MattBower Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 My father-in-law is preparing to move to a smaller place, and he asked me to come over and look through his tools to see if there was anything I wanted. I found some neat stuff, including six or seven antique straight razors that belonged to his father; i.e., my kids' great-grandfather. There are seven great-grandchildren in all, between my kids and their cousins. That's one razor per child. I was thinking it might be neat to convert the razors to folding knives (friction folders, maybe?) and give one to each great-grandchild when they reach a certain age. On the other hand, I know some antique razors can be worth a little money. And the thick spines/paper thin edges on these would make them a little tricky to convert. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone here ever seen a particularly nice straight razor to knife conversion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 A razor is ground and heat-treated to shave with. The hollow ground edge is super thin, and the steel is usually very hard. So, what makes for a great razor makes for a bad knife... thin & brittle. I've seen a number of them that have been used apart from their intended purpose that have big chips in the edge. I'd just give them the razors as a gift. I have 5 or 6 of my grandfather Boker razors, and I wouldn't take anything for them. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golgotha forge & anvil Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I personally have never heard of that type of conversion..seems like it would be quite difficult... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 A razor is ground and heat-treated to shave with. The hollow ground edge is super thin, and the steel is usually very hard. So, what makes for a great razor makes for a bad knife... thin & brittle. I've seen a number of them that have been used apart from their intended purpose that have big chips in the edge. I'd just give them the razors as a gift. I have 5 or 6 of my grandfather Boker razors, and I wouldn't take anything for them. Don Well, just to be clear, I realize I'd have to grind back the edge to thicker steel in order to make useful knives of them. Giving them as razors crossed my mind, but the majority of the great-grandkids are girls and almost certainly will never have any use for straight razors as such. I'm not ruling it out; just exploring options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Well, just to be clear, I realize I'd have to grind back the edge to thicker steel in order to make useful knives of them. Giving them as razors crossed my mind, but the majority of the great-grandkids are girls and almost certainly will never have any use for straight razors as such. I'm not ruling it out; just exploring options. Obviously you have never spent time in Texas or listened to Ry Cooder. "Honey I`ll give you anything I got in my shack I`ll even give you the clothes off my back But if you try to leave they`ll cart you home in a sack `Cause me and my razor will see to that. That`s the way the girls are in Texas". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 Obviously you have never spent time in Texas or listened to Ry Cooder. "Honey I`ll give you anything I got in my shack I`ll even give you the clothes off my back But if you try to leave they`ll cart you home in a sack `Cause me and my razor will see to that. That`s the way the girls are in Texas". I've listened to a little Ry Cooder, but that one's new to me. I like murder ballads, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 .....or you could follow Ahab's example and give them over to the ship's smith and have them steeled into your personal harpoon as you set out after the great white whale or in the case of your grand-daughters steeled into the blade of a meat cleaver. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 And none of those girls will have sons? So sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 And none of those girls will have sons? So sad. They may, of course, but who knows? My eleven year-old currently hopes to become a nun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son_of_bluegrass Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Who says they can't shave their legs with a straight razor? A sharp straight razor is the best shave you can get. A dull straight razor is the worst shave you can get. I happen to think thin and hard makes for a good knife (not razor thin but that hard), it will slice like nobody's business. That is how i make my personal knives. Of course I don't chop or pry with them. ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 You might be surprised if you do some research on straight razors, just Google straight razor forum They are making somewhat of a comeback in some circles. Why? Some say it is just more of a manly ritual to use one, others say it is the closest shave you can get, and others point out that over the years it will actually cost less than the disposables. A coworker of mine just bought, and started using one. The conversion to a knife would be ill advised in my opinion. Too thin, scales too weak,and not something that Grand Dad used in that form. Give them as razors, your girls may appreciate them more, and possibly use them themselves. A straight razor won't plug up like a safety razor will. If they knew their grandfather, it will mean something to them, and it can be passed down to their kids-if they have any. Besides it may help in fending of undesirable suitors when they hear that they shave with a straight razor . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I have a friend who makes carving knives from straight razors. He gets several from each razor and rehandles them so they are no longer folders. He may temper them back a bit but I think not... I know that he does not do a new heat treatment. His grinding process may naturally result in a softer temper as he grinds them very finely. When he is done with one it looks a lot more like a needle than a carving knife. He gets them VERY sharp though and carves away quite a lot of wood with them. He works in extremely fine detail. For example: he will carve woodland spirit faces into the sides of ordinary school type pencils. He uses cut-off wheels in his Dremel to rough out the profiles. Having said all that I must say that I would be tempted to sell them and use less valuable steel for my own knives. I have done a lot of antique shopping and it is tough to find a decent looking straight razor under $10 nowadays. NOT rare to see nice ones going for more like $20 each and up. I can get some real nice file steel for about 95 percent less and it makes quite nice knives (usually about 1095 I believe). If the girls are city gals they will know how to handle razors! They keep them in their purses... in case untimely stubble requires a swift shave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 (not razor thin but that hard), I thought we were talking about razors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lein Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 My vote, as someone that does shave with a straight razor, would be for restoring them( if needed) passing them down to the grand children and use them to shave with till there of age. It's the finest shave you can get. I would suggest against converting them into knives. Along with what has already been said, straight razor blades are very hard and brittle and easy to brake. If you tried to convert them you could go from a fine straight razor to a broken piece of scrap, and most likely will. I broke one I was trying to restore with a dremel polishing wheel. As for there value when properly restored can got for as little as $35 to as much as $2000 depending on who made it, what model, age, condition, and who's buying. You CAN find them cheap, but if there not vintage or a really good deal form a friend they won't hold a shaving edge for longer then it takes to shave one cheek. The ones you find in catalogues like Bud K and whatnot are cheap xxxx and not fit for anything but a letter opener. I've never seen modern make straight razor cost less then $75 and that was a "cheap" Dovo razor. I've also seen some go for as much as $2000+ for the fancy pattern wielded costume jobs by the big name makers. Head over to Straight Razor Place. Those guy's know everything there is to know about straight razors. As well as there are guys there the offer services to restore and sharpen them. There's also a section of the forum that is dedicated to women's uses of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Hey! Good info Lein, THANK YOU! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted July 12, 2010 Author Share Posted July 12, 2010 Thanks. I've visited Straight Razor Place before, but I'll make it a point to stop back over and look around a little more closely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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