Thread: Razor build + questions

I heat O2 in a steel pipe in my charcoal fire. No electronic equipment, just eyeball and experience. My quenching oil is a large canister of maize oil, and I temper in an electric oven.

Also, while indeed crystalline structures are perfect at a certain temperature, many steels are very tolerant of less than perfect temperatures, as long as you're above the curie point. Even some types of stainless can be done by eyeball in a charcoal fire. And despite the fact that some people say this can not be done, Mike has tested my results and consistently measured 59,5 HRC which is perfect for the kitchen knives that I make.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I heat O2 in a steel pipe in my charcoal fire. No electronic equipment, just eyeball and experience. My quenching oil is a large canister of maize oil, and I temper in an electric oven.

How do you place the pipe? Lengthwise across the fire? Or vertically, and put the blade tip-down?

This is mine, note the cooler with my brine mix right under the forge. This was from my last batch of 1095 when I cracked 6 out of seven knives.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

This is mine, note the cooler with my brine mix right under the forge. This was from my last batch of 1095 when I cracked 6 out of seven knives.

Have you tried heating your brine to slow the quench speed. There are charts on the web for optimal temps for steel treated. If your brine is saturated and at right temp cracks can be avoided. hot brine can be a slower quench than some oils. Agitation is more critical to avoid vapour jacket insulation.

Originally Posted by Cornicus

How do you place the pipe? Lengthwise across the fire? Or vertically, and put the blade tip-down?

I put the pipe horizontally in the charcoal, with charcoal heaped on top. One end of the pipe is hammered shut.
I wait until the pipe is glowing bright orange and then I put in the blade I want to harden.
When I see it glowing inside the pipe I take it out and look at the color while I am moving it towards my oil canister. If I am satisfied with the color of the entire blade, I dunk it straight down. This is a split second judgement call, though I might wait a second or 2 to allow the blade to cool down slightly if I think it is just a bit too hot.

A lot of great info in this thread. When I get my beast grinder running like I want it again, I'm thinking of making a razor out of L6. I got used to using when I was making knives back the 80's. It gets real soft when fully annealed and will get as hard as glass if you want it to. It'll break as easy as glass too. Had several knife blanks break sitting dead still on the shelf after hardening them due to stress I left in 'em when I hammered 'em out I guess. Dropped one on concrete and it pretty much blew up one time as well.....

Cornicus, keep grinding and asking questions. The internet wasn't out there when I learned. I read a lot of old books, burned a lot of coal, and wasted a lot of steel. You'll get there.

Thank you all so much for your advice in this stuff. I wouldn't have a clue where to begin if it wasn't for everyone who's posted here. This weekend I am going to the scrapyard and will try to find an old brake drum to make a forge from. If it all goes well, I might weld some steel conduit from one side to the other, and pile my charcoal at the bottom. That should heat the conduit well enough to heat treat.

Coming at this stuff as split-second as I did, I was kind of blind to how precise you have to be with razor making. Knife making is kind of run-and-gun, and you can roll with the punches, but if you screw up grinding a razor, you're in deep doo-doo. I spent the past 4 days drawing, measuring, cutting, and gluing a lot of paper for my next razor, and all that I have to do now is choose my supplier for my .25" steel, since Admiral caps at 5/32 for CRA 1095.

I'm thinking about sending my blank to an established razor-maker here, who I shall leave anonymous, as I have come to respect his work, attitude, and the amount of time he puts into educating the community about a sadly dying art.

Until then however, I'm putting on the leather finger-glove and going to sand down my painfully gathered set of 7 Torrey razors, each from a different era in the company's successful life. I plan on etching the spine with a different day of the week, creating my own week set of one of my favorite razor manufacturers.

But to reiterate, thank you again to everyone who put time into their posts, and for spreading knowledge to someone trying to carry on a timeless trade. People say that books are the best resource, but the internet is a damn good match.

I use FlatGround.Com - Precision Flat Ground Tool Steel Stock and Drill Rod in O1, A2, D2, S7, and Low Carbon. or www.newjerseysteelbaron.com for my steel. Good prices & customer service

Also check out alphaknifesuppy.com

They carry 1080+ steel and CruForgeV which is similar but with more vanadium content. Both can be quenched in hot canola oil. AKS also sells small enough pieces that you can find some steel there for $5-10 that will meet your needs.

If you are learning on a budget, try old car or truck springs (5160). It is basically free, forges easily and is easy to harden with canola oil. Then you can temper it in your kitchen oven. Someone has already mentioned L6 which used to be a popular steel around here back when there were a lot of saw mills. It was used for the saw blades. As mentioned it is like glass when hardened. You need to temper as soon as you can after hardening.