Thread: Swedish Steel

Hello there. I have been working at this straight razor thing for about a month, now. So far, I have brought 2 junk store razors back to life, and have made them usable, but not quite perfect.

Last weekend, I bought a razor for $8 that will need a bit of honing time, as expected. The razor is marked "Axel Nillson", "#20", and "Swedish Steel". The face of the blade says "Sterling Service".

So here is the question: This thing is made of an extremely hard alloy, and will take a long time to set the edge. Will it be worth it in terms of reduced honing frequency?

yes. swedish steel is good stuff.

If it will be able to go for a week without maintenance, it will becom my travel razor. That was the first thing I had seen made of that stuff besides guitar strings and tool bits.

Swedish steel is very good. You should definetly go a week without honing. Stropping yes but not honing. All my razors go easily a month between touch-ups.

Its hard to characterize a specific razor based on what it says. Ultimately you will have to see for yourself how long it goes without a touchup honing. Any quality razor should give you at least 15 or so shaves depending on your beard and your technique.

The japanese knife makers have been using swedish steel for their carbon knives with good results. I'd imagin the razor would do just as well.

Master Iwasaki uses swedish steel for his straight razors as well.
I believe it is the same type of steel they use for ball bearings, but that could be a mis interpretation on my part.

Ball bearings can be made using many types of steel from stainless down through high chrome to plain carbon afaik so this could be almost any steel. The japanese do use a number of old steel sources at times. I think some of the togo steels may fall into this category but they have so many names (white and blue numbers, dog, general/admiral ...) for steel types I forget.
The swedish has got a bit of a reputation of not being as good as some of the Japanese steels but I guess it depends on the smith and heat treatment or if you're looking for stainless.

Iwasaki makes some of his razors out of what he calls ball steel. They go for about $320 if you can find them. I imagine its tough stuff.

Just to chuck in my 2 cents' worth here: "Swedish" just denotes where the steel comes from, it's not an indication of what kind of steel it is. Yes, the Swedish steel industry produces high quality steel, but as with any steel it can be ruined if you work it improperly (introducing pollutants into the steel, altering the carbon content, etc.) and there are different kinds of steel alloys with different properties. I think "Swedish steel" is used as a marketing word to indicate high quality steel, just like "Sheffield steel" or "Damascus steel", or even "Silver steel". It's not really a meaningful way of describing the properties of the steel in question, but it sounds good.

In the sword business you often see "carbon steel" or "spring steel" or similar descriptions, which are equally uninformative when it comes to ascertaining the quality of the blades in question. "Carbon steel" can vary widely in quality according to the actual carbon content as well as the other metals in the alloy, not to mention the variables introduced with the hardening and tempering process. Which Rockwell hardness is the blade? Will it keep an edge? Will it be flexible or brittle?

/Nicholas