Thread: Mission accomplished - M3 Mokume Gane black/white

From time to time, and very rarely at that, I see a razor that inspires me. This razor (and the story of its creation) is one of those.

Elegant. Inspirational. Beautiful.

Thanks for sharing, its a beautiful piece on all aspects! The scale material is quite interesting.

I had to come back and look at this again! It is so awesome-- the great attention to details that you put in your razors, coupled with a sweet, custom blade, and that amazing scale material.

It must be awesome to shave with a labor of love like that!


Also, not to be a copycat, but scales being an obsession of mine I really, REALLY want to try out that M3 stuff! Based on what you're saying, I take it that it is much better on your tools than g10?

Wow Max, so many questions!
Did you cut that razor from a blank? Heat treat yourself? What do you think of the steel? Any things you'd change? Any ideas for a next one? When can I place an order for mine? Hehe.

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

Based on what you're saying, I take it that it is much better on your tools than g10?

It's made of metals(ferrous and non ferrous) so it will always be hard on your tools. I did use my metal cutting band saw to cut and shape. I tried it on my regular band saw and it worked too, but not as smooth, fast and easy as with my metal band saw. It will be hard on a regular saw. I don't think it will dull as fast as using G10 but it will dull nonetheless and probably close to G10 wear and tear.

I had to thin the scale material on my belt sander as it was 3/16 and had an alum oxide belt on it so decided to just use it up. A ceramic belt would be better. The alum oxide did work. Wear a dust mask at all times. It's very messy. Particles everywhere. Your hand, fingers,.. will be covered. Hand sanding goes very smooth and easy. I used some alum oxide 150, 240, 400, 600 and 800. Try to wet sand. Better for the crap flying everywhere.

There are 2 metal polishes available to be used for M3. I just followed the instructions. You final polish the scales on a buffer with a flannel 8" wheel at 1600-1700 RPM. Layer the material with the first coarser metal polish, throw it on the wheels, buff it up. Do this twice. You can already see the shine coming through. Lastly you do the same thing with the second metal polish. This will give it the final gem quality like high polish.

That's beautiful my friend, just beautiful.

Fantastic work Max. You are a true craftsman and artist!!

Amazing job on your creation, Max.

That is a really cool scale material that you just debuted.

I don't know how you keep topping yourself but you manage. Classy, as usual. You have such an eye for astounding lines, textures, and colors.


Take care,
Richard

Originally Posted by bassguy

Did you cut that razor from a blank? Heat treat yourself?

Yes I did cut it from a 1095 steel blank. I have my own kiln so yes I do my own heat treat, quenching and tempering. I really like 1095. I have shaved with many custom razors made from 1095 and it takes a great edge and a high mirror polish. That's my personal experience. The only caveat is that 1095 needs a very accurate and fast quenching, meaning you have less than a second to go from 1475F to your quenching oil. So timing and a fast quenching oil is needed. O1 is definitely a steel I will also eventually play with, but for now my main goal is to keep using 1095 and really learn the steel. It's all about having fun