Thread: Broken Razor :(

So i wanted to know if this has ever happened to you. I got an old razor in the mail and started restoring it, things where going well but when i hit the buffing wheel the blade cracked down the middle. The best i can guess is there was a mricro crack in it when i got it and could not see. The crack and metal was very strange as in when it cracked the blade part was very bendy as if it had no temper? Has anyone ever gotten an old razor and had this happen. By the way it was from Germany and should have been good steel?

Welcome to the World of 'Ah S**ts! It happens! While I don't yet use a buffer and I do 99% by hand it's happened to me while just using a cloth and some MASS to clean up a blade!

It was a razor given to me by my old Boy Scout Scout Scoutmaster (he's 90 and was 88 when he gave it and others to me)! It had been one of his brothers! Boy did I have the empty/sickening stomach feeling! I told him what had happened and he took it in stride saying; "Well it is probably close to 100 years old and nothing lasts forever"!

Personally I feel that learning how to do things with a minimum of equipment gives you a foundation before advancing to the more powerful 'power equipment!

I guess I learned this in 1968 when I was a freshman in High School attending wood shop. The instructor had us make our very first project with only hand tools! I've remembered that lesson very well! I found how a simple mistake with a hand tool would be later multiplied by 100 when using the power equipment!

I Did Worse... http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...6385-crap.html

Originally Posted by jdoc

So i wanted to know if this has ever happened to you. I got an old razor in the mail and started restoring it, things where going well but when i hit the buffing wheel the blade cracked down the middle. The best i can guess is there was a mricro crack in it when i got it and could not see. The crack and metal was very strange as in when it cracked the blade part was very bendy as if it had no temper? Has anyone ever gotten an old razor and had this happen. By the way it was from Germany and should have been good steel?

No temper, how hot did that blade get on the buffing wheel?

I use buffers at medium to low speeds with a dremel. A high speed buffer is too dangerous for me. Forget the blade.

Originally Posted by jdoc

So i wanted to know if this has ever happened to you. I got an old razor in the mail and started restoring it, things where going well but when i hit the buffing wheel the blade cracked down the middle. The best i can guess is there was a mricro crack in it when i got it and could not see. The crack and metal was very strange as in when it cracked the blade part was very bendy as if it had no temper? Has anyone ever gotten an old razor and had this happen. By the way it was from Germany and should have been good steel?

Have you seen the Thumbnail test where you set side of the bevel of the razor on your Thumbnail and watch the bevel flex as you draw the edge across the Thumbnail ????

IIRC they show it in the DOVO video quite clearly to demonstrate the grind,, It can also be used to test for cracks BEFORE you hit the buffers...

There are at least 2 videos on YouTube! One in German and the other in English!!

Dovo wmv - YouTube