Thread: To Bread Knife or not to Bread Knife

I cant tell how long it is, but you might be better off shortening it. Definitely be alot less work.

Here are the realities...

1. The razor is probably trashed
2. That crack will probably run
3. Even if you can fix it you will be well into the meat of the blade and no longer in the edge.. which will make for a rather stiff edge...and the geometry
will probably be off too
4. Once you decide that the razor is trash then GO FOR IT !!!
5. If it were in my hands, and we decided that it was junk then I would take these steps and be done and shaving in 30 minutes... or have a broken razor in 15 seconds...

a. 4x36 belt sander with a 120 grit or 240 grit belt
b. Flatten the edge and grind it away until the crack is almost completely gone (it will either break or not, right now)
c. On the curve of the belt at a 45 degree angle I would re-cut a very rough bevel
d. On a DMT 325 I would start at a 45 degree angle and work my way down to 3 layers of tape (knife honing) using circles and Japanese style honing.. I will have a knife sharp edge now...
e. From 3 layers to 1 doing about 30-40 circles per layer..
f. 1k stone and start honing...

h. Test shave

That my friend is restoration and has nothing to do with honing razors

Or you could go the PCR or Kamisori style fix...

That kinda stinks...I kinda liked the way this one looked and was hoping it would become a little addition to my 1 razor family:

Hmmmm one more step

Re-grind the heel to the new belly

Yeah, unless you want to do what Glen suggested that is toast and maybe, as Glen said, even then. I avoid razors in poor condition nowadays. Early on I got a few and the razor wasn't worth the amount of work it took to get it to shave ready.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

the razor wasn't worth the amount of work it took to get it to shave ready.

+1 Jimmy is dead to rights here, unless it is very special, or you just wanna try getting crazy on one...

That really does seem a shame. The crack seems to be in the middle of things and doesn't leave much usable razor area left after any bread-knifing. ( * sigh! * )

Gssixgun is right, if you feel like giving it a try, then go for it. You cannot make it worse.

If you do decide to trash the blade, I would still recommend that you save the scales and any usable washers or spacers. You never know when you will run into an otherwise healthy blade that needs a new home.

Is there any possibility of honing around these problems and dulling out the chipped area?

Mentally, assume the razor is toast. Then, have fun. I would breadknife it until you removed metal past the crack. Then, hone it to shave readiness.

I have done this will several razors. With some, the resulting angle between spine and edge was too great and they were toast. With several, I ended up with very nice shavers!

There is something quite nice about a (relatively) big handle combined with a small width blade. The sense of control is heightened. And, it certainly shaves tight spots well.

Have fun. If it is toast, oh well...

That crack really looks like it extends far past the big chipping. You might only end up with a 3/8 or so razor. Lot of wasted effort in my opinion.

Have fun,

Lynn