Thread: These are the first razors I have made?

I Cant see any dimensions written here or on his page so wonder if you have more info then the rest of us since you say its to narrow! Looks nice even thou damascus aint my style,realy like the shape of the blades

Well the craftsmanship looks very nice, im not so sure about choosing copper for pins is a good choice with "vert de gris"
and something going on with the spine hence the big bevel! but the real question is how do they shave?
maybe you should send one to me as a gift to test the edge?

Your craftsmanship fit and finish all look great. The dimensions and proportions seem a little off. I think the scales need to be scaled down and thinned out. The total angle of the blade needs to be somewhere around 16 degrees.

Do you use a straight razor? If not, I would get one and study it.

You are off to a good start. If I were in your shoes, I would make some razors and shave with them for awhile to see what works and what does not. Use your own razors then use some factory made razors see how they compare.

Charlie

Great first shot!!! They look wonderful.

Nice choice of materials and excellent workmanship.
Excellent first two razors.

Stu

Originally Posted by HNSB

Your scales are too wide, and the spines look to be too narrow for proper honing of blades that large.
The workmanship looks nice.

HNSB

Thanks for the advice. How does the width of the scale affect the use? I would have thought that the wider the more comfortable in the hand? Perhaps I should try shaving with one??

Re the spines they are 4mm wide and were a bugger to get an edge on? That makes sense. Thanks for your input.

Chris

Originally Posted by spazola

Your craftsmanship fit and finish all look great. The dimensions and proportions seem a little off. I think the scales need to be scaled down and thinned out. The total angle of the blade needs to be somewhere around 16 degrees.

Do you use a straight razor? If not, I would get one and study it.

You are off to a good start. If I were in your shoes, I would make some razors and shave with them for awhile to see what works and what does not. Use your own razors then use some factory made razors see how they compare.

Charlie

Hi Charlie

Thanks for the comments.

Re the angle is that 16degrees total or 16 per side 32 in total? These blades are about 8 degrees total??? I will definitely look into the proportions HNSB also commented on this. You guys are the experts so I will try find out more about how these blades are all supposed to mach up. Any suggestions as to web sites where I could get this info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the comments

Chris.

Originally Posted by Martin103

Well the craftsmanship looks very nice, im not so sure about choosing copper for pins is a good choice with "vert de gris"
and something going on with the spine hence the big bevel! but the real question is how do they shave?
maybe you should send one to me as a gift to test the edge?

Hi Martin

Good point on the copper pins???? I never thought about vert de gris development, it may however add to the look after a while? I was just having fun putting the scales on, basically with no guide lines to go by that is why the replies and the information furnished by people on this site is so important to me. The good thing is that it will only improve from here on.

Thanks

Chris.

Very nice pair of razors, being a big fan and collector of custom knives, i would love to see a few more well known knife makers producing razors to be honest, especially given the steels and materials we have today, one question for you before i go, you obviously tempered and hardened the steel before you ground the edge i'm thinking because of the fragile nature and how thin the razors edge his?

Jamie.

From the questions yer asking I am getting the impression that you haven't really looked at a Straight razor..

When I started restoring razors the first step was to get my hands on several different styles and tear them down, and I measured everything, and really looked to see why those old farts over the last 250 years did things the way they did...

Things that "Look" good don't always perfrom good... Balance, width, the fact that the copper pins will rust the steel in the pivot faster, the thinkness of the scales hurt the stropping, and allow no Bow/Flex in the scales and you used a spacer and not a wedge,, Also the Tang looks a bit short but I can't really tell from the pics, but with big heavy blades people have to get their fingers in for a good solid hold..all these things affect performance...

Get some razors, get your Calipers out, and take the time to learn the art of straight razors, then put them back together and shave with the Vintage ones and really learn what is important..


No offense intended here you asked what was wrong... On the good side as the others have pointed out you have the skills down pat


Edit: ps There is no better resource for the skinny and the truth about Straight Razors then right here...