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Parting Tool Razor

Heh, got a little ahead of myself and honed up the blade before attaching scales, couldn't wait! I finished this edge on the following progression: DMT EEF to 30 laps CrOx on leather paddle strop to 30 laps 0.25u CBN on microfiber paddle strop to 30 laps 0.1u CBN on microfiber paddle strop to 30 laps 0.05u PCD on microfiber paddle strop. Got a very very nice edge. I test shaved it (just a short test, not full shave) and it was fantastic WTG and ATG. Now it remains to be seen what the longevity is like. I'll take some more scope images after the first full shave and after 5, 10, 25 etc.

Also, I switched to a 3/16" piece of M2 so I didn't have to worry about jacking with making the spine thicker - the angle with no tape is about 14.5°, but for this first test I went with two layers of tape for finishing to get an angle of about 16.5° for a starting point.

Bevel - you can see some remnant DMT C (325) scratches from when I did circles setting the bevel at the top of the image:

$Razor DMT EEF to CrOx to ,25 CBN to ,1 CBN to ,05 PCD.jpg

Edge Lit - very bullet straight edge:

$Razor DMT EEF to CrOx to ,25 CBN to ,1 CBN to ,05 PCD Edge Lit.jpg
 
Thanks guys, hopefully it will turn out to be a good use of time and not chip out quick. I would advise that anyone trying this project themselves use diamond abrasives. Don't waste your time with anything like Shapton or Chosera for bevel setting, this stuff is seriously seriously tough to hone. I even raised a slurry on my Chosera 1k with a diamond plate and it still barely got anywhere. Slurry barely grayed. BTW I ended up switching to a 36 grit grinding wheel on the bench grinder and it still took me something like 3 or 4 hours to get the blank finished. For finish honing different stones can be tried, much less stock removal there. I did try my very fast coticule during bevel setting and it was able to cut pretty quick slurried, almost as fast as on a normal razor. But it's a very fast one.
 
Okay, el finito. All set for the test shave. Couldn't find anything decent for the wedge so I just put a temporary one in. I decided to go for an etched finish - since the method of construction was a bit primitive it was a good fit. Plus, HSS is a farking bizzatch to polish without diamond paste. Made one modification to the blade as well - shortened the toe by about 3/8" - it looked ungainly to me, so I made it a little shorter. Scales are walnut with satin CA finish.

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I think it looks great! Considering the blade is made from the devils heart I would say it is fantastic! Sorry to laugh at your pain, but I did have to bust up when I read about drilling the hole for the pin. I was wondering how big a pain that would be. Considering the material, I wonder if standard leather stropping will have any effect at all. Do you have any feel for that yet?
 
The overall profile, and especially the heel and tang, look a lot like the shoulderless 6/8 blanks that a bunch of Solingen razor makers use (Dovo for the Bismarck, Boker for the Elite, Revisor for a few models, etc) but in a (much) heavier grind. It's a great look.
 
Not sure on the stropping yet - since this edge is finished on CBN and diamond strops it didn't really register much change with the plain leather strop that I could tell. After I get some shaves in I'll test again with some more conventional stone finishes and then should get a bit better idea. I'm guessing it won't do a whole lot though other than possibly remove any bits of hanging burr or wire. It is really insanely hard steel. And laughing about the hole is alright - I was laughing too - I've drilled plenty of high speed steel when I was a machinist/toolmaker but it's a hell of a lot easier with a machine tool than by hand!

I modeled the blank after my Dovo Carre (another from that bunch) as I really like the way it sits in the hand for shaving. I added some smile to make it easier for the hone to get a bite on the HSS (and because I like it) and made the blade itself a little shorter and added more of a radius at the heel. Shamelessly copied the shoulderless fade, I'm not ashamed to say, lol. Very attractive razors.

About the project, I will say this: after decades of tool grinding I am a pretty crack hand with a bench grinder, offhand (freehand) grinding is not very easy to keep even - so if anyone else should try this, don't be surprised if I made it look easy! I was actually surprised at how decent it came out.
 
