Thread: titon razors

Hi I'mfairly new to using a straight razor i am a carpenter and joiner and pride myself on my honing skills the only thing i seem to have a problem with are two titan razors I have had given to me the graining of the steel Imust admit looks great but can i get an edge on one not a chance. Has anybody had the same problem or got an answer to this problem

I think you you do a search you will find them classified as razor shaped objects, not really razors. Many are tricked by the shape and judging by the net more continue to be tricked daily. Keep an eye on the classifieds for shave ready vintage blades. Shave ready is the best place to start.

I have some books with nothing on them. One of them is a book called Straight Razor Collecting that has about every maker in it published in 1980 By Robert A. Doyle but I found nothing. Another is one called Goins Encyclopedia Of Cutlery Markings & although it has many but not all makers in it, nothing about your razors is in it. I also have the 1st, 2nd & 3rd edition to the Standard Guide Of Razors by Roy Ritchie & Ron Stewart but nothing is found. I also have Tweedale's Directory of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers 1740-2013 but still nothing. I have several editions of the American Premium Guide to Knives & Razors by Jim Sargent, still nothing. I believe these razors were made in recent years & although they may look of good quality it is possible they aren't or they are of very hard steel & difficult to sharpen.. I might be wrong though.

Titan straight razors are relatively new and supposedly made of Japanese cutlery stainless steel VG10. I've never seen one. VG10 is tough steel to hone, but it also holds its edge extremely well. I do have a spyderco knife made of VG10 and I had to use a DM325 to get the bevel set and it still took somewhere around 200 travels to get it where I wanted it to be. I was seriously starting to consider a belt sander with 80 grit by the end of it.
Next time I sharpen it, I'm going to try lapping film - or maybe an angle grinder.

Originally Posted by criswilson10

Titan straight razors are relatively new and supposedly made of Japanese cutlery stainless steel VG10. I've never seen one. VG10 is tough steel to hone, but it also holds its edge extremely well. I do have a spyderco knife made of VG10 and I had to use a DM325 to get the bevel set and it still took somewhere around 200 travels to get it where I wanted it to be. I was seriously starting to consider a belt sander with 80 grit by the end of it.
Next time I sharpen it, I'm going to try lapping film - or maybe an angle grinder.

If it is that hard, I would try something like a DMT 1200 with very light strokes so that it isn't so aggressive.

Thank you for your time

I am used to sharpening carving chisels and machine tools I think that one of the steels used in the Damascus process is that soft and one so hard and the graining so wide that to get the honing process just wipes out the soft steel and leaves a saw like edge I have over twenty other blades and the titan are the only problem but surely they would take this into consideration when making them or is it just for profit. Or am I grasping for straws

I think that the consensus is that they are made by the same people that make Gold Dollar razors. Likewise most need work on the stabilizers before they will sit flat on the hone. The steel is supposedly very hard so it might be worth looking to do a few bevel setting strokes on something like a DMT325.

Thanks I have got the razor or as above razor shaped object down to a fine edge but cannot get the final edge for shaving

Break out a magnifying glass of at least 10x preferably 30x or higher and keep polishing until the previous grit scratches are gone. It may take a while. With the knife I mentioned above I tried finishing it on 1k Norton with no success, switched to a Chosora 1k and it still took a bunch of passes to finish.