Thread: Design you own razor blank and build your own.

Ok playing around in mastercam this is something I came up with, not too nostalgic looking though. Haven't figured out how to post the file out that anyone else can open up without having mastercam or autocad. Ok got it, I can save the file to a word document for a nicer cleaner look.

I am new here but I am in as well.

Ok guys, it looks like there is enough interest to get the ball rolling here... So far there are 7 guys that have sent me a pm... If you want in please send me a pm, and a basic description of what you'd like to do (including material preferences or ideas) the current list, in no particular order is:

Mike_ratliff
shooter74743
Deckard
RonnieNC
Seraphim
MisterLewisR
Rmaldon240
Strikur


Seems like a decent mix of new and veteran straight users. Now I feel like we can start talking about details a bit. First thing is first, I think that a basic dimensional limit should be established.

I propose a limit of 1" wide by 6 3/4" long. I am confident that you should have plenty of room to play with that way. So, if you want to submit a custom design it must fit within a 1x6 3/4 inches rectangle. I'd ask all those who have a custom design to post pics or sketches so that we can all look at them and talk about possible strengths or weaknesses (and hopefully we'll get some good comments from the SRP experts that actually know a thing or two about all this stuff.. ).

If you don't have anything specific in mind, but are still interested in the adventure, we can come up with a generic or classic looking default blank to produce, or if you really like someone else's drawing, you could ask them if they mind allowing you to use it... but you may have to ask really nicely

In the spirit of building a knowledge base, it would be wise to get some basic measurements from the razors you like in order to see what you'd like on your razor, and where to place everything (thumb-notches, pivots, tang lengths/curves etc.) This could really help in your design. Also, you will need to consider the razor size you want. For an 8/8 razor, you'll need a certain thickness of stock in order to get the right angle for the edge (i thinks it's around 1/4, which is probably what we'd end up getting for this). Also, the cutter won't do jimps, filework, or engraving, so your designs do need extreme details.

Finally, we are going to have to find common ground for the material to use for our blanks. As Seraphim already mentioned to me in his pm, 1095 steel is probably one of our best bets as far as economy for cutting a bunch of blanks, and ease of heat treating etc. That being said, we can talk about the pros and cons of other materials as well. (Mike_ratliff, I'll send you a pm about alternative possibilities for what we talked about).

That is probably enough to chew on for a bit, any thoughts or anything either post or send me a pm. Once we have designs and such we can see how many blanks each guy can get (or how many they want) for a given piece of stock. Based on one particular 1/4 inch thick stock size, estimates from one supplier would put a cut blank would cost roughly 3 bucks. This includes material and shipping costs to get everything to the cutter (**note that this price will vary depending on stock size, and if steel prices change... it is no guarantee, but represents cost only without any additional charges on my part).

Cheers, and if you guys like Seraphim, or razormaking pro's have any design input or pitfalls that could help our little group out please weigh in.

Thanks

Dave

I would be perfectly happy with 1095 in the measurements provided.
I'll try to do some simple drawings and get them up soon...
any drawings I provide are free for the group to use as they see fit.

+1 with designs. Not sure about 1095 though.
I feel to max out the hardness you realy need formulated quenchant like parks#50, if I'm heat treating (which is near to impossible to get in the UK in small amounts). 1084 allows a bit more time to get under the curve but not sure about hardness difference between the two.
I can be convinced as I am learning about this, please chime in and put my mind at rest if I'm being picky.

Deckard

I would be on board with Seraphim's posted design as well in principle, but am concerned about the steel. I also need someone to do the grinding (half hollow?) and scaling for me. Of course I'll pay.

My two ideas...

I to like Seraphim's design a lot and would be happy with it.
I'd go with 1/4 - near wedge, not sure I could hone such a severe smiler presently.
It looks savage though, I'd learn to hone it.

I'd like a swayed back and smiler myself, however since I'm more tagging along versus in the engineering side I'm game for just about anything. Have the stainless steels been considered? I've got a hunting knife out of vg10 that really holds an edge, but is probably too soft for a straight. Then again, i'm relatively new to SR's and won't be offended if i'm told to hush and tag along

I definitely like this idea! I'll be in contact...