What's silver steel and what's it doing in my razor?

[Stuggi]

I recently ordered a Dovo of a german site with small pictures, so I'm at a bit of a loss when it comes to what I actually ordered since Dovo makes at least three razors with the ebony scale. After reading and looking at pictures I think I've matched my razor to this one on classicshaving.com which is a "silver steel" razor...
What is that then? ^^

Here's the razor on classic btw. DOVO Straight Razors

[nun2sharp]

I believe the steel contained 2% silver, I cant remember why, sorry.

[Stuggi]

Good that the silver part isn't BS, now just the why left.. :/

I've also seen TI's with "Sheffield Silver Steel" blades on them on classicsh...

[smythe]

Silver steel doesn’t have silver in it. It is simply marketing hype most likely “coined” from Silverware in reference to “higher quality” cutting blades.
Silver mixed with steel will offer no improvement in the quality of the resulting edged steel or its durability. In fact the silver may reduce the strength of the steel (a waste of good silver).


BTW that Dovo is a fine razor… you did good.

[mtstanley]

I purchased the same razor just recently (my first, yes I'm a noobie). The following is a quote from Wikipedia:

Silver steel is common tool steel in the UK that is supplied as a centerless ground round bar. It is roughly equivalent to drill rod in the US.
The steel is defined under specification BS-1407, with the closest European equivalent being 1.2210 (although this steel contains vanadium). The composition is as follows: carbon 0.95–1.25, manganese 0.25–0.45, chromium 0.35–0.45, silicon 0.40 max, phosphorus 0.045 max, sulfur 0.045 max.[1]
In the annealed state is has a hardness of 27 RHC. It can be hardened to 64 RHC.[2]

Not much of a help unless you are a metalurgist, which I am not. Although silver is not listed as a component of the blend. I would be interested in the opinion of a metalurgist as to the qualities of this steel vs. other types of steel.

[Neil Miller]

Well Smythe, I suppose celebrated historical UK chemist Michael Faraday was just dreaming, then, when he invented silver steel?

Regards,
Neil

[fccexpert]

I purchased the same razor just recently (my first, yes I'm a noobie). The following is a quote from Wikipedia:

Silver steel is common tool steel in the UK that is supplied as a centerless ground round bar. It is roughly equivalent to drill rod in the US.
The steel is defined under specification BS-1407, with the closest European equivalent being 1.2210 (although this steel contains vanadium). The composition is as follows: carbon 0.95–1.25, manganese 0.25–0.45, chromium 0.35–0.45, silicon 0.40 max, phosphorus 0.045 max, sulfur 0.045 max.[1]
In the annealed state is has a hardness of 27 RHC. It can be hardened to 64 RHC.[2]

Not much of a help unless you are a metalurgist, which I am not. Although silver is not listed as a component of the blend. I would be interested in the opinion of a metalurgist as to the qualities of this steel vs. other types of steel.

Excellent reply, and correct in all points. FYI to all, it is called silver steel because of the bright appearance of the steel. This is due to the high carbon content. It is an excellent steel for edged implements of all types.

[Neil Miller]

fccexpert - just a case of semantics, viewpoint and time - probably due to the collective lapse in our memories and thinking that everything new is ... well ... everything. It's true that silver steel - nowadays - is not the same as silver steel in Faraday's time. Modern silver-steel razors are not the same as the old razors.

Faraday's silver steel was used in razors - see the link.

I have definitely seen razors with "silver added" or "silver added to steel" on either the razor itself or the advertising blurb. The link to Faraday and silver steel also specifically refers to Sheffield. Just because it was an experiment, and the addition of silver didn't add anything, doesn't mean that all razors marketed as silver-steel have no silver in them. If anyone cares to look over the archive, there are references. The original had (according to which source you view) either 1% or 0.02% silver in it. This has now been replaced with chrome or molybdenum.

Blueprinciple is a senior member. He knows what the original silver-steel was, and that it had silver in it. Perhaps he will chime in. Why call it anything other than silver-steel? Think about it. Because it's bright? Ok, maybe - or perhaps "really bright steel" or "lovely shiny steel" - who knows? Facts are facts and guesses are anyones preserve.

I'm not saying that modern silver-steel has silver in it - don't get me wrong. But quoting stuff parrot-style and ignoring all that has gone before seems to me to be a great disservice to those early pioneers. Let's face it - a lot of us are working backwards to achieve just a small iota of what they already achieved.

Does it matter that the silver didn't help? That it wasn't as strong an alloy as it could have been? What matters is that someone of gargantuan intellectual proportions thought about it, made it real, and made razors out of it. Things change. 20th Century Fox still make pictures, don't they?

Regards,
Neil

[smythe]

According to the link (The book “Michael Faraday” By Silvanus Phillips Thompson), Faraday would occasionally present to one of his friends a razor made from his own special steel, It may have been the Silver Steel he invented. There is no mention Silver Steel used in the production of razors; it would be too expensive with no better effect than other alloys.

If there were razors produced with “Silver Steel” there could not have been many (add to that the few Sterling Silver handled razors we see popping up on eBay), a negligible quantity compared to the other countless numbers made with more suitable alloys.

Neil, we are still friends… and I concede that "Silver Steel" does exist, but Silver is/was too expensive to be used in an everyday item such as a razor (remember back in those days a straight razor was as ubiquitous as a butcher knife).

My only point is… we all know human nature, Silver is Silver, it is valuable. Even the word “Silver” is valuable, and the shiny polished blade with “Silver Steel” in the description will conjure in the minds of the purchaser the idea of a “Higher Quality” item in which the best care, precision and materials was invested to producing it.

The word “Silver” adds value… that’s marketing.

Which one would you most likely buy?

PRESHARPENED DOVO Genuine Ebony & "Drill Rod Steel" 5/8 ($134.99)
or
PRESHARPENED DOVO Genuine Ebony & "Silver Steel" 5/8 ($134.99)

[Stuggi]

Silver steel doesn’t have silver in it. It is simply marketing hype most likely “coined” from Silverware in reference to “higher quality” cutting blades.
Silver mixed with steel will offer no improvement in the quality of the resulting edged steel or its durability. In fact the silver may reduce the strength of the steel (a waste of good silver).


BTW that Dovo is a fine razor… you did good.

Thanks, I'm quite pleased with my buy, only 129 € for the razor and strop shipped! Hopefully I'll have it by monday!

It can't be very bad considering the different metals involved and the fact that it can be hardened to 64 RHC, which is pretty damn good on a razor if they actually get it that high.