Questions to ask a metallurgist

I just returned home from a nice dinner out with my parents and one of their friends. I learnt that the guest that I met for the first time is married to a well respected metallurgist, and they live in the same complex as my parents.

I am intending on meeting up with him again, and would like to ask her (his partner) some questions about straight razors, what she knows of old steel etc.

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding good questions to ask of her? I am hoping she may be able to provide some insight into the metals/forging/heat treatment of razors from the past, as well as her opinion on what she would do or consider if she were to produce a new razor herself based on current technologies and materials. Obviously the last one may be hard to answer, as I understand there is a difference between ultra-sharp and ultra smooth... for such a basic personal instrument, there are so many variables in a razor... sharpness, smoothness, hone-ability, edge-holding-ability, chip resistance (when honing, not for dropping one's razor, edge geometry etc.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this and what questions to ask. I will of course post any findings / info on SRP.
Thanks, Andrew :)

If you're looking for info on old heat treatments etc, really best to dig into historical literature / old Sheffield forgers etc. As a materials person myself, and depending on what exactly she does, if it were me I might ask something along the lines of ways to really quantify (or even qualify) edge sharpness vs smoothness. I think that is the most interesting question. And what might affect that, as far as grain size, phase structure, etc. Bring along a copy of the Fe-C phase diagram, that will be helpful for discussion...

This thread is very instructive in terms of sharpness/smoothness. Follow the link in the OP for more info ;

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...g-article.html

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

This thread is very instructive in terms of sharpness/smoothness. Follow the link in the OP for more info ;

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...g-article.html

---

Yes, I remember this post - very informative with a few new tidbits of information.

As far as the conversation with the metallurgist is concerned, I would take it easy.

After all, not everyone likes to talk shop after office hours - but may be too polite to say so - and this is a subject that may bore others around a dinner table to death.



B.

I think she would primarily be a razor historian to be able to answer such questions. The field of metallurgy is very wide. Like askin a dentist about narwhal tusks!

BTW I heartily agree with what Beluga says - don't put someone on the spot or bore your companions!

Regards,
Neil

Ask her how to better the steel for our particular applications, What formula would she use to improve over the primary steels we use like O-1 & 1095 without getting into high tech heat treatment & tempers. I'm talking about using simple tools like coal or gas for heat treat, oil or brine for quench, and a oven for tempering.

Metallurgy is a very wide field with all kinds of specialties. She might be able to tell you just general alloy mixes to get a hard blade but she probably won't know much about razor applications.

Do an advanced search with metallurgy as he key word, and Mike Blue as the member ........ probably get enough to keep you going for awhile ....... :chapeau

Ya, he is one of those guys who has forgotten more than I will ever know...not many of them left, especially who is as willing to help as Mike is. Hell of a guy I would like to meet.