A little different - repurposing broken razors
- Thread starter LJS
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Very nicely done. Your new knife is a beauty.
Beautiful work!
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- #4
Nice bit of recycling, the only problem I forsee, is the bevel angle to be a useful knife will be too acute and not practical.
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- #6
Well, I understand why you might think that assuming it maintains razor angles. Please realize the cutting bevel is freehanded like a typical knife and not sharpened flat to the stone like a razor first, and second more than half the razor has been removed moving that cutting edge much closer the the spine massively altering natural bevel angle. And after using a few days I can report that theory is not reality thankfully and it works fine and maintains an edge fine as well. Actually, with the thick razor spine it is a bit obtuse feeling and very “fat” behind the edge. The edge is fine but there is a wide piece of steel at the spine which is not normal in a paring knife. So after using and applied reality, the greatest issue I have is that it is more “fat” than normal paring knives and the bevel angle is perfectly fine.
Wusthof (thinner) beside this one (fatter):
Nice work.
With a little modified longer tip on the tanto grind, one could make a nice hand cut dovetail marking knife.
Will have to give it a whirl.
Thanks.
Another option is to make the traditional Northern knife known as the "crooked knife," "coteau croche," or "mocotaugan" depending on whether you speak English, French or one of the Northeastern Indigenous languages. Essentially it's a single-handled drawknife, used on a skew cut. They're handy for roughing out tool handles, stripping the lacquer off commercial handles, carving spoons and other small items, and have been used to make emergency canoe paddles.
The old voyageurs (and not a few of the old coots of my early acquaintance) believed that one's tool kit needed three items: a mocotaugan, an ulu, and an axe. Not much good for smacking things that need a whack, but great for cutting just about anything.
I will admit that my left thumb has a pretty impressive scar in the spot where I nailed it with a mocotaugan one time. Cut well into the first joint. In the manner of those who are some distance from medical care, I thought about simply finishing the job but darnit thumbs are handy.
I've still got 75 per cent of the flexibility in it so it's a win.
And a good lesson about being tired as hell after a hard day of working outside and wanting to finish a project before supper.
O.H.
The old voyageurs (and not a few of the old coots of my early acquaintance) believed that one's tool kit needed three items: a mocotaugan, an ulu, and an axe. Not much good for smacking things that need a whack, but great for cutting just about anything.
I will admit that my left thumb has a pretty impressive scar in the spot where I nailed it with a mocotaugan one time. Cut well into the first joint. In the manner of those who are some distance from medical care, I thought about simply finishing the job but darnit thumbs are handy.
I've still got 75 per cent of the flexibility in it so it's a win.And a good lesson about being tired as hell after a hard day of working outside and wanting to finish a project before supper.
O.H.
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- #10
Admittedly, I had to look that one up. Reminds me of a scorp or spoon maker gouge. Very interesting. While I do some forging on small bits for lathe work (a hook tool with before/after below), I probably won’t be going far enough to reshape one of the rusty-razors
I’m just grinding carefully and maintaining hardness/temper as best as I can. 
I had to look it up too. Looks a lot like a hoof knife that we'd use to trim the frogs on horse's feet.
There are similarities. The main differences as I understand it are that the hoof knife has a smaller hook and also a thicker edge. That said, I'm not the only person who has a hoof knife that the hook's partially broken off that has been repurposed to be a kind of crooked knife. The edge is thick, yes. But for the use to which I generally put it -- shaving lacquer off of tool handles so I can treat them with linseed oil -- it's a good tool for that.
Probably if I tried to make a spoon or noggin out of something with it, I'd cut my thumb again.
O.H.
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