Custom 8/8 one piece file razor

Hey everyone!

Just finished this up the other day. I'm extremely happy with how everything came out as my first attempt at making a razor. I used an old file for the project and will include pictures at the end.

Starting off, the file was annealed at 1650 then my rough grinding and shaping took place. I wanted to keep the design simple since it is my first attempt at this. Edge after rough grind was 0.040" and looking good so far. I normalized twice at 1450, then quenched twice at 1450 as well in preheated oil at 160 degrees fahrenheit. Tempered then at 400 degrees for two hours. Then made some strokes on the hone to see how it was coming together. I needed to focus on removing a little more from the heel and toe sides as can be seen in the pictures. Finish grind to 0.010" at the edge to 1000 grit belt then polish (I wanted to still have grind marks, I wasn't going for mirror finish). Now the only thing left to do is hone it and give it a test shave!

I have to give a special thanks to my Dad, Walleyeman for letting me work in his shop on his brand new grinder. And burn through a couple of his belts.

If anyone has any other tips/pointers for making razors I'd gladly listen. I'd love to improve and learn more!! Thanks for looking!

Cheers,
Zac

Attachment 150550
File after annealing

Attachment 150551
After rough shape and grind

Attachment 150552
Alternate view of rough grind

Attachment 150553
After normalizing, hardening, tempering, and few passes on DMT hone. See heel and toe have more contact than center?

Attachment 150554
Same thing, other side


Attachment 150547
Finish grind to 1000 grit and polished with Mothers

Attachment 150548
Thats clean.

Attachment 150549
MMM.

Thanks again everyone!!

Looks like a great first try.
Looking forward to hearing how the first shave went
Congrats :chapeau

Wow! That is slick.

Very nice!

It looks like a meat cleaver, ... really!

You have to tell us how it shaves.

That looks slick. Thanks for the progress pics.

Clean form and you left the file teeth to show the provenance of the steel. That's a nice traditional blacksmith touch.

I like the shape and looks of the razor. It looks modern and ancient at the same time.

Charlie

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KindestCutOfAll

Very nice!
It looks like a meat cleaver, ... really!

---

+1

Grat job!!!
:chapeau

Nice work. What a positive transition for a file.

That looks like it could be a great Blade,keep working on it,regardless of what that clown on another site says:)

Looks great! Thanks for sharing.

Just curious, how did you work out the uneven bevel? Just by pushing the center of edge on the hone?

Regards,

JC

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

Clean form and you left the file teeth to show the provenance of the steel. That's a nice traditional blacksmith touch.

---

Yes is is a nice touch with the added bonus that he doesnt have to add jimps. I imagine that it gives a very secure grip.

Well done. Great effort, particularly as it is your first razor.

Stu

Some nice work there. Something i'd like to try, got some knives to make first, as practise.

The uneven bevel was taken care of during my finish grinding. I ran it over the hone a few times so I knew where the uneven spots were, in this case, the heel and toe. So I ground a little more on the toe and heel during the final stages. Now it touches entirely across the edge when honed. I've almost got the bevel set and look forward to shaving with it in the next few days when I finish the honing. Thanks for all the comments and tips gents!! I appreciate it. Still have a lot of learning to do.

Killer custom craftsmanship my man! I can imagine gold in the file crevices on the tang and possibly along the spine, just as another variation of your original idea.

Looks nice! I like the look of leaving grooves.
Just out of curiosity - is there an advantage of using a file if you anneal it first anyway? I was just assuming if you have to heat treat could you just start out with annealed steel in the first place?
Thanks!

Excellent job! Let us know how she shaves!

JC

I used files to practice the grinding (this was my first). They were cheap/free and I'm hoping to work with some other steels in the future. I don't know if there are any advantages to using files then annealing and hardening versus starting with annealed steel. I don't have the experience using annealed steel to start with. Some day I'll be able to answer this question though! Sorry I can't accurately answer your question Royalcake.

Not a problem, thanks. I know it's quite common. Again, wonderful looking piece!

Shane