Thread: My TX meet build

Well after a first dismal failure I went back to the forge and banged out another. I got the blade ht’d and tempered and finished the hollows at the meet then finished up the sanding and scales at my place.

The tang and spine is hand sanded to 600 then lightly buffed, I left the hollows at 400 and then lightly buffed those. Scales are black horn with a matching wedge. I made a scratch stock for creating the round overs for the scales then wet sanded them out to 3000 then buffed them all the way up to a white compound. I used thrust washers from some long ago restore and stainless washer and stainless pin, a first for me, and a last as pinning took me about 20 minutes. The stainless even after annealing requires a lot of force to get to tighten up. I’ll use nickel silver next time.

Bevel set was a nightmare. The steel on this W2 razor makes American vintage razors feel like a pre tariff Sheffield, on the hones. I was bit scared the edge would chip out as I have never honed a blade so hard before.

Well the moment of truth was last night, the maiden voyage. I was a bit worried I may have ended up with a wind chime or at the very least having to do another tempering cycle to get the edge from chipping out. Under the loupe all looked well, but you never know. Well on the first stroke of the first pass I knew everything had fallen into place. The blade I had been afraid was going to be to heavy for my liking was perfect, the scales in the shaving position are perfect for my hand whilst shaving. The point didn’t lop an ear off, and the edge oh the sweet smooth sharp edge. I think the shave was the best I’ve ever had. The whole process from the beard mapping to the lather are a direct result from my involvement in this forum and the men here, who, so freely give of their experience.













And a huge thanks to Charlie and Victor for answering all my 10,000 questions.

Turned-up nice, John. I reckon the lessons learned on the 1st attempt were good ones!
IIRC, your first was done more like copying a standard razor.
This one was more hurriedly done and oozes personality. It's You!

Your first was not a dismal failure but a learning experience!

Very nice razor.

Remember, Thomas Edison had about 1000 failures before arriving at a successful light bulb. Considering you achieved a wonderful result after only one failure is a tribute to the great teachers you had: Charlie and Vic as well as your own skills.

Well done!

Your razor looks very good !
I am surprised at how far you have come in such a short time.
Most guys do not leave the razor meet with a completed blade.

Your surprise at how hard the blade was to hone is normal. A properly heat treated razor , made from quality steel, is very different from mass produced razors.

Welcome to the club.

Wow, that thing is cool!

Reminds me of those Sheffield humpback razors that I love. This one has an interesting combination of curves and angularity. I also enjoy razors with a bit of heft- I like to let the weight of a razor with a bit of mass do all the work.

Great job on this!

John,

Everything looks beautiful.

There is nothing like forging a razor, making the scales, honing it and then having a fantastic shave. Its truly a once in a lifetime experience that very few men will have.

Congratulations on a stellar accomplishment. Hopefully it leads to many more.

I hope that this was an experience that will insure many more trips to Charlie's Texas Meetup.

Welcome to the club...indeed!

Pete <:-}

Beautiful job. Even the grinding must have been done exactly right as that bevel is so small and clean. Nice job on making your own razor. I just hope the bug didnt bite too much. Next you will be building a place for forging.

Amazing, John. A truly, one of a kind.

No tang stamp, or something to mark your work..!?

I'm just thinking about the guy 150 years from now, going thru that moment we do, of....wonder who the maker/ grinder was, who owned it before me, ect.

I really dig the tail, maybe keep that for future grinds.

Again, congratulations on a gorgeous first, and i know, not the last. I can see an addiction, happening.

I wasnt going to say it but Mike did.
Some kinda markings would have been nice. But i dont know what it would have taken to do this on ths spot.