Thread: Custom razors

they don't need the water cooled grinder to achieve, just a great craftsman. 1/4 hollows are easy that's why most of the custom guys stick with it,, but as Jaime said there are a couple who can do it well. Tc

Originally Posted by Ambersnake

I have previously had Thiers but the Riga has been a revelation in my shaves - just get on really well with the feedback , weight of the blade !
I did hear on the grapevine (I may be incorrect) that Riga were looking at a water cooled grinding equipment which would make full hollows a possibility! This i’d love to see ! They get a hollow nailed and combined with their build quality it’s going to be quite a thing !

You are right, I spoke with Sergej a little while back and he did say he was going to invest in a new grinder that would allow him to make a full hollow blade. Cedric Christ makes some amazing full hollow grinds and extra hollow, his work is impeccable.

Think the water cooling reduces heat build up in a rapidly deminising blade thickness which is harder to manage as the hollow gets thinner !
Maybe possible to do without for sure but perhaps when you are trying to produce commercially a water cooled grinder is a valuable aid !

this may be true for a commercial razor maker, but a custom maker, isn't turning out thousands of razors, they are hand making them one at a time,, the grinders your talking about have been with the big boys a long time,, but even then the razor makers from Solingen were turning a lot of razors out with out, and they were the kings of hollow grinding.

ive ground a razor to full hollow and heat was never an issue,, that's only if your not paying attention Tc

I have Thiers razors . I’ve read that quality is sporadic, a lot prone to micro chipping . I’ve personally witnessed this which in my opinion is down to the temper of the steel.
For sure a hollow can be achieved without but with conertations to the honeabilty future use ! If a water cooled improves a build why wouldn’t you use that technology!

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could be temper issues but steel has to do with how fine an edge a razor can take without crumbling. and to set the record straight, I agree if progress in equipment helps, that's good. but by that same theory, why use a straight at all? progress has given us better options. Tc

By the way Victor is watching with popcorn,, hey Victor do you use a water cooled grinder?

I would hate to say that Victor makes the most hollow of the small producers, but he does make full hollow razors. There are some other small producers that make full hollow razors. I think water cooled grinders would be a slippery slope. I’m not sure how that all works out in the long run with water and steel. It seems like a recipe for rust to me. However I know nothing about high production manufacturing of straight razors. I would think the drop forge stamping blanks would do more for production than anything.

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

By the way Victor is watching with popcorn,, hey Victor do you use a water cooled grinder?

I personally do not use water directly on the belts [I think that about everyone has a dip bucket] . I think water cooling is more important for the double wheel grinders where heat buildup is more of a problem. It's not like a drip or spray system is hard or expensive to set up. OCD razors used a drip system. Thin razors do heat faster, but the thinness also means that you have to keep the pressure light to avoid deflection. Light pressure = low heat. With single wheel grinders heat buildup is sensed way before your getting anywhere near tempering temperatures of around 400F. Everyone that I know grinds bare hands with the fingertips directly behind the pressure point of the grinding. Heat control is just one of the skills of hand grinding. I don't think that it would be possible for a skilled grinder person, on a single wheel grinder, to ruin the temper of a blade without knowing that he or she did it.

All really interest stuff ! Bluesman , lovely looking blades matey incredibly fine hollows - love the ‘hot rod’ !