Thread: Sheffield Steel

So, I was sharpening up one of the practice blades that Chris game me. It is a Joseph Rogers and Sons Sheffield razor. It isn't pretty ( it is a practice razor after all), but it took the edge amazingly quickly considering the shape it was in. It wasn't all out dull, but it wasn't sharp either. Anyway, I was just wondering what the average hardness of a Sheffield was. This seemed to be pretty soft, though I have very little experience with steel hardness. It seemed softer then my Dovo and my Novelty. Am I just dreaming, or is this true?

Matt

P.S. Thanks for the razor Chris. I am going to take it for a test shave some time this week. I will let you know how it goes.

Ah.
And I thought you just got a good price for it.

Sheffield steel always seems fairly soft to me, though sometimes those old blades have big bevels that make them slow honing. They still shave great, and though they don't hold the edge as long the easy honing helps compensate.

I find that the Sheffield steel is generally a little softer than the Solingen, but these qualities attract me to it since it take a keen edge a little easier. it's not that it gets any keener than other steels, just that it seems to listen to me better.

X

I've had some Sheffield pieces that hold their edge as long or longer than my Solingen pieces, but in general, yes they seem a bit softer, but overall I like their performance.

The difference in steel hardness doesn't just show up in honing, but in shaving as well. I (and others) think that the sheffield razors and other with similar hardness seem to feel softer and less scratchy on the face. This scratchiness is most often noticed with stainless razors because they are very hard pretty much across the board, but really hard carbon steel razors also exhibit this attribute.