# So I made my own shaving razor ...



## wquiles (Feb 14, 2014)

I have been using the Feather system for about a year now, and I really like the Feather/KAI SE blades. So far I have been using mostly the Feather DX and RG, but I have used the SS, and KAI Captain razors as well.   Here is a photo of the Feather DX and RG straight razors I have been using:





I have heard a lot about the Cobra, and recently got to try it on a pass-around. A tad on the mild side (the Cobra does have a guard like most DE's and SE's), the blade on the Cobra is not completely exposed, so you are a little "restricted" on what angle to use. BUT, the Cobra had a neat twist - it put the excellent and very sharp blade in a "T" handle, so it was very neat to use.


For a while now I had ideas about making my own T-Straight: a razor like the Cobra, but like a real straight razor with no guard of any kind. But I don't have a CNC shop, nor a 3D printer, so I am somewhat limited on what I can do by hand on my hobby shop (garage). I had used strong, neodymium magnets on a flashlight-related project, and I have been thinking that these might be strong enough to hold the blade in place. I took notes, and wrote down some concepts, and keep thinking about the idea of making my own razor (blade holder) to try these ideas, and see if I can shave with it. 


But I then heard about the Huntlee, which I think an outstanding design, seems to have better ergonomics than the Cobra (I really never liked the Cobra's handle), so I put my own prototype on hold and waited for a while. After learning that the Huntlee is delayed, I decided to re-engage my own project since I just want one for myself - for my personal use. I figured it would be cool to give it a try.


Since I have easy access to DE handles, I made it so that I could screw in any M5x0.8 threaded DE handle, and I made it so that it will work with any Feather/KAI blade regardless of size (light, pro, super, guard, etc). I finished it yesterday (Sunday) and I shaved with it this morning. Yes, I was pretty nervous, but I was surprised with a great shave - same as I normally get from my Feather DX, BUT with the added ergonomics of a DE/SE type handle.


It is certainly not a pretty sight, and the magnets I had on hand where too thin to have the strength I needed, but it works, and it gives me ideas of what to try next. This is my T-Straight razor, first prototype:

















It does look a little scary, right? 


Here are a few more work-in-progress pictures. Getting the brass block to the target size:














Testing to make sure the blade fits:






The red "thingie" allows me to remove the piece, put it back again, and be nearly spot on perfect again, so the DRO measurements/positioning remain from operation to operation:






No guard of any kind - the blade is fully exposed:






The angle between the head and the handle was loosely done based on another well known SE razor:






Once I picked the angle, I milled, drilled, and tapped right in that fixture:














Here I am using one of my DE handle tools to check/verify the threads:






It looks scary, but the blade can't move backwards (back wall), nor sideways (side ears), so it can only move up - this is what the magnets are doing. But I only had available (from a past project) the really thin ones you see here, and I had to stack a lot of them together to get the tension I wanted. That is why I said the magnets were not quite strong. I ordered last night some magnets of the same diameter, but longer (cylinder shape, instead of disk shaped) which should be substantially stronger to try out. That being said, the magnets are in fact strong enough as while shaving the blade has stayed perfectly in place:








To give you an idea, those side ears holding the blade from lateral movement are only 0.010" wide!. If/when I make another head, I am planning on making them a tad wider, and incorporate a few lessons learned from this one.




After two shaves the angle I used seems to work great, but I would like to move the handle further back away from the edge - this one is a tad too close:






Today I tried the new head with one of my Titanium handles, which gave me a better balance since the brass head is relatively small and light compared to the solid brass handle:


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## stevecmo (Feb 14, 2014)

Wow, you do some very nice work Bill.  Nicely done.  

You've got me wondering now whether you're clean shaven or have a some sort of fancy European beard / goatee / ????  

We need more pictures!!! :roflmao:


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## Ray C (Feb 14, 2014)

Odd as it may be, I've always wanted to make a straight razor blade just to see if I can do it. 

