Thread: Cryogenics - check it out...

Stream of thought... ok, here goes... I was thinking about why Dubl Duck Wonderedges command such a price over the other models (funny that the thread post in this topic forum under mine is just about that)... and aside from the pretty scales it seems that there is this cryogenically treated steel.... "Cryogenically" treated.... I wondered about that. Did it somehow harden the steel so that it can take a finer edge, or so that the edge lasts longer... or both?? I started doing some research online.

The first page I stumbled across was here.
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...3052.Eg.r.html

It talks about metal and fatigue.
To understand the term "fatigue" we will conduct an experiment:

• Straighten out a standard paper clip.
• Flex it a little and then let it go. You will notice that it returns to the straightened position. You could repeat this cycle many times (many years actually) without breaking (fatiguing) the metal because you are cycling the metal in its "elastic range" ( it has a memory similar to piece of rubber).
• Now we will bend (stress) the paper clip a lot further and you will note that it did not return to the straightened position. This time you stressed the metal in its' "plastic range" where it did not have a memory.
• If you bend the metal back and forth in this plastic range it will crack and break in less than twenty cycles. The metal fatigued more quickly because it "work hardened" and became brittle. The more you stress the metal by flexing it the quicker it will work harden and break.

This fatiguing has little to do with what happens to our razors, but it got me over to this page to understand how to prevent metal fatigue. http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...3052.Eg.r.html

It talks about improving a steel leaf spring, but to summarize:
So to increase the fatigue strength of your leaf spring, you have to do
one [or more] of the following:

1) Carefully polish the surfaces of the springs to remove any surface
defects or machining marks that will be the location for crack initiation.
2) "Shot-Peen" the steel. Bombard the surfaces of the springs with steel
shot, which cold works the steel, which hardens the surface and puts it
into a state of compression, which impedes crack propagation.
3) "Temper" the steel. When initially forming the piece, cool the outer
surface quickly to put the surface into a state of compression, which will
also impede crack propagation.
(There's another definition for "Tempering" steel, which is heating it to
stabilize and de-stress the crystal structure.)
4) "Quench" the steel. When forming the piece, the faster you cool it
down, the more steel gets locked into a Martensite phase, which has better
fatigue properties. However, if you quench it too quickly, you develop
thermal stresses and cracks, which will obviously weaken the steel.
(Another method for increasing the Martensite percentage is to heat treat
the steel before tempering it.)
5) During fabrication, prevent air pockets or contaminants ("non-metallic
inclusions") from getting into the steel. These contaminants will provide
starting points for cracks to form.
6) Increase the carbon content from .5% to about .95%. This will harden
your steel and improve the Fatigue properties.

I started thinking more and more about #4 - quenching. I remember reading on the classicshaving site that many of the DOVOs are tempered with fire and ice. Or, if you've ever seen a blacksmith throw his maleable, hot steel into a tub of water to harden it's shape, you'll know what I'm talking about. I thought maybe this had something to do with the cryogenics of the wonderedge. Maybe they weren't using water, maybe they were using something colder. Like maybe liquid nitrogen....

Then I hit upon this page. http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?s=3390503
Which even if you aren't into improving razors, is cool. This dude has a tub of liquid N2 in his garage (which he runs a business out of), and he has been dipping his car parts into it to harden them. His Honda Hybrid improved it's gas mileage from 50 to 120 gallons per mile somehow. HOLY SH*T!

Now he also, ODDLY!, mentions that he's even cryogenically treated RAZORS!
He even has a website for doing it. Check this guy out! He beat me to my idea!!!
http://www.greatrazors.com/

Of course, he only treats cartridge razors and double-edge blades, which leaves a nich area for me.
Now I was really salivating. For, as most of you don't know, being a graduate student in a science lab, I have access to lots, and LOTS of liquid Nitrogen.

I started thinking, what if I started cryogenically treating some straight razor blades - would they harden and have improved edge holding ability? Could this be a new business market? Would it be better to remove the scales and heat the metal razor blade on my electric stove burner until it's red hot, thus aligning the crystal structure of the metal (see tempering above), then cool it in water, then further cool it in liquid N2?? (I wouldn't want to cool it too quickly and cause it to crack). Obviously some experimentation is going to be needed.

On this guy's website, he states under his 'FAQ' section
What is the difference between a "Cryo'd" blade and a regular one?
Our Cryo'd blades last 3 to 4 times longer and shave better. The reason our Cryo'd blades last so much longer is that we Cryogenically Temper the blades down to -300 F, this makes the metal stronger and more durable.
How did you freeze these without opening up the package?
Our Cryo process is very gentle, the temperature is lowered very slowly. This gradual temperature drop does not damage the package. So we can Cryo the razors right in the package. Just like the items in your freezer, the package stays intact. And since they stay at -300 F for 24 hours the cold goes right through the package and treats the metal blades.

So it sounds like he's maybe not dunking the blades into the liquid N2, but just holding them in the tank with the liquid N2 vapor to gently freeze them to -300 for 24 hours. It sounds like the blades stay sharp much longer, so I think I'm going to try treating some, and then maybe ALL my razors this way if there aren't any negative side effects (like more difficulty in honing).

Hell, maybe I'll even open up a little bid'ness on the side for you nice folks over here.