Thread: Custom Mahogany Razor

What class was this project for? I'm interested to know that.

How did you clamp it down when you milled it for thickness? I wonder, if you use a mill with a tilting head, if you can run a fly cutter a little off perpendicular and that way get your hollows machined. It'd help if you left the blade section long and maybe didn't shape the tail until afterward, so you'd have some good meaty steel for clamping but could then trim it--and the clamping scars--away.

I have no experience making razors, but have tinkered around in a machine shop a little.

I worked at a construction project a few years ago, as a second-year apprentice at the time, and it was a pretty badly staffed job. There was only one truly good craftsman among the electricians, and he was not a gentle personality. But I always went to him for feedback on work I was doing for the first time, because I knew the other guys didn't care if work was good or not. So most of my feedback experiences were unpleasant, but I bore that so they'd be useful.

Best wishes and keep at it.

Originally Posted by roughkype

I worked at a construction project a few years ago, as a second-year apprentice at the time, and it was a pretty badly staffed job. There was only one truly good craftsman among the electricians, and he was not a gentle personality. But I always went to him for feedback on work I was doing for the first time, because I knew the other guys didn't care if work was good or not. So most of my feedback experiences were unpleasant, but I bore that so they'd be useful.

Best wishes and keep at it.

I started out teaching myself to tattoo in my basement when I lived in No Jersey. My rational was that if I learned before I ran out of friends ...... anyway, I took a guy I had done a forearm piece on to a local pro tattooer for his evaluation of my skills at the time. He said, "I see your lines are shaky and your having trouble getting the color in."

It hurt a bit and my friend/customer liked the tattoo anyway ..... but I had a long way to go and the pro became a sort of mentor for me as time went on.

I don't like the design of the razor workmanship aside. Just a personal preference. If they're not traditional shapes, whether they are $600 for sale at SRD or homemade, I don't like them. I'll grade an A for effort if nothing else IMHO.

Looking at your pictures I think you should forget about razors and continue making brushes. It's a very basic design but the metal cap gives it a little bit extra. Being able to turn both wood and metal will give you an edge over most woodworkers.

I do think your choice of a food safe wax finish was wrong. There's really no need for it to be food safe and I'm not sure if wax alone provides a good lasting protection against water. There are several ways you can finish a brush properly which should be easy enough to use next time you make a brush.