Joe Chandler Razor

[RobertFontaine]

Joe's Razor arrived today.
His pictures don't do his work justice.








The style of this one is very practical with no excess. It has the look of a well crafted tool rather than some of his other work that has more artistic embellishments. It is a 6/8" round tip with the heft of the old Butchers and is made of CPM154CM stainless steel.

I'm not used to a razor with no sign of previous use so it's a real pleasure to inspect the makers work rather than the shavers rust and drops. How Joe managed to ship it to me with no finger prints or signs that it had been touched amazes me. I keep wiping my fingerprints off the beautiful finish as I am inspecting. Note that where I find fault it is because I am looking (including pulling out my microscope) very carefully at a gentleman whose work I admire and appreciate.

The blade is shoulderless and has a really nice heft. It balances almost perfectly just behind the thumb notch. The jimps are even and consistent except on the last cut I can see where Joe wasn't sure whether to go with one more or to stop. The polish is a soft mirror and is extremely nice and is perfect from one end to the other except for the presence of some small machine mark on the end of the tang. If not for these smaill marks I woud have thought the steel came this way out of the ground rather than being ground, tempered and polished.

The domed pins are a perfect look on this razor and it is nicely tight except for the first centimetre of opening where it is a little loose. This is likely a factor of the blade being off centre by about 1/100 of an inch. I'm learning that this can be an unforgiving part of the scale making process. The middle pin has a nicely finished standoff that sits in the middle of the thumb rest. I would have never picked the micarta from a picture but in person it has a depth and finish that is a mix of ebony and carbon fibre (beautiful). The brass spacer is perfectly cut and fitted with a mirror finish that matches that of the steel.

The grind is reminiscent of the wapi and is not quite a wedge but rather 1/4 ground. When I look at the bevel I think that if I knew more about forensics it would be possible to tell whether Joe is left or right handed. On one side the bevel is unreasonably perfect from end to end. On the other the bevel is wider at the toe the the heel by a hair's width. From either side the bevel is well done and again it is only the tiny assymetry that would have me guess that the razor was made by a human being.

The edge is pretty impressive under the scope. Joe's honing skills leave me knowing I need to keep practicing. I will likely update this post in the morning on it's ability to shave but my thumb and my forearm tell me that this is the sharpest razor that I've met yet. I'm going to have to get some lessons before this one meets the hone again. Happily I have a 16k on the way.

I am pretty sure that if I don't hurt it that I will be looking for someone to give it to when I am old. I could easily joke that this is the best free razor that I have but it is simply the best razor that I have.

Thank you for your work Joe. You are a fine craftsman and I'm looking forward to your future work.

-Bob

[coachmike]

Very , very nice....craftmanship at it's best.

[paulo]

Good gravy, what a 1/4 ground (looks like a wedge)! Don't you *ever* ding that edge, because rehoning it is going to be an exercise so painfully slow and gruelling, you will *never* let it get within 10 feet of anything harder than a plastic bucket while you shave That, and the fact that this is a CPM powdered metal stainless steel of nigh-magical hardness, will drive you insane. DON'T DING THIS ONE!

Beautiful craftsmanship, but I'm not crazy for the round cutout on the bottom of the tang/shoulder of the blade... but if it works for you, mazel tov!

Paulo

[jnich67]

Very nice, Bob! Congrats!

Jordan

[gugi]

I am pretty sure that if I don't hurt it that I will be looking for someone to give it to when I am old.

How old are we talking here? I'm younger than you (I hope), so I call dibbs
Nice review, nice razor - enjoy.

[Joe Chandler]

Superb, thorough review. Much more detailed than I was expecting. If my work can stand up pretty well to that kind of scrutiny, it gives me confidence. . Thanks for taking the time to do this review. I appreciate it, and it gives me areas to improve, which is always my goal.

[FiReSTaRT]

Not much room for improvement, Joe.. You're already quite up there

[Don]

What can I say just a beauty

[hoglahoo]

How does it shave? If it shaves as great as it looks, there is much reason to be impressed!

[RobertFontaine]

First Shave,

I gave the razor 20 very light strokes on the leather just to wake it up.

Coming from the school of Wapi I knew that completely unbalanced was bad but I had not realized balanced was really good. This is a heavy razor but it has no awkwardness about it. I have to rethink my approach to making scales. They aren't just for good looks. The razor handled like a proper tool.

The shave was completely uneventful. no nicks, no cuts, no drama. It cut every tough or easy spot cleanly and smoothly. A test shave with a new razor (self honed) is generally pretty dramatic, I find a dull spot on the edge, I knick myself handling a new razor, or I can't figure out how to shave an awkward angle. None of these happened. I've sharpened quite a few blades to a sharper edge now but I haven't managed a more comfortable edge. This is the second edge that I've had honed by someone else and this one is educational. I've been focusing on sharper, sharper, sharper. After shaving with this razor I'm left wondering instead if there is an edge that is comfortable, stable, and sharp enough to cut hair.

I started with straight razor shaving because I bought a cheap set of dull chisels and realized I had to sharpen them. Sharpening lead to finding this site. If I had bought a good set of chisels I might have finished my woodworking piece and not started with the razors. If Joe's razor were my first I would have no idea how good it is.

I learned a couple of things from a simple shave this morning.

-Bob