Thread: Magnetic straight razor

So does this affect honing since the swarf may remain attracted to the blade?

I've honed quite a few magnetized straight razors, though the only one that immediately comes to mind is the Carbo Magnetic, and I never noticed any issues or difficulties honing them.

I have a couple of magnetized blades, its usually evident when they come out of the box with the rest of my need to be restored straights and I have a hitch hiker. I too haven't had a problem with swarf.

As far as WB's being magnetized, I haven't come across any yet.

There is some validity (given old technology) to using magnetism as a quality measure of the steel. Iron alone will become magnetic when in contact with a magnet, but give up it's magnetism when the magnet is removed. Steel, OTOH, can become magnetized and retain that magnetism when the original magnet is removed. What you want in a razor is steel (iron carbide) not iron, so it will harden and retain a sharp edge that makes you honer's crazy like hunting for Unicorns. So a magnet says good things about razor steel and the marketeers used it to suggest their steel was better than the next guy's.

The amount of iron (not steel) in the human body is between 3-5 grams, mostly bound into hemoglobin. About the weight of a 5p coin. It's not a component of keratin(your hair/beard). It's difficult to connect shaving with a magnetic blade and making the beard stand up for ease of shaving. No one has fainted because a magnet has drawn all their blood away from vital organs (think MRI) so there isn't a critical attraction to nearby magnetic fields.

I would think that the swarf could conceivably stick to the magnetized blade, but is small enough in grit size to not significantly affect the abrasion process as Ron's observations note. Iron oxide has been used as an abrasive/polishing/burnishing agent for a long time.

My experience is that if you keep your razors in a same room as Rare Earth Magnets, they will become magnetized.

That is a neat tool, I need to pick one up!
I have several magnetic blades, but my favorite is my Carbo. The attraction is actually strong enough to pick up another razor! It was quite annoying when I was sanding it because the particles wouldn't come off

During the late 1800's it was generally believed that magnetism was a general remedy and healthy. Even today some people still believe this thus there's still a market for such things as magnetic bracelets. Many razors were magnetic and it was used as a sales argument and the word magnetic was often etched on the blade.