Sound made by 1720 ERN

[kayvee]

What drives the sound made by my 1720 ERN? Stropping, shaving, honing (less so) - I can only call it a tinny sound.

I now have about 13 straights and have accepted that different razors make different sounds, but this is so different from anything I've heard so far. Is it the steel? Is it some other feature of the razor that's either present or not present?

 

[Legion]

I'm not sure I have one of that model, but it is probably the grind, rather than the steel. They used to call them "singing" razors.

The other possibility, without being alarmist, get a magnifying glass and check that there is not a hairline crack somewhere in the blade.

 

[Steve56]

Yep, what he said. Heavier grinds won’t ‘sing’, and most hollows won’t sing on your face either once you’ve removed all the stubble.

 

[kayvee]

Thanks both. Definitely a thinner grind and sings.

 

[JPO]

What drives the sound made by my 1720 ERN? Stropping, shaving, honing (less so) - I can only call it a tinny sound.

I now have about 13 straights and have accepted that different razors make different sounds, but this is so different from anything I've heard so far. Is it the steel? Is it some other feature of the razor that's either present or not present?

The sound will wary depending on the grind and the steel type.
Stainless steel will sound different compared to carbon steel.
The eigenfrequency and resulting sound can be calculated. However, it is enough to just look at what factors typically affect this in a more general way to understand it better.

The material curve, and specifically the modulus of elasticity is important, and is quite different for stainless and carbon steel.
E (elastic modulus) is one variable that goes into the f (frequency calc formula).
This only partly explains that if you have two razors with the same grind but with different steel will sound different as you shave.