Thread: First Straight Razor Build (A learning Process)

Well here it is. I just finished it today. Instead of scales, I chose to carve the handle out of one piece of cocobolo. The the bevel was set with a medium diamond hone and then a natural hone of about 1000 grit. My trouble now is that I don't have any finder grit hones to finish the edge. The wood will turn a dark reddish color as it is exposed to light.

That looks really great. I have been thinking about trying some one piece scales for a while. only thing stoping me so far it that i don't have any material of the right dimensions to work with.

If you see yourself repeating this, buy a 4000/8000 combo stone. They're fairly cheap, easy to use, and all you need for a decent shave.

Originally Posted by Bruno

If you see yourself repeating this, buy a 4000/8000 combo stone. They're fairly cheap, easy to use, and all you need for a decent shave.

Thanks. I may just buy one anyways. I already have two razors that need honed and I imagine that there will be more. Also thanks to everyone for all your help. It was most appreciated. I did learn a great deal and now have much more respect for these razors, those that make them and those that use them.

Well I just ordered an 8 inch coarse DMT hone, a Norton 4000/8000 stone and an Illinois #827 strop. I was wanting to get a 12,000 grit hone as well but didn't have the funds for it at the moment. When they get in I'll see if I can finish honing this.

You should get a good shave off the 8K. If you wanted to go one step further for cheap, you could add Cromium Oxide to the inside surface of the web of your strop. After the 8K, go a few laps on that. Wipe off the razor, then strop on your leather. It will smooth it just a little more. Great Job on the razor.
Adam

+1 on the Chromium oxide. However, I would not use it until you can get really comfortable shaves off the 8K. At that point, the paste becomes a help.
If you use it to fudge over the fact that your 8K edge isn't good, it becomes a crutch.

Well done DVW!!!

Very informative thread also.

Well the diamond hone, Norton 4000/8000 stone and strop all showed up. I was able to easily flatten the Norton stones with the DMT. Then I used the DMT to reset the bevel on the razor. Wow does that DMT work so much better than the el-cheapo diamond hone that I had used before. After that I took it to the Norton and then the strop. I tried shaving with it and while it did cut hair, it was not near as good as my shavette or DE. So I finished my shave with the DE and took it back to the Norton. After some time on the 4000 grit and a lot more time on the 8000 grit, I think that I finally have it. Now to wait a couple of days to try it again.

You said you had 'flattened' the Norton, how smooth is the surfaces? If they still feel anything like the sides of the stones, you need to keep lapping. Both of my 4/8's needed a lot of work on the 4K side, but the 8K smoothed out on both really quick.

Just wondering? It never hurts to practice the 6 P's.

When you fine tune your blade it should be a really nice shaver