Thread: Damascus Custom Set - need help please.

There is a ratio! Razors don't have spines for looks, they have them because that's what sets the angle of the razor! The ratio changes based upon what angle you want the razor to be sharpened at, so we have to resort to math.

Trigonometry handles the spine width for us. if you want a 16 degree angle, then we split the 16 into two, so we are effectively dealing with a right angle. so 8 degrees for each half of the razor. if the razor is an 8/8, then that's one inch. so we can calculate the width of the razor in inches easily. For simple resolution, well turn the 8/8 into 32/32. Let X = half of the spine width.

tan(8) = x/32 So we multiply both sides by 32 to isolate X

32 * tan(8) = X, which is 32 * 0.140540835 = X when we multiply we get:

4.49730671 = X

Since X = half of the spine width, we have to multiply our result by two.

2 * 4.49730671 = 8.99461342

Since this is half of 1/32000ths of an inch away, we can go ahead and round that up to 9. Our unit of measure was 32nds of an inch, so the spine width of an 8/8 razor honed to a 16 degree total angle should be 9/32ths of an inch.

So, according to math, Philadelph is right that you should make the spine at least 0.250". If your custom maker says it will "look funny", then ditch him. A razor is a tool, and looks come secondary to function. If the spine is too thin, then the angle will be very low and the edge gets thin as well. Thinner edges dull faster as they have less strength. They will be easier to ding, roll when stropping, and everything else that is bad when using a straight. It's obvious to me that this guy doesn't have a clue. A good razor maker should be able to do this. If a razor maker has seen enough razors in his day, then he'll be able to "eyeball" it and see what looks right from experience.

I wouldn't be spending that kind of money on a guy who doesn't have a great reputation among the straight razor crowd. There are plenty of highly talented custom razor makers, all of whom have a reputation to protect within our community. They wouldn't put out anything less than great quality. This guy, while I am sure he makes fantastic knives, doesn't have his reputation on the line here. Plus, what kind of scales is he going to put on?

While I would love to find a new custom straight maker for the community, I wouldn't want to do it with my money on what would seem such a high dollar project. Philadelph is getting into customs, and Butch is making quite a name for himself as well.

If you decide you wan't a different width of razor, give me the angle you want and the width you want, and I'll figure out the necessary spine width to fit your requirements for you.

EDIT: I just realized you wanted 27mm edge to spine.... so 2*[27*tan(8)] = 7.6 mm wide at the spine. I'd go ahead and make it 8 mm wide, which gives you an angle of 16.5 degrees.

So yeah, get your guy to use an 8mm wide spine.

If he uses a 6.5 mm spine width, that will give you a total angle of 13.5 degrees, which is too thin!

Remember that the #1 rule of design is that if it looks great but doesn't work at all, it isn't worth anything! Art for pure art's sake is nice in paintings, but when it comes to tools function must be top priority. If you can make something work wonderfully AND look great, then that's fantastic, but if it looks great but doesn't work, then it's trash.



By the way, when you get your razor made, if it is 27mm, then that's the same as 17/16". just a tad bigger than an 8/8 razor.

If you are still going to use this guy to make the razor, then I would google a bunch of pics of 8/8 razors, print them out, and show the guy what they look like, just so he can have at least a clue of what they should look like and their proportions.