I'm new to straight razors.

I've played around with metals and heat for a while. My grandfather was a tool and die man in Detroit (purely practical), and my father got a PhD in Metallurgy (purely theoretical). I'm interested in making my own razor.

(Which, by the way, is hilarious, because I can't yet properly hone a razor. But if I can get the angles right and the spine exactly parallel with the cutting edge, I can have a honemeister hone it for me.)

It seems that most grinds (anything more hollow than a wedge) is ground on a wheel that spins perpendicular to the blade. So a turning, grinding wheel hollows out the blade. (Is that wheel usually of a width that exceeds the width of the blank, or is an expert had needed?)

Wouldn't it make more sense to clamp a piece of, perhaps, 1/8" O1 fully annealed steel and mill away the same material? On a regular vertical mill, the blank would need to be vertical, and the mill head would be whatever shape would produce a nice concave hollow. The blank would then be turned around 180 degrees and the other side would be hollowed out.

Is this a worthwhile pursuit? Have any blades been made like this?

Thanks in advance,

Matt