Thread: Re-using Sheffield Steel?

Originally Posted by Bruno

Keep in mind that there is no single Sheffield steel. They had a lot of variations so any mix will have an unknown carbon and alloying content.

Easiest way to make a new old Sheffield razor is simply to start out with an old Sheffield file.

Got a W&B Kamisori blank here. Ready to be ground.
Let's start the bidding at $800??

Regarding F.I.F.: I like watching the smithing, but the competition aspect is mostly just bogus. It boils down to whomever makes the fewest mistakes, under very acute time constraints.

Speaking of time constraints... straight razors being a precision instrument, they would not be very feasible as an episode of F.I.F. due to the international "pressure cooker" setup. Especially if they did some sort of razor for the first act (weeding out portion) of the episode.

Back on topic. In my layman's opinion, I think the crucible method is the best way to go for this project.

So I decided to jump down the rabbit hole today...

I started with twelve razors that were, for one reason or another, beyond repair/salvage.



I have a list out in the shop of what all is in there, but there's a W&B FBU ( honed beyond recognition, poor thing ), a DD, couple Joseph Allens, a Boker, and a bunch of random others. So I strayed from the original post in that they're not all Sheffield blades, but they are all vintage 19th/early 20th century blades. I rejected one of the blades as I didn't like the way it sparked when I was grinding it, so ended up with 11.



To avoid cold shuts where the pin holes were, I cut the tails off.



And ended up with this stack from which I'll form the billet



They forge welded *really* nicely and so I ended up with an 11-layer billet of vintage razor steel.



That has since been cut in half, folded, and welded into a 22-layer billet. I'm not sure how many times I'll fold it as I have no idea if there is a pattern in there that would make many layers worth the effort. I'll do a test etch tomorrow and see how it looks.

So that's the easy part done...

My one attempt at razor making ended when I overheated the blade when grinding, resulting in a crack. So I'm by no means getting cocky that this will actually turn into a viable razor. We'll see. If nothing else, I have some good steel for knife making.

Originally Posted by Cangooner

So I decided to jump down the rabbit hole today...

I started with twelve razors that were, for one reason or another, beyond repair/salvage.

My one attempt at razor making ended when I overheated the blade when grinding, resulting in a crack. So I'm by no means getting cocky that this will actually turn into a viable razor. We'll see. If nothing else, I have some good steel for knife making.

What a fun looking project. If this was mine and I didn't feel 100% on my grinding ability I would send the tempered blade to someone that I knew had a lot of practice. Even that doesn't guarantee results would be much better for this but would strengthen the odds of finding out if this works.

Originally Posted by Cangooner

So I decided to jump down the rabbit hole today...

I started with twelve razors that were, for one reason or another, beyond repair/salvage.

Wow, you are my hero. Very cool!

Well. If you go with a solid core and Damascus cladding. You would avoid having different steels at the edge, so you just follow the single heat treating recipe ( assuming you use a known steel for a core) and you get the pattern on top.

Originally Posted by Rami

Well. If you go with a solid core and Damascus cladding. You would avoid having different steels at the edge, so you just follow the single heat treating recipe ( assuming you use a known steel for a core) and you get the pattern on top.

Assuming the steels are all normal carbon steels, the carbon content should even out quickly and if the welds are solid, you can heat treat it like normal carbon steel.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Assuming the steels are all normal carbon steels, the carbon content should even out quickly and if the welds are solid, you can heat treat it like normal carbon steel.

That was my working theory, so I'm glad someone else had the same idea. In any case, heat treat will be a guessing game, not knowing the exact composition of any of the steels.

I like this idea. And for ideas to smelt a bloom, I will point you to a documentary I watched on either History channel or Discovery Network or Science channel. It was about the "Ulfberht", a Viking sword, and a master swordsmith that recreated an Ulfberht using almost entirely "period accurate" techniques & such. He built his own crucible & smelting kiln/furnace/pit thingy. It was quite enjoyable!

And forgive my layman's understanding, but isn't carbon steel properly heat treated when a magnet won't stick to it while the steel is red-hot??

Originally Posted by Crawler

I like this idea. And for ideas to smelt a bloom, I will point you to a documentary I watched on either History channel or Discovery Network or Science channel. It was about the "Ulfberht", a Viking sword, and a master swordsmith that recreated an Ulfberht using almost entirely "period accurate" techniques & such. He built his own crucible & smelting kiln/furnace/pit thingy. It was quite enjoyable!

And forgive my layman's understanding, but isn't carbon steel properly heat treated when a magnet won't stick to it while the steel is red-hot??

I have done very little forge work. However when I was in high school the metal shop students made the chisels for the wood shop. I made a set of lathe chisels. It seems to me that when we did the heat tempered the chisels we heated the steel until the magnet would not stick and then quenched it in oil. It seems to me that we did that twice though. I have no idea what we were using for steel though.
Someone that actually knows what they are talking about will likely set us straight on this.