Warf is at it again.

[Papabull]

First, he turns ugly old evil compound bows into sweet-shooting recurves. Now he's turned old worn out straight razors into beautiful knives that cut like scalpels. Will the madness ever end?

[thisbucks4u]

Nice Job Warf. Speakin of razors Papa Bull. Is my package in the mail yet?

[DAS]

Bob,
You amaze me! Was that bad boy ground from a straight razor blade?? man you'd be hell in a bar fight!

[DAS]

Never mind, it early and I'm not reading so well :)

[Esquire]

It's a beauty. I'd hate to be an apple. Or a neck.

[the other DWS]

Yeah, but is the handle made from an old wood riser compound? :)
nice work!
I've been looking at some of my old razors but haven't quite figured out how I want to go about it, grind it down without losing the very hard temper--maybe a dremel with a cut off blade and frequent quenching. then there is the tip---on my razors the hollow is so deep that getting the tip located right without having it too fragile will take some thinking-----
Now what did I do with that old wood compound

[Papabull]

I guess Bob got his more quickly because he's in the middle of nowhere deep in the Rockies on the other side of the continent instead of just a mere 800 miles away.

[Desert Archer]

I've been facinated by edged weapons since I was a kid. All I can say about Bob's latest creation is...WOW!

Dave

[DAS]

Papa Bull,
US mail always circles the globe west to east once before being delivered; so you see, it is actually a SHORTER distance to Bob's place :) I'm watching out over the Pacific for my package too! That's a great deal on broadheads, thanks!

[Papabull]

The Magnus 4 blades are excellent heads and I do what I can to make them easy on the wallet, too!

[Bob Gordon]

I needed a real sharp, small knife for my string making as that stuff takes a pretty sharp knife so Robert sent me a couple "well used" old German straight edge razor's to play with. I used a piece of Zebra wood, couple pieces of micarta and some JB Weld. Only took a couple hours to do and most of that was getting it sharp again. The darn'd this is so scary sharp after using a old leather strop to finish it that now I'm just about afraid to use it! You can't even feel it cut D-97 string material, if you could ever get a broadhead this sharp you would get passthru's on a T-Rex!!....warf

[tuffshot]

The old barber shops used to use straight razors for shaving the face and the back of the neck, but that is one "tradition" that has faded away.

I found an old barber shop that has alot of used razors just pigioned holed away, some are collectables but some are just run of the mill. Now all I have to do is sweet talk him into selling me a few :D

Even the everyday razors had some good quaility steel in them.

[Bowcephalus]

Now that's a good use for an old tool....same theory behind re-birthing the old compound into a fine shooting recurve.....Nice, very nice.......

[James Wrenn]

Well with all these little scrap of wood laying around I am going to have to make one of those. Now to find the razor. :) What is a fair price for one?

[Cueball]

Bob, nice work for sure. I can barely nail a nail in a 2x4. I do enjoy watching people who can create things. It is even more enjoyable when old disgarded stuff is made new and usefull again.



..........................................Roby.... .................................................. .

Papa Bull has a knife fetish.

[Bowcephalus]

....oh yeah? I'd say there are at least two angels who'd disagree!.......

[Papabull]

Well with all these little scrap of wood laying around I am going to have to make one of those. Now to find the razor. :) What is a fair price for one?

You should be able to find a suitable razor with which you can make a very good knife for less than $10.00 including shipping on Ebay.

What you want to look for is a razor with a chipped blade or broken handle. One that's got a good blade width - at least 5/8". Also, do NOT buy Pakistani razors. There's a schittload of them on Ebay brand new. Any new razor selling for less than $40.00 is something you aren't going to want and these Paki razors are going for what they're worth - next to nothing.

A wedge or semi-wedge design is ideal - most of the old Sheffield razors are very good for this. They're often large, fairly thick blades and the steel is exceptional.

While this might not look as cool as a broadhead glued to a piece of antler, it will be a much, much better cuttting tool. Broadhead steel is much too soft to be considered a useful knife steel. (Quality knives run between 57-62 HRC - cheap knifes with junk steel go 54 to 55 HRC - Broadheads go around 47-49 HRC). Most razors are over 62 HRC.

[James Wrenn]

Thanks Robert! I will find one and see what I can do with it.

[Papabull]

This is an old Wade and Butcher "meat chopper" for barber's use. These make exceptional skinning knives. You get a full 3 inch blade with plenty of heft.

[James Wrenn]

I hope these will work ok. What do you think?
http://i12.ebayimg.com/02/i/03/8b/3f/b8_1_b.JPG

[Bob Gordon]

Those look fine. I used a 1" belt sander with a pretty course belt to take down the spine of the blade, it's pretty hard so make sure you have a cup of water right handy to keep dipping the blade into, don't want to get it hot. I used a fine belt to reshape the ultra thin part of the blade.. keep it cool. When you have the blade shaped tape it up with a couple pieces of duc tape when doing a handle of some sort for obvious reasons. I split a piece of Zebra wood and inlet each piece for the shank and the just glued it all together and reshaped the wood to my likeing, used some poly for a finish, buffed the blade and sharpened. Simple project but be real careful, after all it's still a razor and you will be the first to know if anything goes wrong!....I just made a couple more and used some scrap micarta for the handle, stuff sure stinks when grinding it to shape but makes a pretty nice looking handle. They make a nice little knife that will hold a edge like no knife I ever had before, not to good for dressing a deer but sure handy for making strings and such. It's one of those tools that if you knock it off the work bench you don't try to grab it before it hits the floor!!...LOL....warf

[Papabull]

The two on the left will be just great. The top left looks to be the best of the lot with a good wedge design that will provide a thick blade. Then you'll probly find the bottom left to be the next thickest blade, followed by top right and bottom right appearing to be the most deeply hollow ground.

