How sharp is that blade? The blades from two old utility knives and one new one were placed in the scanning electron microscope (sem/2012). The two that were used had plenty of pits and valleys and jagged edges. The oldest one was folded over like it was made of softened butter. Even the newest blade wasn’t completely sharp. It had a few dents and some jagged edges. The blades seemed pretty clean in the palm of my hand, but under the sem/2012 they were filthy. One blade even seemed to have something living on it!
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| New blade | New blade | Lightly used blade |
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| Heavily used blade | Top: new; Middle: lightly used; Bottom: heavily used | Heavily used blade |
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| Jagged edge | Something living? | Deeply damaged |
Image and text credit: Onycha Banton