Thread: I wonder if..

I wonder if all these wedge straight edge razors with cracks to bad to fix , if someone could cut them into pieces and make new wedge blades for those old safety razors that the blades are so hard to find.. just curious..

Good thinking, but when you look at the likes of the rolls razors the blades are very precise in their manufacture.
Length, width etc.
Not saying it can't be done, but possibly not worth the effort or expense.

I was also thinking of some of the other SE razors like lather catchers or kampfe razors that originally took wedges... I mean it may not be practical but I was just thinking of all the wasted cracked blades that might have been able to have new uses.

I'm sure this was looked into before, Someone asked Bruno to make a wootz one but it didn't work out.

https://sharprazorpalace.com/forge/1...-catchers.html

I didn't see that.

I have done it, and it doesn't have to be a wedge razor. First you need at least one blade of near original dimensions, even if it is badly chipped or cracked or rusted, to measure. Then make sure that the spine of your donor razor is thick enough and the blade is wide enough. Put the coarsest belt on your belt grinder or belt sander and have at it. You may be able to use a dremel and a cutting wheel to bypass some of the heavy lifting. Be careful! The thin areas can only take two or three seconds of contact at once! The Blue Stain of Death can appear quite suddenly!

You CAN make a blade for a Rolls by cutting most of the spine off, but there are a lot of Rolls blades out there, relatively speaking. Lots of Kampfe/Star razors out there with no blade, and Henckel and Wilkinson, and others that use the full size format, and you can get a blade out of most any straight razor over 6/8 with a reasonably thick spine. I used GD66 blades for donor razors but a vintage razor would work fine. It is a lot of work, though. Not really worth it unless you just want to do one for yourself to make a hoe handle razor complete and functional. They can be pretty good shavers with a nice sharp blade in them.

I made a blade for a Wilkinson and started to make a full 7 day set when I ran across a Wilkie in a 7 day set box with stropping handle, travel brush and soap stick, travel strop, the works, but only two blades. Never finished it, got three blades finished, gave both sets away.

My suggestion is get a couple of raw GD66 to practice on, from the cheapest source you can find, and use them first, then try your vintage. You should be able to find them for around $4 on fleabay or aliexpress. Be patient. Shipping can be very slow.

Takes a lot longer but you can also buy a piece of 1095, 1086, or O1 bar stock and grind one out, Grind a bit oversize and do final grinding after heat treating. You can probably find a member who will heat treat your blade for you. The process will be a lot easier than grinding out a whole straight razor. You can use a belt sander clamped upside down in a bench vise, or a stationary belt sander. No need to buy a proper belt grinder for a one-off job. Be patient, take your time. Harbor Freight sells a cheap 4" sander that works great for this as well as thinning scale material and other chores. You will have to remove some of those pesky guards of course. REMEMBER TO WEAR PROPER EYE PROTECTION!!! Especially with a Dremel. Those things spin crazy fast, and broken bits of cutting wheel become very efficient cornea-seeking missiles.

Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors

I have done it, and it doesn't have to be a wedge razor. First you need at least one blade of near original dimensions, even if it is badly chipped or cracked or rusted, to measure. Then make sure that the spine of your donor razor is thick enough and the blade is wide enough. Put the coarsest belt on your belt grinder or belt sander and have at it. You may be able to use a dremel and a cutting wheel to bypass some of the heavy lifting. Be careful! The thin areas can only take two or three seconds of contact at once! The Blue Stain of Death can appear quite suddenly!

You CAN make a blade for a Rolls by cutting most of the spine off, but there are a lot of Rolls blades out there, relatively speaking. Lots of Kampfe/Star razors out there with no blade, and Henckel and Wilkinson, and others that use the full size format, and you can get a blade out of most any straight razor over 6/8 with a reasonably thick spine. I used GD66 blades for donor razors but a vintage razor would work fine. It is a lot of work, though. Not really worth it unless you just want to do one for yourself to make a hoe handle razor complete and functional. They can be pretty good shavers with a nice sharp blade in them.

I made a blade for a Wilkinson and started to make a full 7 day set when I ran across a Wilkie in a 7 day set box with stropping handle, travel brush and soap stick, travel strop, the works, but only two blades. Never finished it, got three blades finished, gave both sets away.

My suggestion is get a couple of raw GD66 to practice on, from the cheapest source you can find, and use them first, then try your vintage. You should be able to find them for around $4 on fleabay or aliexpress. Be patient. Shipping can be very slow.

Takes a lot longer but you can also buy a piece of 1095, 1086, or O1 bar stock and grind one out, Grind a bit oversize and do final grinding after heat treating. You can probably find a member who will heat treat your blade for you. The process will be a lot easier than grinding out a whole straight razor. You can use a belt sander clamped upside down in a bench vise, or a stationary belt sander. No need to buy a proper belt grinder for a one-off job. Be patient, take your time. Harbor Freight sells a cheap 4" sander that works great for this as well as thinning scale material and other chores. You will have to remove some of those pesky guards of course. REMEMBER TO WEAR PROPER EYE PROTECTION!!! Especially with a Dremel. Those things spin crazy fast, and broken bits of cutting wheel become very efficient cornea-seeking missiles.

Thank you for posting such an in depth reply.. Honestly right now I dont have any of those chipped or cracked blades but was just thinking about all those vintage ones that get thrown away and what a waste it was and wondered if the idea would be possible to repurpose them for continued use... I appreciate your reply to this and if I ever do have one I know it can be done and maybe this will help others too that may have had the same thought..