Thread: Clipping the Toe

There are more than one way things can go seriously sideways with what you're thinking of doing!

1) As Mike said it could well shatter. Remember you're dealing with hardened steel here. It will not behave like mild steel. I too would steer well clear of the bandsaw idea.

2) if you grind the point down, there's a fair risk of you ruining the temper of the blade. If it gets hot while grinding, the same hardness that would make it shatter with the bandsaw may be drawn out, ruining the blade's ability to keep an edge. So if you do opt to grind it down, be really careful not to let it get too hot. Hold it with your fingers (i.e. no gloves) and when you feel it getting more than warm, dunk it in some water to cool. And pay attention to that edge: even if it's not shave-ready, it will slice you badly if you're not careful.

There's a third option:

3) rather than shortening the whole toe, take a more gentle approach and just smooth out the edges where it is broken. Leave it with a wonky end. I have a weird Soviet-era razor (pic below) whose toe has a bit missing much like yours. At least I imagine it's missing. Whoever had it before me did a great job of making it look almost intentional. Bottom line: it's still a great shaver.

So if you want to shorten it, grind it rather than using the band saw, but pay close attention to the temperature. But if you want to avoid tackling a blade shortening job, that's possible too.

Good luck!