First 8/8 custom blades...

The journey has been long and I have been seeing my skill with the grinder grow every time I get in front of it. I'm working harder then ever, I'm working my full time job and playing with razors whenever I get the chance...

I'm finally not using buffers to do the clean up of the slop I make with the grinder which is saving me a ton of time, also it's not blending in my grind lines. Really have been pushing to learn how to get the grind in the shoulder so it fits in the scales easy and I used up all of "error" blades to learn how to get it in there cleanly (needs more work still) I have also been having a bunch of trouble and I know a lot of knife makers have this issue where 2" in on the grind they get the faset in there... I'm learning that if I continue to grind in that area eventually I'll get in there and remove the mark from the belt digging in.

On these blades I brought them from 60 120 ceramics then to 220 AO Jflex (which I'm not sure I really like for final grinding) I then go to the trizacts on the face of the blade and use the cork belts on the flats of the blades giving it that high luster I love...

I have also started to round the shanks of these blades, which is a look in really leaning toward especially with the jimping on it! Man do I love the look of it! I really am in need of a new checkering file the one I have I think I messed up jimping out a razor after being laser cut and the hardened outside layer :( tough times lol... If I buy a new one I want to get a lower LPI but all I find are 20's... I thought about filing my jimping but I really suck at being consistent...

The bevels on these blades are super thin, even and clean... I usually look for the blade to be flexing under my nail then I know I'm getting there... typically my edges are down to about .020... I know I seen Bruno doing his final grinding with the edge down till he gets the wire edge which I tried and failed miserably hahaha really I kept bumping the flat in the spine, I know with more practice I'll get it but I'll wait till I ruin some more blades before I try again...

Anyway... I've never really posted a entire breakdown of my process and thoughts on things, I hope I didn't blabber too much! I hope you all have an amazing f weekend and as always PLEASE feel free to pick apart my work. Criticism is always constructive for me so my feelings won't get hurt...

Thanks
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I am not a maker, I am however pretty picky.
I really like the shape at the heel for the most part. The near square transition from the bottom of the tang to the verticals at the back of the heel looks good. The heel itself needs work. You are missing a facet on the lower tang that allows the blade to sit lower in the scales. It is the little triangle at the front, bottom of the tang. With out it the blade won't sit right in traditional scales. I like the taper on the tang down to the tail. The tails look like they are the right size for the blade. I have no idea what happened to the nose on those blades. They all looks not quite right and I can't put my finger on it. This is mostly completely subjective comments though. Most of what I have said is about design aesthetics and will vary from person to person. I was just scrolling back and forth and the one with the Spanish point may have the triangle facets. It does not show in the other group shot though. It is a seriously technical skill set to learn. It looks like your grinding is getting closer.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

I am not a maker, I am however pretty picky.
I really like the shape at the heel for the most part. The near square transition from the bottom of the tang to the verticals at the back of the heel looks good. The heel itself needs work. You are missing a facet on the lower tang that allows the blade to sit lower in the scales. It is the little triangle at the front, bottom of the tang. With out it the blade won't sit right in traditional scales. I like the taper on the tang down to the tail. The tails look like they are the right size for the blade. I have no idea what happened to the nose on those blades. They all looks not quite right and I can't put my finger on it. This is mostly completely subjective comments though. Most of what I have said is about design aesthetics and will vary from person to person. I was just scrolling back and forth and the one with the Spanish point may have the triangle facets. It does not show in the other group shot though. It is a seriously technical skill set to learn. It looks like your grinding is getting closer.

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Yeah the triangle is what I was talking about at first about grinding in the shoulder... I'm learning how to do it :)... when ur talking about the nose are u referring to what I know as the point? I was thinking about messaging u so can send some more pictures to u and u can tell me what u see...

Thanks, for ur opinion brother... means a lot!

I just seen I have one of my knives in the pictures lmao

The knife is fine in there. It is a good example of other things.
PM me anytime and I will send you my email address. By nose I was referring to the top of the point. Where the spine meet the the front vertical edge. I cannot decide exactly what is off in the design, but there is something amiss.

They look very nice, love the spike point and agree with Rez, heel is very nice.

I especially like the more hollow ground razor - looks to me that it may be a stellar shave.

Love the wedges as well, nice job.....:D

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Originally Posted by Phrank

They look very nice, love the spike point and agree with Rez, heel is very nice.

I especially like the more hollow ground razor - looks to me that it may be a stellar shave.

Love the wedges as well, nice job.....:D

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yeah im actually learning how to do hollower grinds... i just did my first blade with a 6" wheel last night... pretty awesome having more of an audiable feedback when shaving... i just need to figure out the steps on the hollow grind... matter of fact maybe i should post a thread if there isnt one already

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Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

yeah im actually learning how to do hollower grinds... i just did my first blade with a 6" wheel last night... pretty awesome having more of an audiable feedback when shaving... i just need to figure out the steps on the hollow grind... matter of fact maybe i should post a thread if there isnt one already

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The one in your gloved hand, with the more hollow grind looked good - made me want to get out the stones and hone it up.

Have you put edges on any of your razors yet?

To me the shape of the tang is off. Tapering down like that tells me it will not be very comfortable flipping while stropping and also honing.
The grinds look even and consistent and the bevels look pretty narrow.
Could you post measurement of the bevel widths at the toe, middle and heel of one of the blades?

