Thread: How to make a square toe a round toe?

I am currently using a Dovo 6/8 Best Quality SR (with a rounded toe edge) and I am enjoying it very much. I have collected a number of very nice vintage SRs and they are in various stages of restoration, cleanup, honing, etc.. Most of my vintage razors have square toes and very sharp tips. I am wondering how much of an effort it would take to round the toe or at least make them less lethal (specifically rounding the tip that is likely to come in contact with earlobes...for example). A few questions:

1. I don't have access to any power tools, so I am wondering if I can do this "rounding" by hand by some means? I am mindful of not chipping the square toe and ruining the blade. Could I somehow blunt the tip to make it less lethal without affecting the overall performance of the blade?
2. Am I just over reacting? Is it just a matter of getting used to a square (sharp) tip?
3. Is there any particular advantage to a round tip versus a square tip? I am guessing its just a safety issue and not overall performance of the blade?

You sure can blunt the tip.

Don't round it over if you don't have to.

Originally Posted by Chevhead

You sure can blunt the tip.

Don't round it over if you don't have to.

To blunt the tip...is it just a matter of wet/dry sandpaper and careful sanding?

One of my all time favorite daily shavers, a Paul Kohl Fisher Works 58, has a square tip. Used to nip me by my ear sometimes. I just dulled the very tip of the corner and it was much more user friendly after that. Very carefully barely lightly dulled the corner a little bit on the side of a hone. Try a little and see, you can't put metal back once it's gone.

Why don't you just run the tip over glass to dull it?

There is a thread on how to blunt the tip.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...uting-tip.html

Lightly run the tip on the side of a high grit stone about an inch or so.

Do not grind a heavy, 45 degree angle on the tip, someday you may want it back, they are very handy. If you are worrying about cutting a ear, the tip is the least of your problem.

To put the tip back, you have to grind the whole toe, perpendicular to the edge, (make it shorter).