Thread: My homemade smilers

Very good work, sir. Love the style.

Lovely smiles!!

Hey, how did you grind those shoulderless transitions? Is there a thread or video on this?

Don't know about a thread or video, but I imagine he just followed his grind on off the heel of the blade rather than stopping and creating a shoulder or stabilizer.

He's got a good eye and his execution is magnificent. I've ground a tub full of knife blades in years past, never tried a razor.

My big 2x72 belt grinder is loaned out at the moment, maybe when it comes home, I'll burn some steel and see what happens.

Originally Posted by Atchbo

Hey, how did you grind those shoulderless transitions? Is there a thread or video on this?

Wullie has pretty much got it. Thanks Wullie for the nice compliment.

I started another razor today! Goals. 1. Slightly less smile. 2. A slightly wider tang.

Here is my forge.

Tang rough forged.



Finished forging prior to annealing. With enough stock left over for another razor.

Nice. Looking good.

After forging the blade, you can use the flat of your hammer to flatten out the divots from when you hit with the thin end. This way you'll hit the high points and the metal will move to fill the holes again from within the blade. This will lessen the amount of grinding you need to do to erase those irregularities. Especially near the heel where you don't have as much metal to work with, this can be useful

Originally Posted by Bruno

Nice. Looking good.

After forging the blade, you can use the flat of your hammer to flatten out the divots from when you hit with the thin end. This way you'll hit the high points and the metal will move to fill the holes again from within the blade. This will lessen the amount of grinding you need to do to erase those irregularities. Especially near the heel where you don't have as much metal to work with, this can be useful

Thanks Bruno,

Actually the blade is drawn concave at this point, and plenty wide so there is a lot of extra material anyway. Here it is roughed out. I haven't decided exactly what I'm doing with the tail yet, but the shape I have is growing on me.

Whenever I am unsure about how to shape something, I kind of just let it happen as I go along. Some of my best designs have come out as the result of letting things happen.