Thread: Lake Superior, Sand Smelted, Michi-gane Razor

Originally Posted by Troggie

Tim,

Are you going to try any other of Michigan's or other state beach sand or is the mineral make up of it not as great as the Lake Superior sand?

Also with the cost of smelting and refining the material does it end up being more of a niche type of process ( to cost prohibitive ) to do a lot compared to purchasing material?

Troggie, The Lake Superior sand can just be scooped up off the shore. The hematite helps it separate in to layers, making collection easier. The local sand (Northern Lake Michigan) has a fair amount of magnetite in it. But, it is mixed in with a lot of other stuff. I'll be dragging a magnet around in the spring.

Bloomery smelting is a very costly, time consuming process. It was made obsolete, almost overnight, by the introduction of the Bessemer furnace in the mid-1850s. Smelted blades will be significantly more expensive than my regular Damascus blades. Yet, I plan on doing a lot more of it during the coming months. It's just too much fun.

Tim Z.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

See I was yearning for a meteorite steel razor cause I heard the shave is .... out of this world .... and now there is this. What I want now is some meteorite thrown into the cooker and sand from the Hull Rust open pit mine in Hibbing, Minnesota.

Jimmy, You're a little ahead of me. I'm planning on making some "Damascus" by combining the smelted sand steel with meteorite later this winter.

If you get me some ore from the Hibbing mine, I'll use it...

Tim Z.

Originally Posted by Tim Zowada

Jimmy, You're a little ahead of me. I'm planning on making some "Damascus" by combining the smelted sand steel with meteorite later this winter.

If you get me some ore from the Hibbing mine, I'll use it...

Tim Z.

Thanks Tim, if I can get one of our brethren in MN to take a road trip .... I'll have to see if I can't mine some gold in the meanwhile to be able to take advantage of it.

Originally Posted by Tim Zowada

The local sand (Northern Lake Michigan) has a fair amount of magnetite in it. But, it is mixed in with a lot of other stuff. I'll be dragging a magnet around in the spring.

Tim Z.

Well I will know who to say "Hi" to when I head up north with the Family and see someone with a magnet on the beach

Now how to convince the wife the it is a life or death situation to procure one of these razors.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Thanks Tim, if I can get one of our brethren in MN to take a road trip .... I'll have to see if I can't mine some gold in the meanwhile to be able to take advantage of it.

Just let me know when you want some Jimmy. Work takes me up that way fairly regularly. (of course... it would probably be easier if you want it after the ground thaws!)

Originally Posted by Tim Zowada

Lynn, As you know, "better" is a very subjective term. The real value in a blade like this is more intrinsic in nature. It is similar to using meteorite in a Damascus blade. You can say, "See those silver lines? They fell from the sky!". Here, the "touchy/feely" thought is the blade was merely sand on a beach just a few months ago. Then, the effort was taken to use a 3,000 year old process and make something of it. It is the same process as was used by the Japanese sword makers, using local sand, by one smith, in the USA, blah, blah, blah,... I think you get it.

Does it shave well? Yes. Does it shave as well as modern steel? Yes. Is the care and honing/stropping different than modern steel? Yes. Is it magic, and makes whiskers fall off your face by merely gazing at it? Nope.

The best analogy I can think of is; using this razor gives a feeling that is similar to catching a trout on a fly you tied, while using a bamboo fly rod you built, and even harvested, dried, planed, and laminated the cane. Complete satisfaction.

Tim Z.

Tim , I think its awesome you are making razors this way.
I had the great pleasure of restoring & honing a tamahagane razor made by Iwasaki & I was once a devout fly fisherman & flytyer. I never rolled my own from bamboo but I really 'get it'. There is a great but subtle beauty that can be revealed in this steel which is uncommon in modern steels & the fact that it can rival or better modern steels in function is a tribute to the maker, the process & mother nature