eli5 How does razor blade dull on hairs when razor blades are made of steel and they are much higher on mohs scale?
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The Mohs scale measures hardness. Hardness just tells you whether or not one material will scratch another; that is not what dulling is
Dulling is what happens when a thin edge (like a blade) folds over itself. That’s related to the material of the edge, the thinness of it, and the amount of force being applied to it.
I could push my blade flat through water, and it would eventually dull it; It’s the metal being too malleable at that thickness that causes it to dull.
Now, could you make it out of a less malleable material? Totally. But malleability is a sliding scale; The opposite of malleable is brittle.
I’d prefer my blades not hold an edge indefinitely, if the alternative is that they can snap or shatter under pressure.
On an unrelated note tho, keep in mind that hair is not weak. Your hair and fingernails are made of keratin; That’s the same thing that reptile scales, hooves and horns are made of; It’s very strong.
The issue is that our hair and nails are really thin. Similar case with glassware; Glassware doesn’t shatter because glass is weak, it shatters because we make it incredibly thin.
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