Razors in the works

Hello all,
Here are some pics of what I have in the works. Started a batch up this weekend and I will update my progress as they come along.. 1/4" x1" O-1. Start to finish. First a little inspiration, a classic.
Attachment 243184
Precision ground O-1 bar stock on the portaband.
Attachment 243185

I decided on two profiles, gave one a nice round nose . Attachment 243187
Attachment 243188
Once center lines were marked I started rough grinding on a 50g Blaze on an 8" wheel (more ordered soon!). I tried three different rest set ups as seen on many different razor grinding videos, in the end as with all grinding, flat, hollow, whatever freehand is the way for me. after fiddling around with a couple attempts to get semi straight grinds, I went freehand and finished the last of the rough grinds, that answered that for me.
Attachment 243189
Rough grinds about done, need some refining and then some clean up on the tangs and tails before HT.
Attachment 243190
The two profiles (full 1" width will be trimmed 7/8?). They still need some clean up, jimping ect.. then in the oven for HT.

I will update progress as they go.

Take care.

They look really nice - can't wait to see the progress!

Thanks Cincinnatus,
Hopefully they will be worth the show.

Back in the shop after dinner. Managed to clean up the tails, smooth things out, and cut the jimping before the HT. Attachment 243216

Oven warming, my set up is a Paragon and parks AAA for this steel.
Attachment 243217


Done with the heat treat, all six in the tempering oven.
Attachment 243221
It looks like they all survived the quench without a warp...I will have a closer look in a few once the first temper cycle is finished.
But....I know one was ground pretty unevenly.

We shall see.


More soon

All checked out after heat treat, on to the final grinds. I am running a 50g Blaze on the grinder.Attachment 243282

Once I finish up the grinds with the 50g , and the edges are thin I will swap belts and finish the grinds. for now its hogging excess steel and trying to keep them cool.
Attachment 243283
still need plunges cleaned up and grinds refined.
Getting closer, done with the 50g. Still need some thinning out.
Attachment 243313

Think thats about it for today, I will start fresh on these in the morning. Need to clean up the grinder and get rid of all the steel shavings and 50 grit dust before I start the finish grinding.

Back at it this morning. Did a little back step , trimmed all to 7/8 , and thinned them back on the grinder. Still working on the finish grinds, and setting the edge.
Getting closer.
Attachment 243358
Attachment 243359

Thanks for sharing all the pics. All look great so far.

Thanks for looking , slow couple days here in the shop, should be back at them real soon.

Very nice! Thanks for sharing the pictures and process.

That's pretty sweet! I have two razors shaped just need to get ground and heat treated. Just hard to find the time here lately. Great progress for you though can not wait to see final product! Keep up the good work sir :D

Thanks Gents,
Just getting back at them and making a little progress. Smoothing everything out this morning and going to do a mock up to make sure everything is going to work as it should. Weight reduction on the tangs, tapered and blended. I will get the flats sanded out to 600 , then put the finish grinds on, waiting on belts so shifting around as needed. Flats at 400 here, and still pretty square, I want nice and round edges so they are a ways off yet, and the plunges will be addressed very soon.
Attachment 244661

I need to start making some scales.
At least two will get maple, two sets of book matches scales laid out here. Not sure yet what the others will get, I have gobs of material so just need to choose.

Good to get back in the shop!

A little useful tip.
After my last post I couldn't take it , had to fiddle with that piece of maple to catch that spalt better, rather than cut it in half. I had a scale pattern cut from 1/8 masonite, which is fine, but decided to cut one from 1/4" lexan for better set up. Takes five minutes and works very well for laying out the scales on figured or burly wood when you can see through the pattern. I have these cut for most of the patterns I use for my knives.
Attachment 244665
Here is the book matched set now, and the flip side view, that spalt should creep out more with shaping. A much nicer finished product but a bit more for the bin. One nice set instead of two so so sets ...

Attachment 244666
Ill stick these together with double sided tape and cut on the band saw.
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I am really enjoying watching you go through this process. Thanks for sharing, everything is looking great!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xiaotuzi

I am really enjoying watching you go through this process. Thanks for sharing, everything is looking great!

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What Mr X said!!!

Very nice WIP mate
Great set up of your work

Just a word of caution. I would hate to see something...don't say it, Rog. Those "splats" in the maple have been caused by
damage or disease. If you have another piece you are willing to sacrifice, plane it as thin as you would the finished scales.
Give that a flex test to make sure those "splats" are good and tight.

Truly inspiring work! Thank you for keeping us in the know!