I use Str8s to shave and have no idea why...  Hand's down, it's a better shave than any modern, triple-track but man, if anything goes wrong, you might not walk out of the bathroom that day...  LOL...   I look at it this way: if every morning (while I'm barely away) I manage to shave and not bleed to death, the rest of the day will be downright easy going...

Ray

PS:  My favorite blade is probably 150 years old...


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## churchjw (Feb 14, 2014)

Love your post.  The knurling on your handles is great.  Really like the Ti one, had not seen it before.  How would you do one to hold a double edge blade?  I use my grandfathers Schick Krona every once in a while when I don't have time for a full shave.  Would be cool to try my hand at making that style razor.  Love the idea of using magnets that is bloody brilliant. 

Jeff


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## markknx (Feb 14, 2014)

That's one way to bring manufaturing back to the US.  Nice work!!


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## aametalmaster (Feb 14, 2014)

Nice work. The razor in pic 11 is it a GEM? I too am a big double and single edge razor fan and have bought some SS to make custom handles. I just haven't started yet. Keep it going...Bob


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## wquiles (Feb 14, 2014)

Thank you guys.  

- I have a clean shave - no beard of any kind.  I am also nearly bald, and shave my noggin with a straight razor often (yes, takes practice!)

- Every DE/SE limits blade exposure and offer a restricted angle due to the guard in front of the blade, so once you try and appreciate the control/freedom of shaving with no guard, it is hard to go back.  That was what drove me to make my own guard-less razor, and why I call "it" the "T-Straight".

- All of the handles here were made by me - that is part of my hobby - making custom DE handles, mostly Titanium, but some out of brass as well.  I have a Dorian cut-style knurler, and I can do traditional cross/diamond knurling, or the swirl/twist knurling.  I have another thread on knurling Titanium - http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/16134-Knurling-Titanium (make sure to also look at the outstanding work from "darkzero" - he taught me what I know about knurling Titanium):




- The magnets: Yes, that just came to me one day.  The bulb light inside my tiny head came up with something new for a change!.  Those magnets are 1/4" dia disks, 1/32" thick, Nickel plated, Neodymium, Grade N52

- Yes, that is a vintage Gem, specifically a Micromatic Gold Tone TTO (Ebay - $0.99 plus $1.69 shipping, and I have never used it - I bought it "only" to help me find the starting angle for this project).



And by the way, didn't grew up as Bill, so I go by William or Will )


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## wquiles (Feb 17, 2014)

I got the larger magnets, and as I hoped they are stronger than the stacked thin disks.  So I only need two small disks on the blade side to keep the blade with enough tension:








I also tried some gold-plated disks, but they were 1/16" instead of the 1/32" disks I used, so although "cool", they are way too thick:










The other benefit of the larger magnets is that the head (which was a little too light), now feels a little better.


Given the stronger magnets, I am now working with a much larger, heavier head, which I started shaving with today, which does not need any top-side magnets, but I am not done working on it. I will post more pictures later this week:


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## darkzero (Feb 17, 2014)

Very nice Will, as always!  :hi:

Will


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## wquiles (Feb 17, 2014)

Thanks Will


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## mattthemuppet2 (Feb 18, 2014)

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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## wquiles (Feb 18, 2014)

Thanks man.  I will post some pictures tomorrow of my second prototype (shaved with it twice now), now that I have done a significant weight reduction on it.

Will


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## DAN_IN_MN (Feb 18, 2014)

You do what with that thing? :rofl:




With all of the cold nasty weather we've been having here in MN and other areas, I've gathered some insulation!

Nice work BTW!


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## wquiles (Feb 19, 2014)

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


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## wquiles (Feb 26, 2014)

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


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## Shadowdog500 (Apr 11, 2014)

They look neat!!!    How does it shave.  

Chris


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## wquiles (Apr 11, 2014)

Shadowdog500 said:


> They look neat!!!    How does it shave.
> 
> 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


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## Rapscallion (May 3, 2014)

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!


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## trukker (May 13, 2014)

Very Nice!  Great Idea and could make some really nice gifts.  Can't have too many pictures.  Thanks for sharing your idea and results.  Hope you continue to share any new projects.


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