Thread: Razor dimensions and steel

Aloha,
1. my copy of the wade and butcher diamond edge
2. my restore of a 5/8 Boker
3. my restore of the Wade and butcher diamond edge

as a knifemaker the first thing i noticed is how the razors are advertised without telling what type of steel it is made of. Knife guys get pretty set on certain steels. ats 34 cpm's etc. I looked into this and found that there is a loose margin of requirement for steel selection in straights. some sources recommend a steel with more than .06% of carbon some said .07%.. I found that there are alot of steels that meet this suggestion but dont take into account the other variables with modern steels. for example s30v makes a great hunting knife but I havent found a straight mad from it. there are some that are made from 440 c I would not recommend it. (i dont know everything and recommend doing your own research im also open to more knowledge that would help me have a more informed opinion. I purchased a wade and butcher diamond edge and it was to date the best shave so far. partly due to the clever rigid design
I selected a 01 tool steel (as this is an oil quench steel that can reach 63 on the rocwell hardness scale) and copied the dimensions and it became my first razor that I made from scratch. I love all the different angles and tapers from this particular design.

the other thing that I like about this unique design was that where the metal meets the stone is not at the top but closer to 2/3 rds up toward the spine. so its a 5/8 in function and 8/8 measured from the top edge of the spine to the cutting edge. my 8/8 is 9/32 thick where the metal meets the stone and the diamond edge is 1/8th inch thick.

The thickness of the razors is almost never talked about but it is a very important piece of the shaving experience. the thickness of the blade and the distance to the cutting edge decide the angle of land on the cutting edge. (basic geometry) However, this is never talked about and i find it to be incredibly important.
A japanese kitchen knife utilizes a 15 degree cutting edge. This is common knowkedge and this is for veggies. razors are for our face and wikipedia just says that a straight razor has a cutting edge of less than 15 degrees. Why have we not figured out the optimum angle for SR cutting edge? Or have they?

16 or 17 degrees are what almost all the Vintage ones were at

HOWEVER

After many of us did the measurements we found that were shaving razors, with angles from 8 - 24 so take any "Rule" with a little give, not many set in stone rules with this hobby..

Most were in the 16-17 range that was the mean angle


http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...zor-angle.html


You also have to understand that the Vintage Makers and even some of the new production makers consider the steel and tempering process a Trade secret so they don't give a ton of info about it

g

Steel is not widely advertized because historically, manufacturers did not advertize.
In those days, noone cared about the exact type of steel. People were users, not collectors.
the only thing they cared about was how it shaved and how it compared to other brands.
From that pov, it makes no sense for manufacturers to advertize what they were doing or using. Besides, there was no scientific list of standards like there is today.

Btw, if you come from a knifeworld, that is a consideration you should keep in mind. Even in this forum of SR enthusiasts, we're are practically all users. Every blade that we buy or have made is used for the purpose of shaving. We don't really do 'drawer queens' around here.

And while we do care about the steel that is used, it doesn't make us go out and purchase the next thing made from the newest wonder steel. Design, geometry, balance, aesthetics, etc are all more important than whether it is made from niolox or ATS34 or whatever.