Thread: Blade Metal

Just signed up. Years ago, I inherited a strait razor that was my grandpa's. It was in bad shape and had a nick (more like a chunk) out of the tip of the blade.

That intrigued me and wanted to try using a straight razor to shave. I currently have a Kropp that I bought in England. But it has slight corrosion and barely pitted. A few corrosion pits on the cutting edge. Think if I get into this I can polish out the pits and hone it.

So I thought I'd look into honing and strop equipment. Mind you, I'm a noobe so there has been a lot of research involved.

One question so far: Is a high quality carbon steel or stainless steel better for shaving?

I feel the cryo- treated carbon steel blades would be superior. But this is only based on the cryo-treated rotors I've used and what I've read how cryogenic treatment works.

Okay, two questions: What about Damascus blades?

Thanks for your time, Tony.

Go figure. I didn't pay attention to WHERE I posted! Could one of the moderators please move this post to the correct forum? Sorry and thank you.

Hi Tony,
Welcome to SRP. HCS & stainless are both good, but slightly different. HCS is probably a bit smoother, maybe a little easier to hone & needs a bit more looking after so it doesn't tarnish. Stainless is easier to maintain. I like them both & have several of each.
I don't know of any cryo treated HCS razors, but there may be. Stainless is available like that though. Mostly Dovo & the Henckels Friodurs.
Damascus is beautiful. It's qualities are aesthetic though. It's basically carbon & should be treated as such. Expensive too.

Originally Posted by ben.mid

. HCS is probably a bit smoother, maybe a little easier to hone & needs a bit more looking after so it doesn't tarnish.
Damascus is beautiful. It's qualities are aesthetic though. It's basically carbon & should be treated as such. Expensive too.

Thank you for the info. I figured HCS would be easier to maintain than stainless. What do you mean by HCS being smother? A smoother shave?

Yes. I've seen the prices on some of those over $800! I have one Damascus knife. It holds an excellent edge but feels 'soft' across the stone relative to my other knives. Was just curious how it would be to shave with one.

Need to get a water stone and strop.

Thank you again, Tony.

Actually, the stainless is easier to maintain in terms of general care. Theoretically the hcs will keep its edge longer, but stainless steel is still steel, it has carbon in it. It just has other materials such as nickel and chromium.

A damascus blade will hold the same edge as a blade with the same % of materials as the damascus. Folded steel evens out the % of elements within the steel, making an average between the two. So, its not going to cut any better. It'll look a lot better though.

One question so far: Is a high quality carbon steel or stainless steel better for shaving?....

I call it silk versus satin. With a well honed razor this question will go on forever. Especially with the honing talent available here!

I guess it is preference, then?

Is Kropp Sheffield a pretty decent razor. Just reads "Made & Ground in Sheffield England" on the box. Has an 11/16" wide blade. Slightly pitted on one side with a bit on the sharpened edge.

More questions:

1) What are the advantages to having a narrow or wide blade?

2) What brand and type of strop? I know of the leather. But I've heard canvas and linen in addition to the leather.

3) Would the 4K/8K Norton stone be good? Should I get a 16K and/or 30K? Is the Belgian Blue and the yellow Coticule a better stone?

Thank you again for your time,Tony.

But that would only take you away from getting to know what you like. Take your time, and cut up all your credit cards.

Resistance is futile!

Kropp's are very good, but getting a tatty razor to shave ready is more likely to put you off a straight. There's too much to learn in one go. Think about getting something shave ready from the classifieds.

HCS gives a slightly smoother shave, i feel.

There's really not that much difference between HCS & stainless with regard to honing. Stainless might take a little longer. The technique is slightly different maybe. In my experience the stainless responds well going from a BBW with slurry to either a coticule with water, or maybe a thuringian. Those are stones i have, but lots of other rocks can produce the same results.

Narrow blades are easy to manouevre round the face, but more awkward to judge the correct angle on the face & harder to keep flat on the strop.
Wider blades lay flat on the strop easier, but can be a bit unwieldy while learning to shave.

A 5/8 is a good place to start.

A Norton is a great stone to begin with. You can add a Chinese 12k as a very cheap polisher.
The BBW & coticule is just different. I like them & that was the route i took instead of the Norton.

I just got this off eBay. Received it a couple of days ago. The blade easily falls out of the scales when you hold it upside down. Can the pin be peened to tighten up the pivot?

I need to get a stone. Have to wait until we get back from vacation next week.

Any words of wisdom for a strop. Linen verses cotton and why?

Originally Posted by Tony

What are the considerations for preferences? I honestly do not know what to look for. Should I have cotton or linen in addition to leather as part of the stropping process? Am I splitting hairs here?

Thank you for the time.

Tony

Not really. In the purest sense the cloth is a catch for microchips and corrosion. The stronger, and finer the fiber the better the effect of snatching these buggers from the blade's leading edge prior to further aligning and smoothing the blade with the leather. In the last 20 years most folk use the cloth as a medium for pastes which really negates this. As I mentioned earlier. or perhaps in a previous post/thread, I just purchased the SRD premium strop. I have sworn to keep this in pristine condition with absolutely no doctoring. I love the texture, draw, feel, and material. It really is "Old School", and in my opinion a work of art. It really is a pleasure to see this kind of quality nowadays.

I am still on the look out for the silk linen combo. Very hard to find but a solid catch for any aficionado. For the time being I would say flip a coin or ...BUY BOTH! You will eventually want/ need another.

I did warn you to cut up your credit cards right?