cambered razor

I am totally green to straight razors.I have not shaven in years because of the irritation. I have begun to learn sharpening chisels and such and have found i can shave my cheeks and throat pretty comfortably with a chisel and thought i'd learn about straights and hopefully be able to shave the goatee are as well. I just got a Ward and Payne razor off ebay and the blade is cambered. I was going to try and straighten it but a couple of things made me pause. Number one; the spine matches the camber of the blade. The blade is convex while the spine is concave (Gentle u shapes). The blade is pretty much three quarters of an inch wide the whole length of the blade. I can not envision how the blade could be straight with i curved spine. I'm sure i'm wrong but i am lacking in spatial reasoning. I am looking at the logo of this site and i notice the spine is bellied as well.


Well i can't think of the other thing. I definitely want to err on the side of caution as i think this may be a good razor. It was so slow o my Washita stone and i could hardly detect a wire edge after treatment that would normally raise quite a burr on a chisel. The razor actually blunted my pet stone and made it noticeably slower on a chisel.


So how do i make my razor "straight"?

If at all possible, please show some photos of the razor's issues. Honestly, I know what camber means for wheels but have no idea how camber relates to your razor.

Since this is your first razor and you believe it has issues, it might be a good idea to get another razor without issues to be your first actual razor.

Now, most importantly, where are you located in Minnesota? There are a lot of people here who can help you in person.

Basically, the more info you give us the more we can help you!

If it looks similar to the logo you don't make it straight. It is supposed to be curved. A smiling blade is prefered to a frown. Not totally sure without pictures though.

I am with steel and suspect it may be a smiler and one you dont want to straighten. As said hard to say from the description but pics of the blade will help us to help you. The other thing of note is in razor honing you dont rsise a burr actually it is something that you want to avoid.

It sounds like you have a smiling razor, if the profile of the edge matches the spine consistently then that is great, in fact exactly what you want.
If you are unfamiliar with razor honing I would suggest watching a few videos. Unless you want to send the razor away for initial honing which will iron out geometry issues and make future honing much easier.
The other thing that I read a lot is that hones for knives etc are rarely properly lapped which isn't so important for a lot of edged tools but is for razors. You may also find you will need to use finer hones to finish the razor than you currently use.

Thank yous,

A little common sense would have eliminated the need for this post. I think i just took the name "straight" razor too literally. I was about to take the name "cut-throat"literally as well when i realized maybe the razor was meant to be curved and i should ask about it.

I'm in Saint Paul Utopian, maybe i should not have posted in the Oz section of the forum? (*_*)

I was not specifically trying to raise a burr but trying to remove a lot of metal at the bottom of the belly. I was just surprised how differently this razor responded compared to a plane blade of the same make. I actually had the blade almost 90 degrees to the stone to joint the blade which after one pass would have a burr that looked like a wave at Pipeline on my tools. Good thing this blade was so hard as i only removed about 1/64". I have a Japanese chisel that is stated to be 64-65 Rc. and this blade feels harder and less brittle to boot. I had best get something else to practise on.

That is unfortunate about the lapping of stones because my stones are dramatically affected by lapping and i was told to never lap the fine ones.

I'll try and get some pictures up. Should i be posting in the restoration portion of the forum?

Forget the razor, I want to see the shaving chisel… how about a video?

You may want to do a little reading before you hone your razor.

Here is a good start.

i think randydance is in st paul, but if not there are definately senior members there who should be able to get you on the right track.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...nce062449.html

yep he is, get in touch he should be able to help you

If history records events correctly, St. Paul will be in the running for Ground Zero. Randy is definitively Patient Zero for the upper midwest portion of the epidemic. Perhaps east central Missouri could successfully contend, but it seems that MN has a propensity for little natural immunity against this disease.

Randy is about the only honer I have witnessed who can keep a cigarette going in the midst of a conversation while roaming about the room and running a blade up and down a hone at the same time. He makes it look so easy that "anyone can do it." If he grins at your attempts, then you will know that he knows you have the disease. He is quite adept at spreading this malady. Unfortunately there is no cure and there is no known personal protective equipment adequate to prevent contamination.

You're in for a fun time...

I completely agree with Mike Blue's recommendation. Quite honestly, if you want to learn about straight razors and live in St Paul and don't go see Randy, then you are missing out on your best possible learning opportunity. Randy is an excellent teacher and all around great guy.

Eventually someone who needs razor help is going to be from Rochester MN and I'll be of some use!

I didn't know that Ward and Payne made a straight. I love their gouges - I guess now I'll have to go in search for one of their straights.
You might want to get a straight bladed straight to learn to hone with, the smiling blades take a few more motions to hone.

And yes you should always flatten all of your hones. If you don't your bevels will round over whether it is a razor, knife, or chisel.

A belated Welcome to SRP :)

If your ever in the St. Paul area come over to my home for some honing, stropping, etc sessions.
So far this year 6 new guys have come over for some help so you would not be the first. :) ( I have had many more during the past 10 years.)

My contact details will be sent via PM & email