Thread: Anyone forging straight razor?

Hi,
Is there anyone capable of forging straight razor?

There are several custom makers here if you take a look around the forums. Off the top of my head, Robert Williams, Alex Jaques, Buddel, Josh Earl and Butch Harner to name but a few of them.

There are also other makers out there who are not members on this site like Mastro Livi and Tim Zowada.

The best thing to do is to have look around the Customs... forum and have a look at the razors that have been made.

why must it be forged

there are a few guys that make razors so you ll see them on here some place (BTW i think Tim is a member if not i know he looks in now and then anyhow)

Robert Williams of course, Mastro Livi, Tim Zowada, Josh Earl. The question of whether a forged blade is "better" than stock removal is one that has been debated ad nauseum by knife guys since I started reading about the topic forty years ago. I find the romance of a guy with a hammer forging a billet on an anvil irresistible. OTOH, for the end user I don't think it makes any difference given proper heat treating and tempering whether the blade is forged or ground from bar stock. YMMV for sure.

hitting hot steel with a hammer sure is fun

hitting anything with a hammer is fun

Charlie

edit: except my thumb

Yes, there's something really neat about sticking a piece of steel into the bowels of hell, pulling it out and then beating it into submission. I'm still undecided about whether it produces a better blade than stock removal, but the leather apron, metal tongs, anvil and hammer are satisfying tools to use in the birth of a blade.

Hammers... steel... hellfire... what's not to love?

Can I get help on what tools and how much investment needed to try building a razor?

Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop is a great intro into knife making. There are lots of different ways to get the job done you can spend a lo, or get by with little. It just depends on how you want to go about it.

Charlie