Thread: An experiment in steel

Sorry Butch, confusing you with another member.

Took my torch and very carefully drew a light gold temper on the edge...
The edge was wearing down my hones...
Looks like it's taking to the hones a bit better now.
Going to do asecond temper on my other blade also

That's kind of what I've found with my first try too... the razor seems to be pretty hard still. I think next time I'll temper it to a lower hardness.

As a general rule, do edges that give the stone a hard time last any longer?
It seems to me as though harder edges should give more shaves before rehoning, guess its acheiving a balance and a matter of preference.

yes, generally harder steel will hold it's edge longer, but if it kills your hone and takes 7 days to hone, it needs another temper cycle...
I did the edge temper on mine so as I use it and hone it down, it will get into harder and harder steel... but it will already have a good bevel, and hopefully won't be a problem.

Took the first blade back to the grinder and removed a lot more steel to bring the bevel down thinner...
It took a long time to get it honed, the steel is very hard...
I got it thin enough that it flexes a bit.
Finally did my first test shave this morning
Buttery smooth, it shaves as well as any production razor I've tried... The tip doesn't let me get as close as a square point, but it can maneuver in around my ears and nose without any problems...
The balance is good, I'll have to play with it a bit to decide if it's right on, but it works well, the tang is very thick, it feels good in my hand, and allows me to have good control...
I'll try to upload another picture tonight,
all in all I'm happy with how it turned out...

Working on my second razor, I blew it big time... tried to get a full hollow ground and well, it's hollow alright...


I ground right through the blade...



fortunately my first blade is shaving like a dream...

I think I can salvage the second blade, it still has enough supporting metal so I think it will hold up.
I'm cleaning up the edges, and I am going to go ahead and hone it up to see how well it works.

SWMBO is insisting that I try to sell one of these, and I think the choice is clear now...
Anybody want to buy a razor with a hole in the blade???

sweet mike... way to go!

If it holds up to honing and use, that hole-razor isn't actually shabby looking IMO..

However, the big cleaver one is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. I want one

Ouch!!!!
Good sense of humour mike.
Did you grind these on a bench grinder?