Thread: My first RSO

Mmm... tried something different sharpening wise on the newer rso... in between the 1600 grit and the loaded strop i put a wet hard granite sharpening step... with an extra layer of tape as the bevels were getting a bit wide and there was substantial hone wear on the spine... i believe the thin 2mm stock and 3" wheel trying to keep geometry right is just not quite a deep enough hollow...

Anyways that made for quite an improvement i.t.o. sharpness i could pass the hanging hair test with wet hair mostly and it seems that the cut was more agressive. I shaved this morning with it and whilst i could shave at a lower angle my skin was a bit tender afterwards... so i am assuming i should do more polishing on it to get the edge smoother and make sure there is no burr left. Not that i could spot a burr.

Would i recommend using a granite slab to sharpen... it is worth a try if you have some laying about that is polished and clean and you like playing. I doubt it would replace the more expensive well known stones even just your basic good stones should cut faster and be generally easier to work with... now for trying the other type of granite... and the marble... in the workshop...

Nice work!

Originally Posted by AndreGrobler

Mmm... tried something different sharpening wise on the newer rso... in between the 1600 grit and the loaded strop i put a wet hard granite sharpening step... with an extra layer of tape as the bevels were getting a bit wide and there was substantial hone wear on the spine... i believe the thin 2mm stock and 3" wheel trying to keep geometry right is just not quite a deep enough hollow...

Anyways that made for quite an improvement i.t.o. sharpness i could pass the hanging hair test with wet hair mostly and it seems that the cut was more agressive. I shaved this morning with it and whilst i could shave at a lower angle my skin was a bit tender afterwards... so i am assuming i should do more polishing on it to get the edge smoother and make sure there is no burr left. Not that i could spot a burr.

Would i recommend using a granite slab to sharpen... it is worth a try if you have some laying about that is polished and clean and you like playing. I doubt it would replace the more expensive well known stones even just your basic good stones should cut faster and be generally easier to work with... now for trying the other type of granite... and the marble... in the workshop...

Does this refer to setting the initial bevel? Not to hijack but I think I basically wore out a DMT220 on 2-3 work pieces... Does silicon carbide on granite work for this? Another option I have been considering for this is the Nubatama Ume 60 or 120 grit from CKTG.

Anyway, nice work!

Oh... sorry for the miscommunication... i use the granite as a separate sharpening step... bevel setting is done on an 800 grit king stone... i would expect a 1000grit dmt would cut quicker than a 220 on hard steels... look for the science of sharp blog... you would need to apply much oressure to make the coarser grits cut in my experience...

I am partaking a swop build... in SA...

a group of knifemakers are building straight razors according to a standard design, all the participants will then enter in a draw and then the razors are swopped according to the result of the draw...

We are assisted by Jack Connan who has been making and using straight razors for a while...

Here is the start of my process... don't hold your breath... i am very slow... one for the inevitable oops! Moment... mm... how's about i do the rest of the steel too

Steel is 5mm O1 or k460 from bohler... and this design the grind height is right on 3.5x the thickness of the spine... i will leave a bit of extra at the edge to make space for the oops! Moments...



I have been practicing grinding thin on a pairing knife and i got to 0.2mm (1/127") all along the edge evenly about 1mm (1/25") behind the edge... so with a bit of practice i could get it down thinner still aiming for about 0.1mm... which is what appears needed. I grind wet after about a 60grit belt as a precaution...

I will use a 3" contact wheel so i suspect we can call it a half round?

Decided to rather go with 3.7x thickness and change layout to allow more blades...

Some progress on the swap razor project...

So... why 1/16" pins? Surely a slightly thicker on will wear less quickly, have less friction, bend less during pinning? What am i missing?

There's a little bit of design by grinder in these... please feel welcome to give crit... if you tell me why its a stuff up i'll gladly listen... is sort of stop when it feels right on my hand with the proviso the edges will be radiused still... any other ways to go about it?

Well i am going to use 2mm pins. That is the brass i got at the hardware store... doesnt seem to need annealing either. What is 1/50" between novices... Thought it might need annealing from the drawing process...

So maybe this question peaks someones interest... i fashioned the smily edge razors as the pictures above, and the tangs are a bit more droopy than what i am used to seeing, is this an issue? I kike the lok and it'll make for straightish scales which i like..? And to my hand it sorta feels more controllable, but now i wonder... should i have rather tilted them up?

Looking good! Looks like you may have gotten the "bug", careful as it can be incurable. Thin the tails down some.

Cool, thanks have been thinking about that... don't know how to balance the weight of these things yet... and noticed that the bottom of the tang towards the rear doesnt really contribute to the grip you have on it... lets see if i can keep the lines looking ok...