I think Rezdog addressed it, but when I took them to the stones I would round the heal of all the blades. How long are the blades? I'm thinking in my head that they are a bit long, but could be the angle of the pictures. Overall, I say nice work. Pictures show a lot of detail, but in the hand tells a whole other story. If you want an evaluation on one or more of them, just drop me a pm when you are done.

Really liking the look of your french point blades there!!!

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Originally Posted by Phrank

The one in your gloved hand, with the more hollow grind looked good - made me want to get out the stones and hone it up.

Have you put edges on any of your razors yet?

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yeah these blades have been honed and bevel set on them... i tried to get it in the picture so i waited for the bevel to shine...

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Originally Posted by mainaman

To me the shape of the tang is off. Tapering down like that tells me it will not be very comfortable flipping while stropping and also honing.
The grinds look even and consistent and the bevels look pretty narrow.
Could you post measurement of the bevel widths at the toe, middle and heel of one of the blades?

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so your thinking the taper i took it too thin? yeah i can post a measurement of the bevel, i do my best to get it perfectly even but it gets to the point if i keep chasing that i end up needing to bread knife... im sure its just experience on that...

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Originally Posted by ScottGoodman

I think Rezdog addressed it, but when I took them to the stones I would round the heal of all the blades. How long are the blades? I'm thinking in my head that they are a bit long, but could be the angle of the pictures. Overall, I say nice work. Pictures show a lot of detail, but in the hand tells a whole other story. If you want an evaluation on one or more of them, just drop me a pm when you are done.

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yeah i planned on taking the heel down more on the stones as well.... i would take it down with the grinder but i get so scared to ruin temper at that thickness...

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Originally Posted by dshaves

Really liking the look of your french point blades there!!!

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thanks! i appreciate that!

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Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

so your thinking the taper i took it too thin? yeah i can post a measurement of the bevel, i do my best to get it perfectly even but it gets to the point if i keep chasing that i end up needing to bread knife... im sure its just experience on that...

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To me the tang should not taper that mach after the blade towards the tail. I think it will not be ergonomic to hold. I think more standard shape will have much better functionality.

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Originally Posted by mainaman

To me the tang should not taper that mach after the blade towards the tail. I think it will not be ergonomic to hold. I think more standard shape will have much better functionality.

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That's funny, I was talking with another maker told me to have more of a taper... one point and I only taking off a little material for the taper (only because I wasn't comfortable taking more) he mentioned the function of the blade and how tapering coincides with the wedge. I had no idea what he meant until I applied what he said and I seen a huge difference in the pivot...

I the thing that really has me scratching my head is what the tang has to do with the function of being able to strop and hone the blade... typically I'm holding the shank of the blade to do that... I have to be misunderstanding...

Don't think I'm doubting ur expertise I'm just wanting to understand fully...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

That's funny, I was talking with another maker told me to have more of a taper... one point and I only taking off a little material for the taper (only because I wasn't comfortable taking more) he mentioned the function of the blade and how tapering coincides with the wedge. I had no idea what he meant until I applied what he said and I seen a huge difference in the pivot...

I the thing that really has me scratching my head is what the tang has to do with the function of being able to strop and hone the blade... typically I'm holding the shank of the blade to do that... I have to be misunderstanding...

Don't think I'm doubting ur expertise I'm just wanting to understand fully...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I meant this taper:

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Originally Posted by mainaman

I meant this taper:

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Oh! I see what u mean now, you know personally I haven't had any issues with the blade tapering like that... in fact I thought it felt even more comfortable in the hand... but hey, I'm just one guy, I'll be curious to hear what the customers end up saying


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First off, those look very nice and they're looking like they'd be a fun way to scratch the itch my cheeks are starting to get. Like others have said, that hollow grind looks like a nice shave. As far as the taper of the tang, one thing I'll point out is stropping. Most razors tend to be pretty quick on a strop simply because you can roll the tang between your thumb and fingers kinda like you can a match stick. That wide tang would require a lot more finger gymnastics to do the same amount of work. I'm also thinking that because of the wide tang, scale placement might further compound the problem. I'm thinking it might give the scales an unbalanced feel in the hand...a sort of floppiness that wouldn't otherwise be there. Awesome work otherwise and i'm very interested to see how your work progresses.

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Originally Posted by Krazymonkeys

First off, those look very nice and they're looking like they'd be a fun way to scratch the itch my cheeks are starting to get. Like others have said, that hollow grind looks like a nice shave. As far as the taper of the tang, one thing I'll point out is stropping. Most razors tend to be pretty quick on a strop simply because you can roll the tang between your thumb and fingers kinda like you can a match stick. That wide tang would require a lot more finger gymnastics to do the same amount of work. I'm also thinking that because of the wide tang, scale placement might further compound the problem. I'm thinking it might give the scales an unbalanced feel in the hand...a sort of floppiness that wouldn't otherwise be there. Awesome work otherwise and i'm very interested to see how your work progresses.

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Yeah this thread is old, these were the first 88 blades I believe I even made... i’d give you links and all that but it’s frowned on here, maybe I’ll post some more recent work at some point

Oops. I didn't realize 2017. Just saw 8/5 on the last post. Sorry about that.

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Originally Posted by Krazymonkeys

Oops. I didn't realize 2017. Just saw 8/5 on the last post. Sorry about that.

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No worries, u made valid points... I’m always up to constructive criticism so even if I have thoughts on my new Razors I welcome them :)