Thread: Work in Progress: Pete's razor

I like making razors in wootz and Damascus because I am a steel guy. And I don't make a WIP thread often any more because after a while, it gets old to take the same pics again. However, Pete contacted me to make a razor for him, and it had to be 'special'. As in: not 'just' some complex Damascus or wootz.

Allright, so without constraints, I started drawing and this is what we ended up with. I feel that this will be a special project indeed. The general shape is like this:



The body of the blade will be a Damascus that I made myself, using 14 layers of O2 and 15N20 in a spiral pattern. The edge section will be a 1/4" strip of wootz. And in between those 2 will be a thin strip of Damascus with a high layer count with laddered vertical stripes.

This is ambitious. I chose those steels because the heat treatment will be critical. Wootz is very shallow hardening. And I don't want the strip of wootz to tear off during HT. So my Damascus for the body is going to contain O2 to make it through harden. and the layer in between contains 1095 and 15N20. Which theoretically, I hope, means that upon quenching this blade, everything will harden more or less equally so that it will not tear itself apart.

Etching will be another challenge, because wootz needs a completely different etching method than the rest of the blade. So I may need to etch it in several ways, with the other part masked. that is why I added the ladder layer between the wootz and the body. that will be where the 2 etching methods will touch, eventually.

Still not quit satisfied, and with the request to use orange and green somehow, I decided to add 2 large spesserite gems (one each side) where I drew the circle, and then use green MOP kirinite scales.

The Damascus body has to be made first, and will be done in a couple of stages:

This is the starting stack: 4 layers of O2 and 3 of 15N20. The layers in the middle are a bit longer, simply to make it easy to grab the billet with tongs while forging.



After the first forge weld:



I cleaned up the top side and cut it in half.



Now I stacked the 2 halves on top of each other. Tomorrow Ill be forge welding it together, draw it out, and then twist it into a torsion spiral.

Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!
After a boatload of planning it's happening!!
This is going to be fun to watch!!
Thanks Bruno!!!

Pete <:-}

Bruno, you sure have come a long way from 2008 when you posted this excellent thread http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...ing-howto.html

When you posted that I don't think that making razors was even on your radar ?

At that time you were more interested in martial arts than forging Damascus and Wootz.

You made it happen, and you continue to do some of the most amazing projects. I might add, that I know from shaving with more than one of your masterpieces, not just from looking at photos.

Hats off to you ..........

Yeah at the time I NEVER would have seen myself doing projects like this.

It all started when I saw a Damascus razor by Robert Williams, with mammoth bark scales. I really wanted it, but couldn't afford it. Around that time, I got some blanks from Mike Blue to look at and fix. And I figured: you know, if I can start learning how to make a razor, I can maybe one day make that one that I cannot afford.

Bear in mind that I knew diddly squat about steel, or heat treatment, or Damascus, or anything really. And I also had no equipment.

So I made my very first own razor in O1 steel. Jimbo has it. It is the one with the PI symbol inlaid into the scales in coticule dust. mixed with epoxy. With that money, I could buy some more equipment. And pretty much everything I made and sold went into materials and equipment. But it stayed very low key until my wife told me to just buy that professional grinder that I wanted for so long. I don't spend any money on other things, go to bars or games, so she told me to just go out and finally make a real start. The amount of things I learned along the way to get here is only dwarfed by the amount of mistakes I made along the way.

Now the funny thing is that eventually, I did make that Damascus razor I always wanted. It's my original arwen razor with the burl and white glow in the dark scales. It was everything I ever wanted. I named the design Arwen which is a pun on the initials of Robert Williams. and then I shaved with it once. And I immediately sold it without regrets, already thinking: 'okay what can I make next' before I was finished shaving. Along the way, I realized that my satisfaction comes from making things, not owning things.

That is the reason I focus on wootz and Damascus and things like that. I always try to raise the bar for myself, and whatever I make I always see several things I think I need to do better next time.

Bruno keep it coming....your work is incredible and.i someday hope to be able to afford one of your razors and add it to my collection!

Pete...you better bring that to next years meet, so I can give it a test ride. Lookin sweet so far. Just know Bruno gonna hook you up gooood.

Terrific work thus far Bruno.
Look forward to seeing this develop.
Have an interest in trying my hand at the forge, one day, as well.
That forged in fire show certainly helps whet the appetite as well.
Cheers.

Originally Posted by outback

Pete...you better bring that to next years meet, so I can give it a test ride. Lookin sweet so far. Just know Bruno gonna hook you up gooood.

Next year's meet?? This might deserve a special trip.
I know he'll hook me up gooood! He's an awesome guy to work with!!!

Pete <:-}

Originally Posted by petercp4e

Next year's meet?? This might deserve a special trip.
I know he'll hook me up gooood! He's an awesome guy to work with!!!

Pete <:-}

Yep..talked to Don the other day while getting my Christmas goodies. Sounds like its going to be a little bigger. Plans are to move to a larger facility, and come to the store for some shopping, during the day sometime. Hopefully their still planning a shoot um up.[emoji379]

Can't wait to see the final product, of yours and Bruno's plans. Gonna be awesome.!!! Don't know who's more excited, you or me.!!