Forged Blanks

I have good business connections in India where I could have some blanks forged and heat treated. Would this basically mean that I would have to have good access to grinding equipment to finish them?

Before wondering if they would need grinding, I think my main concern would be the quality of steel these would be made from.

I have been working with Companies there for nearly twenty years; all of which are either Automotive Suppliers in the EU, USA, or both. Some of them are involved in the Aerospace Industry in the USA.

If I were to ask for a specific alloy, that is what I would get.

Well that sounds like a good deal then! To answer the rest of the question I think we would need to know what stage the razors would be at upon arrival to you. I'm sure Bruno or one of the other skilled razor makers could better answer the rest of your question, but I always understood that a final grind needed to happen after heat treatment.

Perhaps I am coming at this from a position of ignorance. While I am sound on metallurgy including heat treating, making a razor is a lot different that the kind of parts I have worked on. I will have to do some more research.

I had intended on having laser cut blanks, then forged, and then final heat treatment before I received them.

I do need to do some more work on this. I will have some good access to grinding equipment here that I could experiment with.

Aside from the alloy details and the heat treatment, the biggest issue is a) you understanding the geometry of a razor and b) communicating it to them.

if you are new to this, do not underestimate (a).

The is a lot of difference between a razor and something that only looks like a razor.

My advice would be to make a couple yourself and only then try to have some made. Otherwise you might be sorely disappointed and out of a lot of money.

Okay so you get an RSO basically shaped and heat treated/tempered properly. Yes, you are going to have to do some final grinding. Heat treat can only be done while the blade is at a certain minimum thickness. Then this has to be done without ruining the temper. I think most guys start with a grinder and get used to that before trying to do final grinds. Something to plan out well so your money doesn't go down 1 like Bruno said.

I have a 5 gallon pail full of box cutters that look like razors