I completely forgot about the Ultem we used to make the bodies for our Arthroscopic cameras from. Damn strong plastic, 40% glass. Not cheap by any means.
~doug~
Best Metal? Any Machinist, or Engineers here.
- Thread starter DesertIguana
- Start date
~doug~
Maybe they should start making razors out of stainless tool steel and actually harden/temper it, like spring steel. I think that would survive a dropIt would make for an expensive razor though.
Spring steel is typically just a low alloy tool steel. Some straight razor artisans use spring steel to make razors. However, because low alloy steel is not rust resistant, it is not ideal for safety razors. Spring steel is normally annealed rather than tempered when the end use is for springs. The steel is heated to a precise temperature and then cooled very slowly to release mechanical stresses When steel is annealed, it becomes rather soft and less brittle, but still retains its strength.
Other types of heat treatment can include quenching in oil or water. O1 tool steel is usually quenched in oil. W2 tool steel is quenched in water. By controlling the specific temperature to which the steel is heated and then controlling the rate of cooling, the blacksmith can control the properties of the steel.
Austenitic stainless steels contain significant levels of nickel and chromium. Such steels can be work hardened, such as by hammering, but they do not respond to heat treatment in the same way as low alloy steels.
Its like asking what way do you like your steak 
the old YMMV
I prefer Ti just the feel of it is so nice to my face
Aluminum is to light feeling for me
SS can be a touch heavy as the complete kit goes
SS head and Ti handle is a very nice combo ! I ran this with the Woflman and Timeless Handle also the same with the RR-GC razors and liked it but want to get a all Ti Wolfman and Tatara in the future to try
best looking I think is Damascus which I think is more the technique ?
the old YMMV I prefer Ti just the feel of it is so nice to my face
Aluminum is to light feeling for me
SS can be a touch heavy as the complete kit goes
SS head and Ti handle is a very nice combo ! I ran this with the Woflman and Timeless Handle also the same with the RR-GC razors and liked it but want to get a all Ti Wolfman and Tatara in the future to try
best looking I think is Damascus which I think is more the technique ?
I prefer a quality aluminum razor, such as the ATT SB90 Windsor DE. It is made with a very hard aluminum, 7075.
I found bronze razors to be too heavy. It's all a matter of preference.
I found bronze razors to be too heavy. It's all a matter of preference.
Yes springs are normally annealed first after forming them to relive stresses induced by forming the spring. Just like you said that means that you heat it to "critical" temperature, hold it for a while and then let it cool very slowly. Now you don't have a spring at that point. If you bend it it will deform and not "spring" back. It is soft and malleable. Then you have to heat it back up to "critical" temperature and quench it in oil/water depending on steel. After the quench it will be brittle as glass so you have to "pull back" the brittleness by tempering it, just like you do with a blade. Now the tempering of a spring is done at a higher temperature than if you want an blade. For a spring this will "lock" in the shape.
You can also make springs out of stainless steel, but the heat treatment gets more complicated due to the higher alloyed steel. What I was originally saying was that if you had a stainless steel spring steel that you made into a razor instead, it would certainly make for a very tough razor that would withstand drops without issue.
Chrome Vanadium steel used for springs does fit the bill about drops, but there is still the corrosion issue.
Sounds to me like you have spent a few hours watching material glow.
~doug~
No, I just read a lot and listen a lot. I love learning new things. I have some friends who forge and grind straight razors, but I have never attempted to do so.
R
romsitsa
Silver, does not have to 925, 800 is good enough.
Plutonium? Self-warming and glows in the dark. Be careful not to have more than one in the medicine cabinet to avoid critical mass
I ran and programed the heat treating ovens at my company, the majority with precipitation hardening type materials like 17-4ph and 13-8. It is certainly interesting seeing how the Rockwell numbers change with variations in the material specs. The properties of the steel will even vary when made at different mills. I read lots of stuff on heat treating too, but when you actually see the changes, that is where experience comes in. You learn to vary the soak and ramp times to get the desired results.
It isn't just heat it up and quench. The time spent heating up, the time spent at temperature, and the cool-down cycle makes a lot of difference. You learn how to control the size, as most materials either grow or shrink when subjected to heat treatment.
Some materials like Inconel take up to two weeks in the oven to heat treat. But then they are so stable you can take them up to red heat and they won't change size.
It's kinda nice when somebody runs a batch of oversize parts and you can tell the boss, no problem, I can bring them back to size, they are not scrap.
~doug~
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
The most interesting thing that I recall when learning the machining trade & heat treating when I was going to school at NAIT trade school in Calgary Alberta Canada.
One of the fellows who worked at Western Rock bit(they manufactured Oilfield drill bits in Calgary) he set up a tour for us Apprentices learning how it was done and that was a fairly modern plant in the late 1970's.
To get the Rock drill bit to last longer in the hole they explained they would Carburize certain areas of the bit where there was lots of wear from drilling through rock and sand.
They had a experienced person painting the rock bits with different colors of copper solution paints to allow carbon to soak more into the forged steel certain areas so the bit does not become overly brittle and break down the hole.(very expensive fishing for broken bits in a hole thousands of feet below the surface !)
Look, learn, listen, ask questions.
In days of old, when knights were bold, no internet, I watched two old men repair a cable on and old percussion drilling rig, [thumper] a wooden framed job with a wooden tower and a pulley cable system that raised the drilling bit then dropped it, ker-thump, there is still one on this property.
the drilling bit needed a hardened swivel washer, these 2 guys used oxy acetylene flame only with an excess of acetylene.
Preciseness is the norm today, but sometimes the ways of old are far easier when you don't know the rules that seem to be needed to be abided by in todays way of doing it.
Old school ''drilling rig''
![20170707_092312[1].jpg](https://xfdata.badgerandblade.com/attachments/1384/1384871-a8703a81e945397a9c5a0938e7106d7b.jpg "20170707_092312[1].jpg")
