Thread: First Post! How do you make a razor without grinders? (Hand-tools only)

Does a tredle grinder count as a hand tool? It's powered by your feet and definitely a step back into history. You can build a more modern one with an old bicycle and a grinding stone. One big advantage of a tredle is that the motor automatically detects contact of flesh with the stone!

You can also take a grinding stone and shape it with chisels and files to a custom profile for hand use. Essentially it becomes sandpaper with a profiled shape.

You can also use files. There are some custom metal files that can do the work. I can't remember the maker, but they are French and cost a few hundred dollars (US) each.

I'd still go with a bench grinder first or an angle grinder and a bench vise second.