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izafireman

izafireman

Well-Known Member
Ahaaa , smiling today as I finally got back on the forum. Not sure why but I could not get back on , I even created another account, but as my old account just worked I will stick with it.

looks like I have loads to catch up on with the threads here but shall read them over a glass of Rum ))

In the meantime I am thinking abut making a straight razor so thought I would ask if my 8 inch wheel which is rubber will be OK or will I also need a smaller wheel, if so what size please?

Am I ok grinding the who thing is the hardened state?

Best steel....I was thinking 52100 , oh and what thickness please?

And finally does anyone know of a downloadable file or template for a straight razor please?

Cheers
 
To give the short answer: Yes, you can use an 8" wheel, 52100 will work, and I would grind it hard. Heat treat and quench a blade that's .005" at the edge, and you're gonna have a bad day.

To give a slightly longer answer: wheel diameters and stock thickness will depend on what size razor you ultimately want to grind. There's a lot of variables: width/height of the blade (3/8, 4/8, 5/8.... all the way to 8/8), and then there's the amount of hollow (1/4 hollow, 1/2 hollow, 3/4 hollow, full hollow... etc...). You can also feather out a hollow. I imagine guys have ground razors on anything from a 2" wheel on up to a 10" or more.

IIRC, the rule of thumb is something like a 1:4 ratio for spine thickness vs width of the blade. So a 1/4" thick razor will be 1" wide and so on. I'm sure there's a little bit of wiggle room there though.

I'm not sure what calculates out to what off the top of my head, or in other words, what's the best wheel diameter for a 3/4 wide razor with a full hollow, but I imagine there's a chart somewhere, or you could estimate it pretty quickly with a ruler and a compass (or a CAD program).
 
Drew Riley said:
To give the short answer: Yes, you can use an 8" wheel, 52100 will work, and I would grind it hard. Heat treat and quench a blade that's .005" at the edge, and you're gonna have a bad day.

To give a slightly longer answer: wheel diameters and stock thickness will depend on what size razor you ultimately want to grind. There's a lot of variables: width/height of the blade (3/8, 4/8, 5/8.... all the way to 8/8), and then there's the amount of hollow (1/4 hollow, 1/2 hollow, 3/4 hollow, full hollow... etc...). You can also feather out a hollow. I imagine guys have ground razors on anything from a 2" wheel on up to a 10" or more.

IIRC, the rule of thumb is something like a 1:4 ratio for spine thickness vs width of the blade. So a 1/4" thick razor will be 1" wide and so on. I'm sure there's a little bit of wiggle room there though.

I'm not sure what calculates out to what off the top of my head, or in other words, what's the best wheel diameter for a 3/4 wide razor with a full hollow, but I imagine there's a chart somewhere, or you could estimate it pretty quickly with a ruler and a compass (or a CAD program).
Click to expand...
Thanks for the detailed answer.

I was thinking 52100 or O1 steel. Oh and the other wheel I have is 12 inch from memory, not sure if that is ok for a straight razor having never ground one.
 
I remember seeing someone grind a 1/4" thick razor with a 6" contact wheel, but can't remember where I saw it? Most SR's (other than wedges) are very thin behind the edge and even going up most of the grind bevel are still stupidly thin.

Here is a grind on a straight razor:
GW3.jpg

VS a near wedge SR:
HC3.jpg

So there is a lot of variety to the grinds! Grind them hard, dip frequently to keep them cool. Use a steel with a very fine grain structure. Be aware of the pressure you are using when they get very thin since the blade may flex away from the wheel.
 
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