Thread: Re-shaping a razor

so i am toying with taking a razor and shortening it to see how it shaves. At times I think a shorter razor may be easier to shave with? Was wondering if anyone has ever tried this and can give some pointer. Of course it will be with an old razor that will be no loss if I royally screw up!

Quite a few people have shortened razors with chipped toes and made them into shorties. Do a search for "Shorties" or some play on that and you shoudl find quite a few hits.

Get a gold dollar for less than $10 and have at it. I have done quite a bit with a dremel cut off wheel and sanding drum. No great loss if you mess it up, just don't over heat it. If you hold it in your hand by the spine while working you should get ample indications of heat building.

I have reshaped several with a chip at the heel. I wrap the blade in a wet paper towel to keep it cool. With my dremmel and sanding wheel I slowly grind out the chip keeping the blade perpendicular to the sanding wheel. I grind a little at a time so as not to overheat the steel and kill the temper. One wrong move and you can crack the blade. I recommend you start with an inexpensive razor. Good luck.

I did it with a Gold Dollar - i used a dremel and lopped the end of the blade off, then cleaned up. The metal has little surface area and will overheat quickly, so keep a beaker of water and dip it every 2 seconds or so. Work slowly and don't rush, it shouldn't be too difficult.

You could grind it away slowly but if you're taking off more than 5mm this will be arduous - a cut off wheel on the dremel should allow you to cut off a section of the blade easily.