At least, that's what I'm hoping this will be.

We've all noticed the difference between a Sheffield and a Solingen, or between carbon and stainless. Well, I want to know WHY those razors feel so different and WHAT they're made of.

So here's what I'm proposing: I'd like to collect a bunch of junked razors from famous brands and have them analyzed. We could get Rockwell hardness readings on them, and maybe have a spectro-analysis (or whatever the technical term is) to determine the alloy content.

Having a breakdown of famous razors would be a nice starting point for guys like me. Makers could try to recreate some of the shaving experiences of yesteryear, or at least know how their blades stack up against the good vintage brands.

To pull this off, we need three things:
- A collection of blades that we can destroy
- Someone with access to a Rockwell machine
- Someone with access to a machine that will analyze the alloys in the metals

I'd be willing to organize things and prepare samples by cutting, grinding, etc.

Can anyone else help out in the other areas?

I should mention that this isn't a new idea; Robert Williams and Bill Ellis did something similar, but the results of that project have been lost. If Robert still has them on file, maybe he could post them again...

Josh