Abstract: A razor blade having a substrate with a cutting edge being defined by a sharpened tip and novel dimensions is provided. The substrate has dimensions of volumes, cross-sectional areas, and thicknesses at or near the ultimate tip (e.g., at a distance up to about 2 micrometers from the sharpened tip). The substrate is coated with one or more materials and has novel volumes, cross-sectional areas, and thicknesses at or near the ultimate tip (e.g., at a distance up to about 2 micrometers from the sharpened tip). The thickness of the substrate at 2 micrometers back from the ultimate tip is at or below about 0.977 micrometers and at or below about 1.173 micrometers for a coated substrate at the same distance. These dimensional values are measured robustly with an atomic force microscope and provide reduced cut forces for improved blade performance.

Abstract: A razor blade having a substrate with a cutting edge being defined by a sharpened tip and novel dimensions is provided. The substrate has dimensions of volumes, cross-sectional areas, and thicknesses at or near the ultimate tip (e.g., at a distance up to about 2 micrometers from the sharpened tip). The substrate is coated with one or more materials and has novel volumes, cross-sectional areas, and thicknesses at or near the ultimate tip (e.g., at a distance up to about 2 micrometers from the sharpened tip). The total area of the substrate at 2 micrometers back from the ultimate tip is at or below about 1.093 square micrometers and at or below about 6.511 square micrometers for a coated substrate at the same distance. These dimensional values are measured robustly with an atomic force microscope and provide reduced cut forces for improved blade performance.

Abstract: A razor blade having a substrate with a cutting edge being defined by a sharpened tip and novel dimensions is provided. The substrate has dimensions of volumes, cross-sectional areas, and thicknesses at or near the ultimate tip (e.g., at a distance up to about 2 micrometers from the sharpened tip). The substrate is coated with one or more materials and has novel volumes, cross-sectional areas, and thicknesses at or near the ultimate tip (e.g., at a distance up to about 2 micrometers from the sharpened tip). The total volume of the substrate at 2 micrometers back from the ultimate tip is at or below about 27.3 cubic micrometers and at or below about 33 cubic micrometers for a coated substrate at the same distance. These dimensional values are measured robustly with an atomic force microscope and provide reduced cut forces for improved blade performance.

Abstract: A method of optimizing a manufacturing process or a blade array of a razor cartridge using spatial information for a tip portion of a razor blade comprises the steps of: measuring, using an atomic force microscope including a probe having a high aspect ratio of a length to a half side angle and a probe tip with a radius less than a radius of an ultimate tip of the tip portion of the razor blade, the spatial information by traversing the probe across the tip portion of the razor blade; analyzing, by one or more processors, the spatial information as measured by the atomic force microscope, to determine one or more blade characteristics; and using the blade characteristics to adjust the manufacturing process to improve a design of the razor blade or to adjust a design characteristic of the blade array to improve a design of the razor cartridge.