Some thoughts on razor design

My thoughts on straight razor blade design and wedges and tangs.

[@KLAYCO47]

please post more videos like this. the measurements are really helpful. great video.

[@lewisrazors]

+SneekySnakeOO Thanks for the feedback on the video, I have a hard time figuring out what kind of videos to make.

[@blistersteel]

Lewis Razors anything you can find the time to share is absolutely cool with me .

[@SugarcreekForge]

Great video, Charlie! That is super helpful. Thank you very much for posting this.

[@lewisrazors]

+SugarcreekForge You are welcome, I was a bit nervous about posting the low tech graphics on the chalk board.

[@SugarcreekForge]

I actually liked that old school low tech solution :-)

[@StephenJoiner]

I fully agree on all points Charlie. Flat, parallel scales with a non-tapered wedge or blades without a tapered tang speak of amateur under-design.

[@lewisrazors]

+Stephen Joiner Yep, thanks for the comment.

[@vdub5818]

Let me preface this by saying I am a complete straight razor noob and mostly do more tactical folder/hard use knife work. However I have been debating doing a couple straight razors lately since I have a big ol bar of aeb-l lying around collecting dust like every surface in my shop. In regards to the wedge/backspacer, the design I came up with in CAD will use a small piece of .050 6al4v titanium, milled into the scale material and attached with screws, that I make into a spring then press a detent ball into. Said detent ball will drop into small drilled holes in the blade, essentially how the detent holds the blade closed on a folding framelock or linerlock knife. Multiple positions like full open, full closed, halfway open, 3/4 open. If I was to go with my method, does that show amateur design work or the opposite? I am just way too anal with my work and don't currently have a sine plate to set accurate angles for my surface grinder. Add to that the experience with everything I do is to make everything as dead flat as possible to keep things as smooth as they can be, and you can see why I am leaning towards my method.

[@lewisrazors]

+Finn Custom Knives Your ideas sound perfect in theory and will work well, but I like the traditional wedge/tension way of doing things a bit better. There are so many ways to do things that will work, that is why knife making is so fascinating. As a straight razor user, I will open the blade to different angle depending where and how I am shaving. I will open to 180 for stropping, 90 for shaving. When I wipe the soap off of the blade during the shaving process I am moving the handles a little bit on either side of the 90 degree angle as I go along. It is something I do my second nature. For me, the way I shave I would prefer the versatility of a friction joint as opposed to having the limits of several dentents. But by the same token I have never tried a razor that has detents, maybe I am off base. I would say try it and see how it works.

[@robsonsantosOSO]

Thank You very much!

[@Fank234]

Ok so I guess this means you can’t really reduce the blade width (for ridding of nics in the blade) without having to also file down the length of the spine?

[@lewisrazors]

I have never thinned the spine after getting rid of nicks in on an antique razor. The new angle might not be the ideal, but the razor still shaves OK.

[@fgvmadieglez456]

Thanks for share

[@caposaure]

For what it's worth, I used some trigonometry memory here. a = spine thickness b = blade width Ang = angle in degree you want to achieve b = (a/2) / sin (Ang/2) In your first example : b = (1/2) / sin (15/2) b = 3.83 Hope this helps, if not, just forget about my comment ;)

[@lewisrazors]

+caposaure Thanks for taking the time to do the math.

[@TimBlankJ]

Very cool Thank you

[@lewisrazors]

+TimBlankJ You are welcome

[@ThePillenwerfer]

Very interesting.

[@lewisrazors]

+ThePillenwerfer Thank you

[@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN]

You make some great razors and videos Lewis, after revisiting a few times now I decided to sub, better late than never I guess :)

[@lewisrazors]

Thank you for leaving a comment and subbing

[@kittrainbow7]

The most useful video about straights, many thanks for sharing😃🔝

[@lewisrazors]

Thanks for the kind words.

[@dustinnorth6603]

Charlie, going through your old vids and after watching this one I have a question on razor design. What are your thoughts on blade length? If i remember correctly most, if not all, of your blades are 3" long. Is there a design reason or just a preferred length? Thanks, love your work and videos (wish you had more vids).

[@lewisrazors]

My favorite length is around 2.75. Blades have traditionally been made in the 3-ish range, it is a good length that fits the face, with a longer blade I always nick my earlobes when shaving my cheeks. Shorter blades can be nice also, as long as you stay aware of the corners of the blade. 3-ish just works well for shaving. Thanks for the kind words about my vids.

[@dustinnorth6603]

Makes sense, thanks!

[@NYCmob79]

thanks

[@lewisrazors]

+NYCmob79 Your welcom

[@ernestsheffield9976]

Cool stuff. Thanks for the info.

[@lewisrazors]

+Ernest Sheffield You are very welcome.

[@planloschannel5888]

Excellent video as always

[@lewisrazors]

Thank you

[@Razorlab76]

Your videos are awesome dude.

[@lewisrazors]

+tatzl76 Thank you

[@jwrappuhn71]

Good info, thanks Charlie.

[@lewisrazors]

+jwrappuhn71 You are welcome