Thread: Soft blade?

I recently was given a old razor. I removed the scales and put the blade on a set of scales I made. Then I honed the razor. It would never cut hair on my arm worth a tinkers darn! I even bread knifed it and started over. Still no luck on certain areas of the blades edge. I then tried one last thing I did not want to do and that was bread knife it again and then start the whole progression from bevel set starting at 220 grit to really make sure I got through the metal!!! It made me cringe to think of this being such an aggressive grit but it did not take a lot of metal off and now this razor may be one of my sharpest if that makes sense.

In fact it shaved like a dream and after use and cleanup and stropping for the next session it felt like a samurai blade again ready to cut with little effort.

Originally Posted by Bonio

Ive got an old sheffield blade, I bought it from Ebay a while back. Its almost a wedge shape. It was polished but not sharpened when I got it and I bought some scales to finish it off.

Its sharp before I start shaving but about half way through a shave it seems to start dragging a little, in fact I just managed to nick myself with it thanks to it seeming to grab.

I know nothing about straight razors although I am trying to learn. I'm happy I can get it sharp as it will cut a hanging hair no problem and it shaves just fine until like I say about half way through. Unless its something wrong with my shaving prep I wondered if the blade could be just soft? Is this possible at all?

Im not sure what heat treatment is carried out on blades where they hardened in the old days?

Thanks

Up date your info. Let folks know where you are. There might just be someone close enough that is good at honing that can help you. Just a thought.

Originally Posted by Bonio

I never got any further than shaving WTG

Then you did not get half way through the shave, just the first pass.
I'd focus on making sure the bevel is set correctly if I were you.

Thanks for the advice.
I've watched videos on YouTube to get tips. I've also read that a wedge isn't the best thing to start with.
The post about suction rings true a bit too.
I actually live near Sheffield in the UK, which is why I'm interested in razors from around here

i pi honed it with a layer of tape on the back as it had some wear on the spine too.

Originally Posted by Bonio

Yes thats a lot of hone wear. You are going to need about 5 layers of tape. I can't tell but it looks like a frown but it could be the uneven bevel. Not the ideal razor to start with.

What brand of stones do you have and what pastes are on your strops?

At this point the edge look uneven and frowning somewhat.

It will probably need to be breadknife straight and then honed. Whatever you do, do not put it on the 220 grit stone, the 1k will do all you need.

If you use the 220 you will do more damage than good. This is a pretty nice razor and one you should put aside for when you have more experience honing. It is not that bad and still can be saved.

Perhaps look in the classifieds and pick up a shave ready razor and learn to shave and maintain a razor first, then learn to hone, and do repairs.

A hands on mentor will greatly cut your learning curve.

I dont know what make the stones are, nothing fancy. They are flat though.

The paste is the solingen Stanger pasta.

I see the frown in the photo but not in real life, I think its a trick of the light and the lens on the camera maybe. Im off to measure the blade along its length now as I get the feeling it may not be very even.

Ive got a shave ready (wait for it) gold dollar Ill give that a go and see how that works. Its been altered and honed by a guy who seems to know what he is doing.

The reason I ask about the stones is not all stone work well with honing razors.

It is not just about grit size, the binder plays a very large part in successful honing of razors.

Many have tried inexpensive stones off EBay and other places and hand nothing but problems with them on razors. These are knife stones and may work with knives but not with razors.

You have to remember the Razor Honing market is very small, and we use hones designed for other tools and knives, that just happen to work for razors.

There are only a relative handful, that are proven performers, the King, Norton and Naniwia are the most common and least expensive.

You may want to consider purchasing a set of stones exclusively for razor honing. An inexpensive set, that are proven performers will go a long way to improving your honing skills.

There are tons of threads on starter honing sets, in the hone forum.

Im on a bit of a tight budget to be honest, however I will see what I can find

I used this one and this one. (links to amazon). They seem to work well enough dont clog or grab they feel even and the lines they leave on the blade look even as far as I can see.

I have just measured the thickness of the spine as I wondered if it was thinner where it shows signs of honing the most (towards the tip) it is in fact .54mm thicker there which explains the excess honing marks I guess.

I will do what is suggested though. Leave it to one side as I quite like the blade and would hate to spoil it.