard steel that is manufactured to hold the sharpest edge possible. Regular steel can hold an edge, but the size of that edge is very thin and therefore will not last long. Razor blade steel is first hardened through a process that induces more carbon into the blade. This can done by cooling and reheating the steel many times or through a number of other methods. Once hardened to a high hardness rating, the steel is shipped to the manufacturing facility.
Manufacturing
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The steel is first cut into very thin strips, the width of the razor blade you see every day. It is then cut into long strips using a metal cutting machine. The strips are fed through an automated punch machine, which cuts the holes into the blades so it can be mounted into the razor head. From there the steel is coated with special hardeners. Gillette and Schicke have very well-kept secrets as far as exactly what they use. A combination or titanium coatings are used on their best blades. The coatings are designed to make the blades smoother so they do not grab and pull hairs, but cut cleanly through them.
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Sharpening
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The most precise part of the manufacturing of razor blades is the sharpening. In this stage the strips are sharpened by high speed grinders that make a series of cuts across the blade, each at an increasing angle. This creates a "multi edge" blade shaped like one half of an octagon. The resulting final point is much stronger because of this style of sharpening. It will not dull as fast and resists chipping. Once sharpened, the blades are again coated for smoothness and then installed into the head of the razor blade in an automatic press.
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