You are welcome.
I really enjoy these WIP type threads so figured I'd post some pics as I made these. Got a little more done, mocked up one of the them and all looks good so far. A little fine tuning in the morning.

No worries Panama60,
I had a 2x12" x 4' hunk of that curly maple that I have processed into scales and handle blocks. Real nice stuff, and it is also stabilized with cactus juice. That spalt running through this piece is purely cosmetic, still very solid. Definitely great advice tho, I gave it the bend and snap test , at 1/16" its still very strong.

Attachment 245548

Hello all,
Just received a new 4" contact wheel for the grinder. Time to get back to work... Hopefully I will get some work done and a few updated pics tomorrow.

Attachment 275413


Resurrection ... Forgot to post a finished pic.

Looks great!

Very nice. Loved seeing the process. Thanks for all the pics.

Thanks for all the WIP pics. I'm really interested in knife and straight razor making so pictures as the blades progress are really nice to see.
The clear templates are a great idea! A fixed template that let's you see how the grain is positioned before you even trace it is awfully handy.
How long does it take to cut a metal blank with a band saw? What is the thickest stock you use?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Panama60

Just a word of caution. I would hate to see something...don't say it, Rog. Those "splats" in the maple have been caused by
damage or disease. If you have another piece you are willing to sacrifice, plane it as thin as you would the finished scales.
Give that a flex test to make sure those "splats" are good and tight.

Truly inspiring work! Thank you for keeping us in the know!

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That is what makes the wood spalted. I would think he is either using stabilized blanks and/or is going to line them with a stronger material. I doubt spalted wood with a lot of figuring can even be worked with otherwise.
The first time I shaped some spalted wood I had done a poor job of stabilizing with a diy setup the wood would curl from the heat alone.

Nice work. Good to see the progression.

nice wip and gorgeous finished razor!!

you are not the only one who has trouble with grinding jigs. I must have built a dozen of them, and still cant manage to use them right, but I can take a blade in my hands and step up to a grinder and grind it freehand. but who knows, maybe I just haven't built the right jig yet...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JP5

Thanks for all the WIP pics. I'm really interested in knife and straight razor making so pictures as the blades progress are really nice to see.
The clear templates are a great idea! A fixed template that let's you see how the grain is positioned before you even trace it is awfully handy.
How long does it take to cut a metal blank with a band saw? What is the thickest stock you use?

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The band saw is a Dewalt portaband with a swagoffroad stand. excellent investment if you are setting up to make blades. I can rough out a blade in a couple minutes, much faster and safer than a cut off wheel. I usually don't use anything over 1/4" , and mostly 1/8".

Definitely the clear template helps with catching the best figure in a small scale sized piece of wood.

That hunk of maple is stabalized (cactus juice) , but that piece was as solid as any maple you would work with. completely unaffected as far as strength and density goes. It was a large piece I had set aside for a rifle stock, but decided to cut it into blanks for the kitchen knives I make. A lot of spalted wood is soft because it is farther along in the decaying process, but with maple it can still be very solid/hard if its not too far along.

I had a large batch of that maple and redwood burl stabilized by someone who does it as a business, my first experience with cactus juice, and my last. The wood still needs a finish, and honestly is nothing like stabilized wood from K&G or other. its about as good as most home stabilization but nothing like the real deal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by caltoncutlery

nice wip and gorgeous finished razor!!

you are not the only one who has trouble with grinding jigs. I must have built a dozen of them, and still cant manage to use them right, but I can take a blade in my hands and step up to a grinder and grind it freehand. but who knows, maybe I just haven't built the right jig yet...

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Hahaa yes! man I have tried a few jigs over the years and most are just frustrating to me. I spent more time tinkering with the jig set up than grinding which quickly sucks the enjoyment out of the work.

I do have a Snody grinding jig that works well for smaller blades.

heck yes, and then there is the idea running in my head that lots of others loves jigs, and say they are way easier than freehand grinding, which makes me really wonder how in the world do they get such a simple idea to work when I cant seem to be able to......

I tried building a snody jig. it didn't work out so well. but I loved the idea of the jig acting as a heat sink. the right after that I watched a video of I think Robert herder {the video is not in English, and no subtitles}, where he was using these giant boards to grind with, and I came up with my own version, which I call grinding sticks, they are just a 5 gallon paint stick mostly with a couple brads hammered through that hold the blade, soak the sticks in water before you grind, and the water acts as a heat sink, while the board gives some support to the blade while you are grinding. they work great on thin bladed kitchen knives, and are about the only jig sort of thing ive found that I like.

https://youtu.be/94vdiyYVNoE