Thread: A weak magnet tells you...?

I have a steel straight edge. It is stored near (and not that near) 3 small rare earth magnets (in a sanding jig). Today I was looking again at concavity in straight razor spines. I noticed this: several of my razors do not respond the the weak magnetism of the straight edge, and some will pull to the straight edge when that edge is close to the spine.
I'm putting the question here as it must have something to do with the composition of the steel.

from the interwebs,
" the most common stainless steels are 'austenitic' - these have a higher chromium content and nickel is also added. It is the nickel which modifies the physical structure of the steel and makes it non-magnetic.

One of the razors which does not respond to the weak magnet is a 19th century Greaves. Another is a mid 20th century Fon Golden Star.

I don't think any of my razors are not attracted to magnets...I will check tonight to see but I have a magnet holder and I have never had a problem with a blade sticking.

Originally Posted by Ernie1980

I don't think any of my razors are not attracted to magnets...I will check tonight to see but I have a magnet holder and I have never had a problem with a blade sticking.

Ernie, the straight edge is a weak magnet, a magnet by proximity to a a real magnet...if I were to put any of my blades on the jig with the rare earth magnets they would glue down quick. This is the weird thing, as the weak magnet is pulling in some razors and not others.

So the Greaves is attracted to a stronger magnet like the rare earths but not to the weakly magnetized ruler?

Originally Posted by WW243

Ernie, the straight edge is a weak magnet, a magnet by proximity to a a real magnet...if I were to put any of my blades on the jig with the rare earth magnets they would glue down quick. This is the weird thing, as the weak magnet is pulling in some razors and not others.

Ok I think I see now what you are saying- it's one of those "magnetic" blades that were a fad for a little while like my Carbo Magnetic?

Originally Posted by DeObfuscate

from the interwebs,
" the most common stainless steels are 'austenitic' - these have a higher chromium content and nickel is also added. It is the nickel which modifies the physical structure of the steel and makes it non-magnetic.

Indeed, but Ni by itself ferromagnetic, which is funny- get a piece of pure Ni...problem solved. Ni amidst Cr and Fe though- you have a bunch of different electron spin configurations that are not in sync. They are different sizes and therefore it's the distance from atom to atom that puts their orbitals out of sync. The electron spin must be in sync for magnetism to work. so I ask: did you try unplugging the razor and then plugging it back in again?

I was thinking the same as wirm, esp if you use magnets to hold the razors in place when working on them. I suppose there is also a possibility of the polarities of the magnetic fields making a difference. Push or repel force might require more force to generate a visible response than pull or attract forces. I realize that in an otherwise neutral experiment this might not be the case but taking into account the pivot and shape of the razor it may.

"A weak magnet tells you...." that you have to much time on your hands to be pondering such questions?