Thread: Can a crack be fixed ?

Newb question here .. one of the 3 razors from Grandpa that I sent a few weeks ago to Bill Ellis was a Dubl Duck GoldenEdge.. and was a little rusty.. Well.. I hate to admit this.. but while using 0000 steel wool on the blade to get the rust off while holing it under water, I set it on the edge of the sink and accidentally put some weight on it and the razor edge snapped about 1/16" or 1/8" up into the middle where it's hollowed out.. Did I just destroy this and will Bill tell me it's trash??



Jeff

It depends. I had a Goldedge that I had to hone chip out of myself. It was a lot of work, but it just involves honing the blade until you've removed enough metal so that the nick has vanished. It went from a 5/8 to something close to a 4/8 (about half way between), but it's an awesome razor now. Is the nick a little circular thing? Do you think it'd be possible to hone it out? Pictures would help.

Well... let me try a custom picture.. lol .. as the razors at Mr Ellis' place awaiting review with the other two razors.. Here's what I think happened and how it looks ...

Jeff

Oh, okay. That's a pretty substantial crack. I thought you were talking about something that could have been honed out. Short of welding that thing back together, I'm pretty sure it's a lost cause.

....oh.... my .... god ..... my Grandpa' Dubl Duck.. broken by me.. an idiot .. god ....

That is a big crack. If the blade is large 13/16+ it can possibly be ground down but for anything smaller I am afraid the news might not be good.

Usually, the blade with that kind of crack is toast.

But, I would try to hone it as usual, and continue shaving with it. There is a good chance the blade will perform as usual...


cheers,
Nenad

Originally Posted by superfly

Usually, the blade with that kind of crack is toast.

But, I would try to hone it as usual, and continue shaving with it. There is a good chance the blade will perform as usual...


cheers,
Nenad

I agree. Over time you'll hone down to where the crack is less of a concern. I have several bench knives that are not for public consumption that cracked during experiments. They cut things just fine.

Where I would be cautious is applying any further stress to an already stressed point. Then you could find yourself with a chip. That crack represents a point where the blade cannot support itself, so it will be more prone to flexion and increase the risk of breaking further.

I'll state my caveat up front, I don't consider myself at all knowledgeable about razors. If one of the gurus here says it's toast, I'd be deferential to that opinion over my own.

If I had a razor that I could experiment with, as in a broken razor that wasn't going to be serviceable anyway, I don't know if you dare to try this but JB Weld could fill that crack and stablize the steel to some degree. The point being to reduce flexion at that spot which is how the crack will propagate. Another possibility is silver solder but then you have heat involved and may ruin the hardness. Either way you have a visible flaw but you may have saved the blade enough to survive honing over time and we'll all learn something. At this point, how much do you have to lose?

Are you serious? Shave with that blade??? You can shave with that?

Originally Posted by superfly

Usually, the blade with that kind of crack is toast.

But, I would try to hone it as usual, and continue shaving with it. There is a good chance the blade will perform as usual...


cheers,
Nenad

Originally Posted by BostonJeff

Are you serious? Shave with that blade??? You can shave with that?

I would not shave with such a blade. That is just asking for trouble...