Thread: What steel do stainless steel razors use?

Just a note for anyone who does not know. Any razor, or knife for that matter, which is stamped 440 stainless is poor quality. If it were 440 C it would certainly be stamped that. There is no comparison between 440 and 440C. I once bought a large quantity of 440A stainless before I knew better,and it was not worth anything. It would not heat treat above Rockwell 54 I ended up using it for decorative parts. I saw a razor at the flea market last week marked as 440 stainless and the guy selling it said "look here, it is 440 steel". Mack

Originally Posted by DPflaumer

That may be, but just look at what you are doing with a knife. The toughest thing your razor comes up against is a little stubble. And there is very little pressure straight down on the cutting edge, unlike any work likely to be done with a pocket knife where you are essentially forcing the edge into hard objects.

Do a little research on toughness of human hair, combine that with the actual thickness of razor edges and the mechanical stress they have to endure during shaving, and you will end up with non-trivial demands on quality of steel needed for good razors.

"A little stubble" gives zeepaks more than little trouble for sure.

Originally Posted by cotdt

That is freshly honed though, right? In my 440C knives with an acute edge, by the end of a day's work the edge looks like a sawblade under a 100X.

Here is that same razor after 20 or so shaves, leather only stropping.


And here is my stainless Tuckmar, also at 200x, after probably 15-20 shaves as well. White pasted canvas & leather stropping on this one.

I prefer Sheffield steel

Originally Posted by ChayesFSS

I prefer Sheffield steel

Marshes Pond Works Sheffield 200x

Great picture! Sheffield just feels softer on my skin, Stainless is somewhat harsh imho.

Originally Posted by ChayesFSS

Great picture! Sheffield just feels softer on my skin, Stainless is somewhat harsh imho.

A friend of mine sold a Chandler custom stainless wedge to me because he thought it felt harsh. He is quite a good honer so I didn't have to change anything and the razor has felt smooth as silk to me after many shaves. Never retouched it yet. I guess it is a difference in skin/whisker type ? I have a number of stainless razors both new and vintage and they all are fine with me. I love old Sheffield steel too BTW.