Thread: Alternate materials for blades

ok, im dense, so humor me. does that mean once the edge is there, it is permanent, as in stays the same from day 1 to use # 1 thousand? hey, if it never had to be sharpened and cost about the same as the club razor, and shaved great, im in, lol

sam

Not a dumb question. What it basically means is it will go a heck of a lot longer between shaves. Steel is still harder than your hair, tungsten just happens to be about 5 times harder than stainless. I don't know if that would exponentially extend the timeframe between having to strop/hone or if it would eliminate it altogether. I am thinking that at the very least this razor wouldn't be seeing the hone very often in your lifetime.

Originally Posted by mgraepel

I have a reply from a vendor that is willing to give this a shot with tungsten, of all things. She's looking for information on specific measurements. I offered to send her a razor as a template, but I think they want a general idea so they can get to work on a bid. Anyone know the measurements of an average 6/8 for length and width? I already have the height

Are you sure they're going to make a full blade (not just a razor) out of tungsten?

Originally Posted by mgraepel

Not a dumb question. What it basically means is it will go a heck of a lot longer between shaves. Steel is still harder than your hair, tungsten just happens to be about 5 times harder than stainless. I don't know if that would exponentially extend the timeframe between having to strop/hone or if it would eliminate it altogether. I am thinking that at the very least this razor wouldn't be seeing the hone very often in your lifetime.

I think the real issue will be whether it can be sharpened, even with diamond paste (maybe a diamond hone would work, but they're too coarse). And even if you could hone it, will you be able to make it sharp enough before pieces break off because of brittleness.

Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

Are you sure they're going to make a full blade (not just a razor) out of tungsten?

Yep, I made it extremely clear that I was looking for a straight razor blade, not an industrial cutting device or a safety razor. I provided her with some reference pictures and she's just waiting for measurements and the quantity I want her to run before she can provide more info. As for brittleness, not sure that would be an issue. I certainly can ask her, though.

Originally Posted by mgraepel

Yep, I made it extremely clear that I was looking for a straight razor blade, not an industrial cutting device or a safety razor. I provided her with some reference pictures and she's just waiting for measurements and the quantity I want her to run before she can provide more info. As for brittleness, not sure that would be an issue. I certainly can ask her, though.

I just saw that ring video. The ring was untouched by a metal file! There's no way you could work that edge. It would have to go to a lab. I guess that wouldn't be bad if you didn't have to do it very often.

Unfortunately, brittleness is an issue, because pieces of the edge can break off.

Okay, I thought of a couple other ideas on the way home from work. What about either disposable blades like what is done for the feather blades or a razor made out of titanium? That would be considerably lighter than steel, but you could hone it with a tungsten-carbide sharpener. Thoughts on these?

Originally Posted by mgraepel

Okay, I thought of a couple other ideas on the way home from work. What about either disposable blades like what is done for the feather blades or a razor made out of titanium? That would be considerably lighter than steel, but you could hone it with a tungsten-carbide sharpener. Thoughts on these?

If you go disposable, tungsten is OK because you don't need to hone. All titanium will make a razor too expensive, as well as too light. There's no reason it can't be stell with a titanium front portion, assuming you can join them easily.

I recall reading (I do a lot of that) an article in some science magazine about a possible link between tungsten and aggressive tumor growth. I haven't a clue if tungsten is truly carcinogenic or not, but a web search will yield several government and news sites that are making implications. Of course, news sites love making implications. Personally, I'd want just a little assurance before using tungsten on my face.

Here's just one government site linking tungsten to cancer (however, long-term internal exposure):
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/press/011505.html

However, I am interested in the alternative metal angle...

Re-inventing the wheel is why we now have 5-bladed razors. I think I'll stick to stainless and good ole L-6 steel. Part of the attraction to straights is the "oldness" of it all