Thread: Magnetized??? Why?

Every time you strop a razor it leaves some micro particles into the strop. You can see that clearly as your strop is getting some color from the razor after it has been used for few months. With the magnetized steel some particles might stay in the blade and not get into a strop. At least in theory.
Does this have anything to do with the real life outside theory? I do not believe so.

Originally Posted by akhorosh

Also there is one theory I have learned from Russian website that dull magnetized razors becoming sharp inside of Egyptian pyramids.
Take this theory with a grain of salt.

You're not the only one to hold this enlightened view. Mr. Allan Parsons chimed in as follows:

"You can keep the edge of a razor as sharp as an
Eagle's eye, you can grow a hedge that is vertically straight over
Ten feet high, all you really need is a pyramid and just a little luck
I had read, somewhere in a book, they improve all your food and wine
I'd been told, someone in the know can be sure of his good luck
It's no lie, all you need is a little bit of pyramidic help"

Ok, I have been lurking for about a year, and this is my first post to any of the forums. So, be gentle with me. My wife says that when she asks me what time it is I not only tell her how to build a clock, but also why comparison of atomic clocks to astronomical alignment is critical in providing accurate time.

All of the fantasy reasons for MAGNETIC razors I have read in these forums have been bothering me. Without a doubt the posts to these forums are from others obviously more knowledgeable about razors than I am. So by posting this I hope clear up some of the mystery and voodoo involved.

So here it goes…
By way of qualification, I am an old Scouter (Scoutmaster four years), and suffer from incurable curiosity. I researched steel a little, a long time ago (hint: I had to actually read it in books, and they are becoming rarer than straight razors). All good scouters like knives, axes, etc. All of these benefit from good hard steel.

Now, healing magnets, Russian pyramids, and the moon aligning your hemoglobin with Uranus aside. Carbon steel alloys over a hardness of 400 are likely to be magnetic naturally (some are NOT, but I am starting to build that clock again). Martenized Stainless Steel for example:

“Martensitic stainless steels are not as corrosion-resistant as the other two classes but are extremely strong and tough, as well as highly machinable, and can be hardened by heat treatment. Martensitic stainless steel contains chromium (12–14%), molybdenum (0.2–1%), nickel (less than 2%), and carbon (about 0.1–1%) (giving it more hardness but making the material a bit more brittle). It is quenched and magnetic.” (Stainless steel - Wikipedia)

The steel alloys used to make better quality razors, at some point in their evolution became naturally and noticeably magnetic. Bear with me this is where my conjecture comes in. In my opinion, as razor manufacturers were working with different alloys to develop the right blend of metals for hardness, flexibility and RUST resistance, they took note of the increased magnetic properties of harder steel alloys and that became a marketing point ( Probably with good reason).

In the end, the average consumer may have had no understanding of how different metal alloys increase the magnetic properties of steel. They would have seen the qualities of their families and friends razors that were high quality magnetic steel, holding an edge longer, lasting longer, or even less likely to rust.

While “MAGNETIC” razors may have, in reality, been a marketing tool. I feel it most likely originated from metallurgists taking note of one quirky quality of high quality steel. Hence, <DING> some very intelligent sales people started using this as a marketing point. Whether any lower quality steel razors were naturally magnetic, or simply magnetized to appear so, is another topic all together.

I own several "MAGNETIC" razors (two of which are my favorites). In my experience my magnetic razors DO hold an edge longer and seem to have less of a rust issue than most of my older carbon steel razors. In fact I have an old Dorp & Voos that while not touted a magnetic, it is, and is in the same class of easy care and upkeep as my “magnetic” razors.

I hope this perspective helps shine a little more light on the subject, and in doing so maybe dispels a few myths.

NAH, you guys got it all wrong,there for when you nick yourself,it pulls the iron in your blood to the wound site and clots faster,sort of like having a built in styptic pencil. Now if you believe this explanation I have some left handed smoke shifters you might be interested in,but I'll have to put them in the for sale page....

Another marketing ploy and in my opinion, more trouble than any possible benefit. In honing, the detritus, sludge, whatever you want to call it, accumulates on the razor edge requiring numerous wipings in the course of honing.

Hi guys: thanks for all your inputs.

Read this article with great interest and it's fun to see the different opinions.

Regards, Jazor.

I think we may at times be at cross-purposes in what we read. The word "magnetic" is sometimes used to denote attractable by a magnet. That isn's what we mean here, but it applies about equally to any plain steel. We mean capable of being permanently magnetised, which does indeed a about correspond with the ability to retain a cutting edge for many purposes, although a razor edge requires more.

I agree that it is just an advertising gimmick, and more likely to be marginally harmful than marginally beneficial. Marginally, though, you can count on. It only has to pick up one iron filing, and the edge may be dulled.

We underrate the subtlety of the advertising industry, if we think it is a better guide to the practical benefits of a product than it was in Victorian times. Remember, if a product is high in something, it is low in something else, and most customers only care about the kind of person it will make them. Well, the kind they see using it on TV, anyway. Dr. Goebbels used to say that you should always aim for the stupidest, as there are more of them, and you can achieve most with them.

Originally Posted by Sidnet

Those mummies are wicked with a hone.

Not so much a hone. What we call bandages are linen for stropping.

Wow! I can't believe that the razor cost only $2.50...even for that time I think it is cheap, considering that the product is still used and useful today.