Thread: 4th Annual North Central Texas Razor Meet at Charlie Lewis Razor Workshop

Originally Posted by engine46

I really love that gender setup Paco is using although I have seen more & like them also but I'm really intrigued with that grinder!

Inside joke here, and I apologize for those who were not there, but your malaprop of "gender setup" was perfect for referencing Paco!

Originally Posted by spazola

The meet was a chaotic exchange of goodwill and knowledge. Everybody went home with fingers attached. No trauma occurred. I am looking forward to the next meet.

I'll upload what pics I have.
Also I will be there again next year.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I'll upload what pics I have.
Also I will be there again next year.

Great Bruno! I will definitely start planning ahead...................
Thank you so much & to all the others who contributed. It is very helpful, interesting, educational & more all in one. I can't mention all the names but you know who you all are. Thank you so much everyone who attended.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I'll upload what pics I have.
Also I will be there again next year.

That's great!!!! I have already put it n my calendar to start looking for the first post, I will be there and here I thought you and I might only meet one more time!!! Tc

Originally Posted by Utopian

Inside joke here, and I apologize for those who were not there, but your malaprop of "gender setup" was perfect for referencing Paco!

Yep everyone who was there will get it for a long time,, it was priceless , and James we love ya. Tc

Wow and double Wow. This razor meet at Charlie’s was so cool it was totally unbelievable.

First of all I want to thank Charlie for opening up his workshop for all of us to use ALL of his equipment. He went beyond the call of duty in that respect.

It was really cool to meet Bruno who came all the way from Belgium and to add this razor meet to his trip.

It was especially nice to see those that I have met at previous razor meets and those are: Lynn Abrams, Lynn, -Randy Tuttle, Randydance062449, - Ron Hrstka, Utopian, -Charlie Lewis, Spazola, - Steve Henry, Paco.

Also I want to thank those that helped me create my blade into what I call my version of a Kamisori (Japanese Straight Razor). It is a bit untraditional but hey it is cool and the amazing thing is, after my honing it, is that is actually shaves.
I want to thank Scott Goodman, Shooter74743, for instructing me in the use of his grinder and some finishing techniques.
Also, I want to thank Charlie for his tips in forging and finishing techniques.
I want to thank Bob Allman, OCD Razors, who spent a lot of time with me and showing me some very helpful techniques in the finishing process of my blade.
And Howard Clark, thank you for heat treating my blade and showing me that process.
Tim Bleed, 32T, showed me what he was doing while he ground on his blade.

Some of the demonstrations:
Bruno put on a demonstration of grinding a blade’s edge so thin that it turned into an edge that was just like a strip of aluminum foil that was probably 1/8 inch wide at the edge. This process is as thin as you can get an edge. You then hone the edge very gently and the foil with hone away and you are left with a very sharp edge.
Victor, Bluesman7, put on a demonstration of grinding a blade where the bottom part of the blade below the hollow grind is straight.
Charlie Lewis, Spazola, showed us how to forge and hammer a piece of steel into the shape of a blade.
Mike Blue, showed us the color transformation process of a piece of steel that has been heated to a red hot color and watching it cool for a few minutes.
Howard Clark explained the heat treating process of steel crystals and how carbon affects that steel.
Lynn and Randy had honing instruction sessions which several partaked and learned a lot.

In relation to the SRP monthly giveaways I want to thank Rolodave, tcridehd and thehattr for their donations.

This razor meet was special to me in that I got to meet so many nice and helpful people. The camaraderie of this group is way above your average get together of other people. I so much enjoyed this that I do hope that I can make next year’s meet.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

Thanks to Charlie for hosting. A shop invasion can be very interesting some times. It was great to be in the same room with all that (mostly Bruno's abundant) energy.

It is indeed true I ran back and forth like a squirrel at times, saying things in passing while looking at something else at the same time. I had a ton of fun, and I was glad that I could be of help to so many people. I almost never have an audience in real life, and never at all when it comes to people wanting to make razors. So I just kept running around showing how to do things and giving tips. And in return I learned a great deal as well.

I got helpful tips from Charlie about abrasives, and Victor's grinding is something out of the nutty professor. Had anyone told me about it, I'd have thought that would never have worked. But the results are impeccable. And then of course giving a forging demonstration with Mike and Howard looking on was a bit intimidating. Especially since I decided to start out with a piece of Damascus that was way too thick and had to be drawn by hand, and which was also a lot more susceptible to splitting than regular steel. But it was fun and the razor turned out just fine.

And I am glad my finish grinding demonstration was of so much help to others. I guess now the secret for my small bevels is out of the bag. Ron videoed the entire process, with me explaining things along the way. I am eagerly awaiting that.

The food was great, the company was even better.

Originally Posted by celticcrusader

Looks like a great place to hang out only wish I lived closer 4700 miles was just a bit to far to travel for me.

I'm with you mate the 13,246km's is a hike
great to see Bruno & so many made the long trip to be there,
it would have been awesome to have the opportunity to tap into & have some of the wealth of knowledge present in the workshop for the weekend rub off even a bit.
I am sure everyone present gained something from the experience

look forward to more post etc as they come out

I did not shoot much video, just a few 10 second clips. Here they are strung together.

They give a taste of what was going on.

Charlie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yL6...ature=youtu.be

I have been home for a few hours and am finally settled enough to make a short note.

I had a very good time and learning experience.

I took only 2 bad pictures with my flip phone and they were not worthy of sharing here.

My main thought at the moment is how so many different men, each with a different personality and method, interacted and shared in such a gentlemanly way.

Tim