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I am curious about the use of these two metals in making razors. I collect knives, off and on, and a local knifemaker has used both of these metals (I have owned a couple in the dendritic and it looks great as well as cutting well). Is there a reason they aren't used in straight razors? I would think the dendritic especially would be popular since when acid etched (just as you would with damascus) it has a great appearance.
just curioius.
Red
Both are cast materials from crucible melted alloys to get that surface appearance of dendrites. Primarily, the person doing the casting has to setup the molds to make razor shaped objects. You can't buy a piece of this material in bar form an then grind out a razor. It'd be a great waste of money on grinding belts anyway, this stuff is really abrasion resistant. Honing one would likely be an equal nightmare. Not impossible, but likely to generate a self-dialogue of some pathology.
Cobalt is used to make knives out of Talonite which is almost 50% Cobalt and contains no iron. people keep telling me they aren't good at holding an edge but I have a Cuda maxx which I used as a duty knife in law enforcement and it has out peformed a stainless benchmade. I wonder how many people who knock talonite have ever had one. I think a talonite razor would be neat as an experiment.
There is another equally miserable alloy to grind called Stellite. The much older uncle to Talonite. There is one old fellow who still insists on making knives from it and does very well at it. Everyone else I know tried it once and quit.
sorry to resurrect this so much later. local knife maker I have bought from in the past I had two dendritic knives that I bought from him, I am sure he used stock removal method for the making. I hope to be getting together with him some time next couple of weeks (he is a barber by trade and said he'd show me how to hone a razor) and I'll remember to ask him how he made the knives.
Red