Greetings Everyone,

A few years ago, I tried to make a couple of straight razors, but I ground them too thin and they potato chipped when I tried to heat treat them. I never got around to trying again.

Then, about six weeks ago my barber asked me to make a straight razor for her. I had brought in my own Wade & Butcher for her to use when shaving the back of my neck. She liked it, and she asked me to make her something similar. So I did.

I used 3/16” x 1” Starrett O-1 for my steel. I bandsawed and ground out the blade, heat treated it in my forge, and ground it some more. I finished it up and honed it on 12/31/2013. Once I finished, I went to get my last haircut of the year.

Since I currently have a full beard, I couldn’t really test out the blade myself. My barber used it to shave the back of my neck, and it cut smoothly, without any nicks or pulling, so it seems to be good to go. She seemed very pleased with the razor (she picked the scales), so everything appears to have worked out well.

















With this razor and one kitchen knife for my wife completed in 2013, I believe I doubled my average yearly output. Whew!


I want to thank Charlie Lewis for the excellent razor making videos he has so graciously posted. I found them very helpful when I set about making this razor. Thanks Charlie!