During my several-month quiet time, I put together several damascus razors. Robert Eggerling made the billets for me. (Some of you may have to look up the word billet, but that's ok and I won't hold it against you for not knowing what they are.) One of my main gripes with damascus, or pattern-welded steel, if you insist, is that it has a tendency to microchip where the different steels converge on the very thin cutting edge. These tiny tiny tiny chips do not help out much for a comfortable shave.
I'm not saying that all damascus does this, but I skirted by any possibility of the chance that it would by coming up with my own solution. I had Robert weld a 1/8 inch piece of 1084 carbon steel on the cutting edge side of the blade next to the pattern so that the entire cutting surfaces is consistant and stable. This allows me to use any of the patterned steel I want without having to worry if the blade will micro-chip somewhere down the road.
Here are two of the razors I finished up recently. The first one has been sent to Hong Kong. No, not for duplication... The second hasn't been released yet.
I'm not saying that all damascus does this, but I skirted by any possibility of the chance that it would by coming up with my own solution. I had Robert weld a 1/8 inch piece of 1084 carbon steel on the cutting edge side of the blade next to the pattern so that the entire cutting surfaces is consistant and stable. This allows me to use any of the patterned steel I want without having to worry if the blade will micro-chip somewhere down the road.
Here are two of the razors I finished up recently. The first one has been sent to Hong Kong. No, not for duplication... The second hasn't been released yet.
I love the look of Damascus.
