If so, are they significantly sharper? Can they be easily acquired by consumers?
I believe certain surgical blades are so sharp that the last step in the manufacturing process is to actually blunten them microscopically, otherwise they’d cut tissue too cleanly, resulting in a longer period of bleeding. I don’t think the average surgeon’s scalpel is terribly difficult to acquire, and I’d say it’d be sharper than a razor.
IIRC Obsidian blades have single-molecule edges, and are much sharper.
Diamond blades are used for some microscopic work, and are sharp enough to cut a cell in half.
Yes.
Define your level of significance and I might be able to tell you.
Define “easily”. You can buy them freely and legally on the internet for about $5.00 if that is what you mean. They are not available at the local mall if that is what you mean.
If you want to go really crazy you can splurge a coupleof thousand bucks for a knife maker and go crazy.
I’ve purchased several Swann-Morton scalpel blades for hobby projects (they cut EPP foam extremely effectively). I can confidently say that they are signficantly sharper than even the best razor blade. They come in various shapes and sizes and are available for about $0.20 each through just about any medical supply outfit (online or otherwise).
Are we talking about just saftety razor baldes here, or razors? Razor blades vary a lot in quality, as do razors. But it’s hard to imagine a scalpel being much sharper then a well honed razor.
If you want to define “sharp” as “able to make extremely fine and precise cuts” have a look at the ones used for eye surgery. They’re made from chips of diamond.
If you’re just looking for a generic “10 blade” (the classic broad rounded tip) those are cheaply and easily obtained though any number of medical and first-aid supply houses. And yes, much sharper than razors as they come to a narrower angle at the tip - they don’t need the durability of a razor blade as they’re normally not being used to cut through hair.
An obsidian or glass blade is sharper than any surgical steel (glass blades are used in some types of specialized surgery) and can be made easily.
Step 1: aquire a block of glass
Step 2: drop on a rock
Step 3: pick up pieces very carefully.
My old archaeology professor (an expert flint knapper) use to buy art glass by the pound at a local shop for his obsidian-working demos. The resulting blades in red, yellow, blue, etc. were very pretty.
I have only rarely seen glass that breaks into blade like shapes.
Ok:
step 4 repeat
