Thread: Razor Etchings: Are folks happy with this??

Has not really bothered me I have seen wonky gold wash on old razors too. It just depends on how well the lacquer has been applied. I like modern razors. I would not consider them mass produced since their number is dwarfed by the numbers the big houses pushed out at the end of their era. Dovo has 20 people, TI half that, Boker even less, Revisor and Wacker have 4-5 and Aust is a one man shop. So I would not say they are mass produced.

I wouldn't buy any of the examples shown, especially for a "top shelf" product price point. I think etching can really add to a razor and would love to see what you could incorporate.

I have searched the inter webs but have yet to find out how to reproduce the old etchings, I know how to etch but getting the lines that small, anything short of child labor of having a kid spend all day with a fine brush and etching acid on the razor, I am at a loss on how to do it.

To get the old style etchings, you use a hand graver or better yet an air powered palm graver. It's tedious, time consuming work for me, but I would bet an experienced person could do in 15 minutes what takes me 15 hours to do.

From what I have seen in the etching is electronic removal of metal with acid and a template of usually Rubber is used to hold the acid in place, if you look in the knifemakers sections of Bladeforums you can see right away that modern etchants and methods can be very precise.

I have seen some examples of laser etching as well. The razor has a black tar like substance painted on and the laser is used to etch the metal. The tar is removed with a chemical wash and the remaining etch has a bit of depth and a nice crisp black coloring.

If you look at step #7 of this page, you can see a good example of the results: Portland Razor Co. | Straight Razors and Strops — Manufacturing Process

Dovo example: https://youtu.be/3ACJrAI3SxM?t=2m18s

This Wostenholm has an interesting etching/engraving. It's deep enough to catch a fingernail when rubbing across it. Not sure if it's original to the razor or added after.