- Joined
- Sep 28, 2013
- Messages
- 4,318
beautiful work as always! I was going to suggest using higher grade magnets, but you're already using N52 grade ones anyway (can you get stronger than that?). Nothing like using a tool to make another tool 
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So I made my own shaving razor ...
- Thread starter wquiles
- Start date
So here is the second prototype's work in progress pictures.
Yes, it would have been quicker to start with a square bar, but I am using the stock I bought to make DE handles as a starting point:
Once I had a block roughly of the size I wanted, I cut it in 1/2, so that I can make two heads:
Trim the length for each block:
Mill the cavity for the blade. Last time I only had about 0.001" clearance on each side, but this time I have about 0.002" on each side:
I then drilled the 4x holes for the magnets - now they sit much closer to the blade:
I then worked on the angle with the handle. I made the angle a few degrees smaller than before:
Then started to trim/bevel a little while I had the end mill in place:
Then drill and tap (M5x0.8):
Since I wanted a nicer appearance, I am tapping a blind hole, so I finished by hand:
I then marked the screw depth and cut it on my bandsaw:
Then seal in place:
Here is how it looks with the new larger magnets, and the small gold-plated thin disks on top:
It is hard to see due to the reflections, but the wall thickness between the magnets and the top surface is very small, probably 0.005"-0.010":
I then sanded smooth the edges/corners to blend everything what will be touching the face:
Of course this head is MUCH larger and heavier than the first one (I wanted to see how it shaved before trimming it), but this is how the two prototypes look like:
So I shaved with it once, to see how it felt. I liked the smaller angle better, and it worked great, so I can then started the trimming work. This was more free hand - I used visual clues as to how much to take on each side, and tried to keep both sides "similar". I basically removed the "fat" on this prototype razor head:
And I ended up with this, which feels much better, and is just a tiny bit heavier than the first prototype:
And with one of my first Ti prototype DE handles:
And with the Feather Guard I shaved with yesterday and this morning:
and two "scary" shots of the fully exposed edge:
Will
Yes, it would have been quicker to start with a square bar, but I am using the stock I bought to make DE handles as a starting point:
Once I had a block roughly of the size I wanted, I cut it in 1/2, so that I can make two heads:
Trim the length for each block:
Mill the cavity for the blade. Last time I only had about 0.001" clearance on each side, but this time I have about 0.002" on each side:
I then drilled the 4x holes for the magnets - now they sit much closer to the blade:
I then worked on the angle with the handle. I made the angle a few degrees smaller than before:
Then started to trim/bevel a little while I had the end mill in place:
Then drill and tap (M5x0.8):
Since I wanted a nicer appearance, I am tapping a blind hole, so I finished by hand:
I then marked the screw depth and cut it on my bandsaw:
Then seal in place:
Here is how it looks with the new larger magnets, and the small gold-plated thin disks on top:
It is hard to see due to the reflections, but the wall thickness between the magnets and the top surface is very small, probably 0.005"-0.010":
I then sanded smooth the edges/corners to blend everything what will be touching the face:
Of course this head is MUCH larger and heavier than the first one (I wanted to see how it shaved before trimming it), but this is how the two prototypes look like:
So I shaved with it once, to see how it felt. I liked the smaller angle better, and it worked great, so I can then started the trimming work. This was more free hand - I used visual clues as to how much to take on each side, and tried to keep both sides "similar". I basically removed the "fat" on this prototype razor head:
And I ended up with this, which feels much better, and is just a tiny bit heavier than the first prototype:
And with one of my first Ti prototype DE handles:
And with the Feather Guard I shaved with yesterday and this morning:
and two "scary" shots of the fully exposed edge:
Will
I finished a 3rd prototype - for this one I tried to make the width of the head as small as possible - barely larger than the blade itself.
I started by machining a cone on one of my initial Titanium DE handle prototypes, since that DE handle had no cone yet - now I can use it with these T-Straight heads:
Like before I first machine the pocket for the blade, but this time I moved it back about 10-15 mils:
I then started to remove material to make the profile thinner:
Drill for the 4x magnets:
Trim some more - getting very close to those magnet holes:
I then machines some shallow grooves on the "front" face (under the cutting edge), and on the sides:
Cut the pocket for the DE handle, at the same angle as last time:
Drill and tap as before:
And here is the new T-Straight razor head:
And with a Ti DE handle in place:
Here you can see that the blade exposure is a tad smaller than before. That little "ding" under the blade's edge happened when I clamped it to the angle-vice - need to be more careful next time!:
Top view of the very narrow profile:
I have tried it now twice, and it feels about the same as the last prototype I made, except this one makes it even easier to shave the mustache area.
Will
I started by machining a cone on one of my initial Titanium DE handle prototypes, since that DE handle had no cone yet - now I can use it with these T-Straight heads:
Like before I first machine the pocket for the blade, but this time I moved it back about 10-15 mils:
I then started to remove material to make the profile thinner:
Drill for the 4x magnets:
Trim some more - getting very close to those magnet holes:
I then machines some shallow grooves on the "front" face (under the cutting edge), and on the sides:
Cut the pocket for the DE handle, at the same angle as last time:
Drill and tap as before:
And here is the new T-Straight razor head:
And with a Ti DE handle in place:
Here you can see that the blade exposure is a tad smaller than before. That little "ding" under the blade's edge happened when I clamped it to the angle-vice - need to be more careful next time!:
Top view of the very narrow profile:
I have tried it now twice, and it feels about the same as the last prototype I made, except this one makes it even easier to shave the mustache area.
Will
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2014
- Messages
- 343
They look neat!!! How does it shave.
Chris
Chris
Chris,
It shaves great (to me), but there is no guard/lip/stuff to limit/protect your skin - this shaves just like with a straight razor. This is "not" a beguiner's razor - quite the opposite. Since these Feather/KAI blades are actually sharper than a well honed Straight razor, unless you are already experienced with a straight razor, you "will" get cuts/nicks for sure. Since I have been shaving for over a year with these blades already, the transition for me has been great, and I have been shaving every day with this "thing" for almost two months now. I finally got some Titanium plate, so I might try to make a Titanium razor head in the short term.
Will
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2014
- Messages
- 116
Nice razor and I compliment you on your work. However, as it seems to be a razor that requires an acquired technique, I have no plans to make one any time soon. Cool bananas!