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Machines for Straight Razor Production
Hey, everybody! I just thought to post some pictures I grabbed a few years ago while visiting a factory where straight razors are produced. We sometimes get to see little videos of these things in use, but seldom have the chance to look more closely at the details and so I thought to post these pictures to add to the general store of knowledge
This first image shows a razor grinding machine from the front. The blanks are inserted cutting edge upwards between the two grinding wheels and moved front to back to be ground, resting on that little support between the stones. All the while, a stream of coolant jets in from above to keep the razor blank from overheating and to flush away the slurry of stone and iron. The tray hanging off the front of the unit is for holding a number of razor blanks.
Here in the second image the coolant shroud has been removed and the machine stands revealed. The concept of these razor grinding machines is fairly simple. There are two parallel spindles which are adjustable in terms of distance from one another. A whole range of grinding stones of various grit weights and diameters can be mounted on the front of the spindles to handle the different steps in the blank-grinding process. The silver-colored hand wheels seen on the side of the machine are used to set the absolute distance of the stones, one to the other. That lever hanging down on the left side is used during the grinding process to subtly alter the distance between the stones.
In this third shot we are up a little closer to the business end of the machine. It should be noted that the razor support between the stones does not move during the grinding process. It is only reset between passes on groups of blanks and is thus moved up or down to accommodate desired changes in where the wheels meet the razor blank. Do note that the razor support is tipped with a brazed-on back of tungsten carbide as otherwise the constant sliding of the razor blanks in the wet, surrounded by stone slurry would wear it down in a relatively short amount of time. The wheel spindles run in simple metal bearings with enclosed grease cups providing the lubrication. As long as the operator remembers to occasionally give those grease fittings the occasional tightening turn to force in more grease then there will always be a positive displacement of grease away from the fittings which serves to keep stone dust out of the works.
The final picture of the grinding machine shows the drive system at the back. This is nothing more than a set of flat, leather belts running off of a jack shaft which is v-belted to an electric motor. Sharp eyes will notice by the way the flat belts attach to the pulleys that the spindles both rotate in the same direction. Yes, that is absolutely right and means that the grinding operation occurs with one wheel moving upwards relative to the razor blank while the other wheel is moving down!
I have read the ongoing questions and rants about what best to use as a good buffer and with what size of wheel. To that end, I thought to show the following images of one of the buffing machines used for razor production. Give an eye to the setup. That is one, honking large spindle driven at high speed by a fairly beefy electric motor. Again, the spindle bearings are fed by simple grease cups, but with the addition of some extra homemade shielding on the nearest the buffing wheel to help keep out the polishing dust.
Oftentimes the buffing wheels used on these things are really pretty small. Forget your 6” or 4” wheels. These things are smaller (and intentionally so) in order to polish properly within the smaller radius of the ground concave portions along the sides of the razor blank. The wheel you see in the image is something on the order of 2” to 2-1/2” (5cm – 7cm). Various materials are used for these small wheels, including cotton, felt and leather.
