Abstract: A razor blade includes a substrate with a wedge-shaped edge at a distance of forty micrometers from the sharpened tip, and a layer of diamond or diamond-like material defined by facets that have an included angle of less than seventeen degrees that has a thickness of at least twelve hundred angstroms from the sharpened tip of said substrate to a distance of forty micrometers from the sharpened tip, and an ultimate tip defined by facets that have lengths of at least about 0.1 micrometer and define an included angle of at least sixty degrees, and that defines a tip radius of less than about 400 angstroms, an aspect ratio in the range of 1:1-3:1, a hardness of at least thirteen gigapascals and an L5 wet wool felt cutter force of less than 0.8 kilogram.