Thread: First Straight Razor, "Spikey" in a bold W's pattern

I am envious of that Damascus! I like your work, keep it going.

That razor sure looks lke a lot of fun, I like it a lot.

Charlie

Thank Guys, it was lots of fun to make, and thank you for the inspiration to do it.
I spent the evening honing the single bevel. got it close but couldn't get a stable edge all the way along. Then I had a look at some angles on some other razors. The edges seem to be between 15 and 20 degrees. Mine is less than 10 with the width of the blade, the spine is only 4mm not 5mm. Poor measuring and research on my part. I added 2 pieces of tape each side with the back of the tape on the spine making a nice shelf about 10mm back from the edge and honed a secondary beval. Took a while to get it right with the 1K, then stropped it flat with compound with tape still on. It felt there all the way along after this and was popping hairs. so I had a quick shave..... It really seems to work well, only a test but now I know it works I will get it cleaned and polished/etched. I've got a set of micromesh coming so i'll try working my way through the grades on that on the final bevel, see how sharp I can get it. Its hard at a guess 63ish HRC. Didn't loose a jot of sharpness during my shave even with a shallow ish final bevel. A happy bunny I am. I love the shorter blade, really suits my face. I knew it would when I saw your video Charlie.

Nice to see a familiar name on here. Glad to hear the shave went well, after all that's the most important bit!

Very nice indeed! Love the Mascus!

Thanks Guys, Hello Mike! I have polished this one up now. I ended up using 4 layers of tape each side to get a more sensible hone angle of 15/16 degrees. The first shave with it went well as I posted earlier. The next shave was after the etch. I re-honed after but not enough and had a rather toothy shave. My Welsh slate arrived which prompted me to try again. I finally got a nice smooth edge and had a dream of a shave with it yesterday morning, which made me feel fab for the rest of the day. Its gone off now for some expert analysis and feedback for me to consider in a mk2. So I may be bringing versions of this beyond a prototype. This one is a keeper though, even with the faff with all the tape to hone it.
Here are some finished pics. Thanks all for your support and kind words. Happy Shaving
Will

I've said it already but I think this razor is absolutely superb.