HI All, New member here. Been lurking for a while. Really like this site! I recently started using single edge safety razors. I'm getting the best shaves of my life from a Gem 1912!!! Is there any way to resharpen single edge razor blades to shaving sharpness once they start to drag? Dan
Blade sharpening
- Thread starter whistleman123
- Start date
I dont know,,but a for the price they cost,,u better change the blade when gettin dull.
Hi Dan. Welcome aboard.
Sure you can. But I wouldn't unless I was using a razor you could no longer get new, fresh blades for, like the Valet.
You can get a small hone and hand strop afterwards, but I would expect your best shaves of your life to go down hill pretty fast. Plus you would need to get un-coated stainless steel blades so they don't rust. To save 50 cents a week it's not worth it.
Len
- Thread starter
- #4
Thanks Len, I have my own musical instrument repair shop, so have access to all sorts of sharpening stones and a buffing/polishing lathe with many compounds. I was wondering if I could use this equipment to touch up a dull blade. So far my attempts have not worked. Any ideas? Dan
Dan, Most likely the stones you have are too course. A razor blade hone is smooth as glass. Actually many hones were made of glass. As an experiment take a blade you now think has dulled and while putting pressure on the blade, rock the blade back and forth on the inside of a large glass and see if that helps. Then let us know the result.
Len
Len
I suspect with a good finishing stone you could do it with something like this, but it seems a long way to go when you can get 200 Ted Pella blades for about $35 and be set for a zillion shaves. Still, there is the shavepocalypse to consider...
Glad you are enjoying the 1912. They really are outstanding little razors when you figure out how to use them.
Glad you are enjoying the 1912. They really are outstanding little razors when you figure out how to use them.
Our own D.Irving79 has a YouTube video on hand stropping SE, DE, and cartridge blades.
I would not recommend doing so.
For the price of blades, it's hardly worth the time. Also, many modern blades rely on good coatings for the quality of the shave with steel quality coming in second. By resharpening you are loosing the coating from the edge entirely and relying on mediocre steel to take and hold an edge good enough for a great shave.
For the price of blades, it's hardly worth the time. Also, many modern blades rely on good coatings for the quality of the shave with steel quality coming in second. By resharpening you are loosing the coating from the edge entirely and relying on mediocre steel to take and hold an edge good enough for a great shave.
G
gone down south
Do a search on 'hand stropping' here, some people swear by it. Personally, I tried it and saw no real improvement, but it has it's fans.
Actually, it's from Popular Mechanics, Feb 1917
The 1912 Gems were made from the patent date and on for many years. Not sure when the 1912 actually went out of production.
The 1912 Gems were made from the patent date and on for many years. Not sure when the 1912 actually went out of production.
