Thread: new member

Hi all,


I'm a new member here who needs a bit of a hand.

I've collected a few razors over the last 30 years but been too scared to use them.

I recently(2 weeks ago) decided to start using one come hell or high water.

My razors are in storage at my dads house so I decided to make one from on old file.
I am currantly using a DOVO straight razor that takes split double sided blades.
Once I started using this razor I started having alot more success shaving with more of my face remaining where it should-no additional cuts
with the commercial blades!!!!

It was dry ground in its hardened state without much heat build up(didn't have anything to anneal it in at this time)
I must have ruined the temper as it wouldn't hold an edge at all so I built a small furnace and annealed it,did some more grinding
and then clay edge hardened it.
Dont know what temperature but it was a bright red/orange colour and was tested with a magnet before quenching.

A little bit of a clean up and touch up on the edge with VERY fine natural stones.
Shaves arm hair very well but not good enough for the face.

please checkout the poor photos for blade geometry for comments and advice on where I went wrong.

Cheers John

John,
I can't tell you anything about the razor you made . I have no skills in metal work.
I can advise you to have your stored straights sent to you & get them made shave ready. If you are going to start this adventure, then start it with equipment already made for the task. This gives you a good "Base Line"/ Standard for future comparisons, including this razor you are trying to make.

Read the library above, watch the videos, prepare your equipment,,,,then start the journey.

Welcome aboard.

FWIW (from somebody without forging skills) --

It looks like the handle is too thick to let the blade lie against the skin at the proper angle. And (as you know!) your rough-and-ready harden/temper method may have given you an edge that's too soft, or too brittle.

I'd grind down the handle where it meets the blade, into a triangular (trapezoidal, actually) cross-section that more-or-less matches the blade's cross-section.

If you can get that thing honed so it shaves nicely, you have a lot more talent than I do!<g>

. Charles

Cool stuff!

I'm also in the process of making a razor. I bought a piece of 01 carbon steel, have annealed it in a homemade furnace (metal bucket, gravel, ashes, kitty-litter and a motorcycle exhaust as the downpipe with a tube for forcing the air from a hairdryer into). It worked wonderfully well. From what I've been reading it sounds like you did a decent job of annealing it. And if you have heated it up again to cherry red and quenched it in oil and then hardened in your oven for a few hours you should be good to go. I'm not finished grinding mine yet...

Good luck! I'm sure some guys with a lot more experience than me in working metal will be able to give you some great advice.

G'Day and welcome, John.

I'd have to agree with Hirlau - it's never too early to get started.

When you get your razors and if you can't find anyone in NZ to hone them for you, I'll do one or two gratis if you want to post them to me with a return envelope.

I think Eisenfaust will probably be able to help you though. I know there are other New Zealanders here - I just can't think of their usernames ATM

Let us know how you go

Hi Charles,

Thanks for the advice.

I left the handle thick to highlight the fact that it was an old file but I'll grind it down thinner and try to keep the teeth on the back edge like the blade.

The non magnetic approach to hardening is one of the best for simple carbon steels of undetermined carbon content but I will source some SUP9 from a local supplier and follow thier directions.

Have a go on the forging-its simpler than you may think but keep the billet about 3mm(1/8") thicker than finished size to allow for grinding out forging imperfections.I think that a razor blank is to small to forge unless you are pretty good or you want fancy shaped tangs/handles(I'm not that good with forging either).


Cheers John

Originally Posted by Fenian

Cool stuff!

I'm also in the process of making a razor. I bought a piece of 01 carbon steel, have annealed it in a homemade furnace (metal bucket, gravel, ashes, kitty-litter and a motorcycle exhaust as the downpipe with a tube for forcing the air from a hairdryer into). It worked wonderfully well. From what I've been reading it sounds like you did a decent job of annealing it. And if you have heated it up again to cherry red and quenched it in oil and then hardened in your oven for a few hours you should be good to go. I'm not finished grinding mine yet...

Good luck! I'm sure some guys with a lot more experience than me in working metal will be able to give you some great advice.

Hi Fenian.

Thats a cool looking blade.
I love your approach to home heattreat.
A man by the name of Tai Goo runs a primitive blade forging group and website that you might like.

I tried O1 many years ago for a small sword but got it a bit to hot and it crumbled(red short) so I don't use it now.

I prefer simple 10XX series steels as they are very forgiving.

I'll post pics when finished.

Cheers John

Originally Posted by Havachat45

G'Day and welcome, John.

I'd have to agree with Hirlau - it's never too early to get started.

When you get your razors and if you can't find anyone in NZ to hone them for you, I'll do one or two gratis if you want to post them to me with a return envelope.

I think Eisenfaust will probably be able to help you though. I know there are other New Zealanders here - I just can't think of their usernames ATM

Let us know how you go

Hi Havachat45.

Nice to hear from the neighbors across the ditch.

like the bike,what is it.

I ride a 97 XJ900(diversion).
I'll plod on with advice for now and if I can't produce a shaving edge may take you up on that offer(much harder to sharpen than swords and knifes)

BMW K1.

They're not harder to hone - just different.

I wouldn't have a clue about the heat treat and whether that is the culprit - odds are in favour of that I suspect but I am not in any way an expert on it.

I'm more interested in what you mean by a touch up on very fine natural stones. I'd have thought that razor would have required some serious grinding on some very coarse low grit synthetics. And what exactly are you using in the way of the natural stones?

What bevel angle did you create with that razor?

There are many things that could be the reason for it not shaving: heat treat, bevel angle, insufficient honing, shaving technique. In fact, I would say with this razor you have hit the mother load in terms of potential variables!

James.