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I Think I've Lost It

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I received my new Titan VG10-HZ a few weeks ago and reviewed it here. I set the bevel and progressed through lapping film before putting it away. I was pre-occupied shaving with my other Titan SRs and developing their edges.

Yesterday I decided to take the VG10-HZ out and progress further using pasted balsa strops so that it would be ready for shaving this morning. While balsa stropping on 0.5u, it happened - PING!

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I immediately sent an email off to Titan explaining what happened. They responded within the hour, very apologetic and offered my a replacement at no cost. Two hours later they sent me the tracking number and my replacement VG10-HZ was on its way via China airmail.

After studying the blade crack, it would appear that it was caused by excessive residual stress in the blade and may have been propagated by a minute chip or crack in the edge. Such high stress would be undetectable during manufacture and not be uncommon in a blade of this material that has undergone heat treatment for hardening and grinding. High carbon steel is much more forgiving.

I was very impressed with Titan's handling of this problem and am looking forward to receiving my replacement.

This cracked blade is now probably a lost cause however the scales are still good so I will keep them in case I ever decide to utilize them with another blade.
 
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I am surprised that the steel is so brittle. I would had thought a forged piece of steel would be more ductile than that. This looks more like cast iron behaviour.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I am surprised that the steel is so brittle. I would had thought a forged piece of steel would be more ductile than that. This looks more like cast iron behaviour.
Cast iron has very little residual internal stress. Cast iron can easily crack but from an external, not internal, stress source.

Low (normal) carbon steel is quite ductile. Many SRs are manufactured from high carbon steels that are much less ductile. After forging, these razors are then heat treated to increase their hardness and "toughness" so that they can better hold an edge. It is this heat treatment that leaves residual stress in the metal.

VG10 is a martensitic stainless steel with 1% Carbon, 15% Chromium, 1% Molybdenum, 0.2% Vanadium, 1.5% Cobalt, and 0.5% Manganese that can be hardened with the correct heat treatment, however it is also more prone than high carbon steel to build up internal residual stress.

It is rare but not unheard of to have residual stress cracking appear in high carton steel SRs. Martensitic stainless steel SRs are more susceptible to this cracking.
 
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rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
You actually have a US razor? Or English, German, Swedish, Japanese?
Yes, Japanese. The Titans are Taiwanese. I also have a few Chinese made SRs.

You should get your head out of where it is and investigate things with an open mind. Don't believe everything your government and media pump into you.
 

martym

Unacceptably Lasering Chicken Giblets?
Now now gentlemen. Let’s simply agree to disagree here and let it go.
I know(because I am guilty of this) insulting my country is right up there with insulting my mamma but we gain nothing from this.
Please let us let this go before it gets way out of hand.
Stay safe
 
This cracked blade is now probably a lost cause however the scales are still good so I will keep them in case I ever decide to utilize them with another blade.

I'd offer to do a materials inspection via XRF and a hardness test on the busted blade for you, but I imagine shipping even a small parcel from the Philippines to the US is prohibitively expensive.

In any case, good luck with the replacement they sent!
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I'd offer to do a materials inspection via XRF and a hardness test on the busted blade for you, but I imagine shipping even a small parcel from the Philippines to the US is prohibitively expensive.

In any case, good luck with the replacement they sent!
Thank you for your kind offer. I have already checked the blades hardness. It came in at a little over 60 RHC.

Shipping costs from the Philippines to the US are not that high, however I see no great need to now know the chemical composition of the blade.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Good reason to stay away from Stainless Steel straight razors regardless of country of origin.
This can happen with any SR that undergoes heat treatment, some are more susceptible than others. All SRs, except RSOs, undergo heat treatment. I suggest that you just use an electric razor.
 
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