Image forming apparatus and process cartridge therefor

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a rotatable image bearer;
• a charging member to contact a surface of the image bearer and charge the image bearer, the charging member having surface unevenness created by projections and recesses extending in a direction of rotation of the image bearer;
• an exposure device to expose the image bearer and form a latent image,
• a developing device to develop the latent image on the image bearer into a toner image;
• a transfer device to transfer the toner image from the image bearer onto a transfer medium;
• and
• a cleaning blade to contact the surface of the image bearer and remove toner from the image bearer after image transfer, the cleaning blade configured to abrade and remove a projection formed on the surface of the image bearer by the surface unevenness of the charging member,
• wherein the cleaning blade includes an edge layer that has a greater 100% modulus value and a greater JIS-A hardness than a 100% modulus value and a JIS-A hardness of a second layer of the cleaning blade.