Thread: Warped blade?

Hi everyone, I'm after some of your wisdom if you don't mind sharing it with me. I've got an old german Castle and Crown razor with a lovely big etch in it and want to restore it. The problem is if I was to lay it on a hone lengthways the middle wouldn't touch the hone, it would sit about nearly a 1/16" proud of the surface.

I'm not scared to put a bit of work in, problem is the only thing I can think of would be to anneal it and clamp it flat while hot and let it cool. I'd then have to heat treat it again and hope it doesn't warp when quenched and if it doesn't temper it. Any thoughts on this? I have no issues doing the above if you think it would work, but I've never done this with steel so thin. Do you view this as a complete waste of time or worth the challenge?

If you have been around the forum much, you know we really need a pic to see what you are describing. Once you get a pic up, I'll bet you a donut we will get you in the right direction. There are a couple things that could be going on and we can't tell you what to do until we actually see it...

Re-heat treating is not the answer...it's about two miles/kilometers off. The answer is a proper honing.

Yarp, a picture is worth a thousand words and all that... the sad thing is I tried taking various pics at work and it was dim artificial light and wouldn't show up, I'll try again.

You say trying to straighten the blade is miles off then? If you were to lay the blade on a hone right now it would contact the stone from the heel to the centre and the centre to the tip wouldn't be in contact with the hone. It's like a banana shape when you look at the edge of the blade but only slight. Round two trying to get a picture that will do it justice tomorrow, if I can I'll post it for your thoughts and advice.

From what you describe, honing it with rolling x-strokes sounds like the way to go.

I've had a couple razors with warped spine, and by using rolling x-strokes they became nice shavers again with a little work.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

If you have been around the forum much, you know we really need a pic to see what you are describing. Once you get a pic up, I'll bet you a donut we will get you in the right direction. There are a couple things that could be going on and we can't tell you what to do until we actually see it...

Re-heat treating is not the answer...it's about two miles/kilometers off. The answer is a proper honing.

Did someone say donut??????

I wouldn't bother with trying to anneal and HT it. I'd bet you a donut you'd lose the etch, warp it even worse with the HT, and unless you have a kiln or forge, you'd struggle to get it hot enough to anneal it.

In the wiki there is a diagram of a method using 3 pins and a vise. Basically you would create a fulcrum with the pins and bend it in the vise and hope it doesn't snap. If you can figure out how to hone it, I'd just leave it as is. Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Re-heat treating is not the answer...it's about two miles/kilometers off. The answer is a proper honing.

This is truth. It does sound as if you have a warped blade, the solution is to adjust your stroke to match the warp. We call that the "rocking X" stroke.

A member here, michael (mist) wrote a post about straightening one of his razor spines by hammering the spine with a hammer. Apparently straightened the spine and didn't leave a mark.

Originally Posted by UPD

I wouldn't bother with trying to anneal and HT it. I'd bet you a donut you'd lose the etch, warp it even worse with the HT, and unless you have a kiln or forge, you'd struggle to get it hot enough to anneal it.

In the wiki there is a diagram of a method using 3 pins and a vise. Basically you would create a fulcrum with the pins and bend it in the vise and hope it doesn't snap. If you can figure out how to hone it, I'd just leave it as is. Hope this helps.

I've done a lot of heat treating and tempering, I'm confident I wouldn't lose the etch and I know I can get it hot enough, it's the risk of warping that you point out that puts me off more than anything, razors are thin!

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

This is truth. It does sound as if you have a warped blade, the solution is to adjust your stroke to match the warp. We call that the "rocking X" stroke.

I was really hoping to fix the razor to avoid having to use this method of honing but it looks like something I might have to get used to. Shame for me!

Originally Posted by epd

A member here, michael (mist) wrote a post about straightening one of his razor spines by hammering the spine with a hammer. Apparently straightened the spine and didn't leave a mark.

Not having pictures doesn't help but the spine is straight, it's just the edge of the blade that looks slightly bent. That's why I initially thought of heating it and clamping it between two straight pieces of metal and letting it cool. I'm going to try to take some pics so people can see what I'm up against here, thanks to everyone for all the advice so far!

Ok, I've spent my lunch break trying to get a decent picture, no joy! I tried laying it flat on dark paper with a light source behind it but my phone just isn't up to a decent pic. As it's probably not as bad as I first thought after seeing it on paper with minimal light showing through it looks like it's time to hone it in the way mentioned in previous posts. thanks again for your help guys!