First shave complete! WTG went aces, very close and comfy. ATG started under the chin, went very good there, but it felt like the edge might have begun to fall off by the time I finished chin and jawline. Still shaved great, don't get me wrong, but I think I felt a slight difference. Alum block afterward was about a 1 out of 10 level burn. (I usually get between 0 and 1 depending on the stone/razor combo). The razor's ergos were awesome, shaved really nice. I'll take some edge lit shots and post them when I get a chance. It may be that the apex is a bit too keen and the steel isn't quite strong enough to hold the edge. I will run this edge until it pulls and is uncomfortable regardless. If it fails pretty rapidly I think I'm going to try a coticule touchup.
 
Okay, el finito. All set for the test shave. Couldn't find anything decent for the wedge so I just put a temporary one in. I decided to go for an etched finish - since the method of construction was a bit primitive it was a good fit. Plus, HSS is a farking bizzatch to polish without diamond paste. Made one modification to the blade as well - shortened the toe by about 3/8" - it looked ungainly to me, so I made it a little shorter. Scales are walnut with satin CA finish.

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Wow Eric! Fantastic job with HSS and less than optimum grinders. I've never tried drilling HSS. Didn't even know it was possible without EDM.
 
I am hoping that once you get the bevel angle dialed you end up with a razor that only needs to be honed, say annually. :001_smile Doing all that grinding freehand is very impressive!
 
Wow Eric! Fantastic job with HSS and less than optimum grinders. I've never tried drilling HSS. Didn't even know it was possible without EDM.

Thanks, yours are looking really good too! I have to admit, when I started I didn't think it would turn out quite this good. One small nick/gouge can be seen near the spine where I slipped and bonked the blank into the wheel when I was almost finished... In the machine shops we used to call this "signing our work" lol.

Drilling HSS can definitely be done but it's not very healthy for the cutting tools. Pretty much single use and resharpen. It can also be done with a copper tube and silicon carbide loose grit, but that takes quite a while and you need at least a drill press - makes much neater holes though.
 
I am hoping that once you get the bevel angle dialed you end up with a razor that only needs to be honed, say annually. :001_smile Doing all that grinding freehand is very impressive!

Me too! I'm growing attached to this razor! I think the angle may need to be brought up a bit with another layer of tape or two for it to hold the edge well, but we shall see. The grinding turned out pretty well, but boy did it take a while.

One of the keys to getting a good even grind is laying out the lines you want to grind to first. If you look at the first photos of the blank, the blue machinist's layout dye is visible. I used a tungsten carbide tipped scriber to mark the lines and then used a height gage to mark the apex center line, as well as the taper lines for the tail - on both the top and bottom of the blank.
 
One small nick/gouge can be seen near the spine where I slipped and bonked the blank into the wheel when I was almost finished... In the machine shops we used to call this "signing our work" lol
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I suspect that a lot of 'spine work' is the result of such slips.
 
Thanks MM, I think it will be quite a nice addition to the stable after I find the optimal angle. And Vic, I'm sure you're right, lol.
 
Well, got a look at the edge under the scope today and it looked terrible. Lots of damage. I went back and checked my measurements and found that I was only at 14.5° with two layers of tape... Whoopsie. Added two more to reach 16.5° for real this time and touched up on my Barber's Pet Coti. #2 test shave tomorrow night.
 
Here are a few more scope shots:

First up, the damage at the edge:

$Razor 1 Shave DMT EEF to CrOx to ,25 CBN to ,1 CBN to ,05 PCD Edge Lit.jpg

Then we've got the raking light bevel shot after touchup on the coticule:



This one I took just to give an idea about how tricky it can be to use a scope - and how some guys' scope shots can easily look better - or worse - than they really are. This is the same exact bevel as above but without being cleaned with IPA and lint-free wipes first (as is my normal procedure) - it was honed, stropped and wiped very lightly with a finger from spine to edge, then wiped again with a cloth. You can see it looks hardly anything like the actual bevel as shown above:

$Razor Tricky Tricky.jpg

And last, an edge lit shot of the Coti touchup:

 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
I think you need to add a frameback of some sort. Tape is too compressible and its thickness too variable as it wears or compresses, and with more than two layers the effect is going to be more pronounced. A steel back folded over the spine will wear faster than the edge but at least it will wear slowly enough to get a good many honings on it before it needs replacing.
 
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