Small crack in blade edge. Fix it?

I just bought a near mint Filarmonica 12 Romo 5/8" razor on ebay.

After receiving it today, and careful examination, I found a tiny notch and crack at the end of the straight part of the edge just as it rounds over at the toe end. The crack is barely visible to the eye, and is about 1 mm long or less.

My question is: Should this be removed by bevelling, or can I leave it alone? If I don't remove it, will it grow with time or break off?

I.e., is this a "stitch in time" issue? Otherwise the razor is in perfect shape. Not bad for $25 including shipping!

If the crack runs to the cutting edge, you should NOT shave with the razor. If the blade flexes, the crack will separate and you could get a very nasty gash.

If you could post photos, it would be very helpful.

I'd recommend removing it. Using a blade with a crack in it sounds like a really bad idea.
If you can hone it out entirely, fine, if not I would say that it is a lost cause.
Luckily you didn't spend that much on it, so you shouldn't feel too bad about it:)
And if you are able to remove it without loosing too much of the original blade, I'd say you made a great deal.
As with all this stuff, ymmv.
I sure hope you will be able to salvage the blade. Finer shavers is hard to come bye.

See attached photos of the 1mm crack from both sides of the blade. It doesn't appear as bad on one side, so it may not go all the way through.

It definitely goes all the way through. I'd say put on a layer of tape and hone it out. If you round the toe a bit more, you don't have to remove steel along the whole length of the edge.

It broke my heart, but I rounded off the toe edge to remove the crack using a fine DMT stone, then re-honed the edge on 6000/12000 waterstones.

I've attached pictures of the poor baby after the amputation.

This is the sweetest razor I have so far: The blade is in intimate contact all across the edge on the stone while honing. It has no warp at all. A pleasure to hone.

well done!
Enjoy this razor!

You did a great job on the save there...I can't even tell it's been worked over.

Gah...I LOVE blades that sit dead level on the hone. It makes honing sooo much easier and faster than having to figure out what you've got.

You can see a little straight spot on the rounded edge where I ground off the crack. This shortened the blade edge slightly.

Thanks for the support. It really saddened me to do this to an otherwise mint blade.

If it makes you feel any better.If you wouldn't have pointed it out,I wouldn't have known.That's a very pretty piece you've got.Good Job !:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alethephant

You can see a little straight spot on the rounded edge where I ground off the crack. This shortened the blade edge slightly.

Thanks for the support. It really saddened me to do this to an otherwise mint blade.

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Nice work. Don't get too hung up on spoiling a 'mint' blade. After a year or so in the rotation it won't, by definition, be 'mint' anyway and it sounds like you have a keeper.

You did a really nice job though. It still looks nice. You can only tell because you did it..It's like building your own furniture...You notice the flaws no one else sees.

thats a shame , I gotta wedge with a 1/4 inch hairline in the same place , yes extremly hard to see with the naked eye I noticed it glassing the edge while honing , yep ebay special ...hehe ! but I dont blame the seller as it was virtually impossible to see just a bay gamble ya gotta take . And you done an awesome job on the repair an should be proud its a very nice razor weldone
:beer1:

I agree with the other guys, if you hadn't disclosed the broken toe, I wouldn't have known it with the "finished" pictures. Great save and good job!