Every one of them should be good for a project and one on the bottom right should be a pretty good shaver, too. the

Buying these things by the "lot" when they're all rather plain is the best way to get them dirt cheap.

:)

[James Wrenn]

Thanks Emperior and Robert. :) I will make something to get cut on for sure.I tested a Simmons on my hand a couple of days ago.If it had been more than a 3" drop I think it might have busted bone. :lol:

[easternhunter]

not to good for dressing a deer but sure handy for making strings and such. It's one of those tools that if you knock it off the work bench you don't try to grab it before it hits the floor!!...LOL....warf

BOB...I'M VERY IMPRESSED WITH YOUR HANDYWORK....JUST TO LET YOU KNOW...MY FATHER NEVER USED ANYTHING MUCH BIGGER THAN A POCKETKNIFE TO FIELD DRESS HIS DEER. NEVER SAY THE NEED FOR LARGE SHEATH KNIVES. AS YOU MAY GUESS, I PICKED UP ON THIS TRAIT, SO IF/WHEN I MAKE ONE OF THESE RAZOR KNIVES, I'LL LIKELY TRY IT OUT HIS FALL. REGARDS

[Bob Gordon]

What I ment by not dressing a deer is that it is just a recycled old razor and has a ultra thin blade much like a razor blade and is fairly fragile as far as a knife goes, you would just have to be a little careful using it. I think I could do a elk with it and it still would still shave the hair off your arm, real good steel in those old razors and they take a edge you have to see to beleive. Go ahead and make one, it's pretty easy to do. I have a bunch of old carbon compound limbs and am going to try using a piece for a handle on the next one. Most old junk stores and antique shops have a lot of old, beatup razors lying around at cheap prices. If your into muzzleloading one would make a super patch cutting knife also....warf

[the other DWS]

good hard steel, but of a fairly brittle high carbon alloy. The thin hollow ground edges will chip out real easy. For straight slicing they can hardly be beat, but any pressure or sideways force--look out. In looking at one of a selection to make a warf-skinner I'd look for one with more of a wedge grind than a deep hollow grind. Working the point onto a deeply hollow ground blade might be a bit tricky
I had a real nice one that I bought in Europe during my college days. Either my ex-wife or her daughter tried cutting something with it (never did get a consistant story) and took 3 or 4 nicks out of the edge. Reworking the edge and making a little neck knife out of it looks like the best way to salvage it. Unfortunately its one of those deeply hollow ground german blades so it'll take some thinking before I fire up the belt grinder and dremel

[James Wrenn]

Well I got my razors today.I made one mistake right to start with.I wanted to see if I could sharpen a couple of them and now I am scared to get around them! :) Man I can not believe how sharp they get so easy.When you hit a ceramic rod with them you better be ready to cut. :lol: One of the small ones has a real thin hollow ground blade on it and sings like a saw blade when you run it down the rod.Two of the others has the thicker wedge shaped blades but still gets real sharp.I am going to have to make some kind of sheath for this thing if I put a handle on it.No way I can leave it laying in a drawer without one. :eek:

[Bob Gordon]

James...That's the problem I have with them too. I made three up and after sharpening them am just about afraid to pick one up, sure wouldn't want to make a mistake with one! It is sorta like handleing something raidoactive, you just get extra careful as they are a accident waiting to happen!!...warf

[James Wrenn]

Yeah Bob I am going to cover the edge with duct tape before I mess with them. :)

[Bob Gordon]

James...Yea, that's what I did, I put three layers of duc tape on it and still was real careful. Sure makes a neat knife for string making and small delicate tasks. If you polish the blade on a buffing wheel be real careful as those muslin wheels tend to grab things and fling them around a bit....Bob

[James Wrenn]

Well I stuck a handle on one this morning.I did not get fancy and have not put any finish on it yet but it sure does work good.
http://funhunts.homestead.com/razor2.jpg

[DAS]

This reminds me of the Seecamp club! I lived in Texas for 3 years and while there I met a group of retired guys that called themselves the Seecamp club. They would meet at a particular restuarant every friday and shoot the bull. Everyone thought they were the "Sea Camp" club which has a nice feel to it. In fact the old guys were all packing heat!! The Seecamp is a very high quality pocket pistol that is built in limited quantities and highly sought after!
I can just see the warf club forming! :lol:

[Papabull]

James, that singing blade is probably the one I told you would make a really great shaver. After shaving with properly honed and stropped straights, I can't putting a disposable to my face any more - we got sold a bill of goods on the wonders of the "disposable" razor and blade. I keep mine in the AG Russell WoodsWalker sheath. Fits right in the back pocket!

[James Wrenn]

Robert I am about afraid to cut strings and trim feathers with these things.No way I am shaveing with one. :)
The old guy that cuts my hair uses one to trim the back of your neck and around your ears with.He shakes like a leaf in the wind and scares he!! out of me everytime he pulls it out! :lol:

[the other DWS]

There is a old old story about razors--not very PC in its original form when I heard it.

seems that two gentlemen were having a dispute after a late night dice game in a back alley. the dispute grew physical and threats were made.

"Boy! Imma gonna hafta cut ya fo say'n that!!!!!"

"swisssssssssssh"

"Ha Ha old man ya clean missed me!"

" boy ya jus' try toinin' ya head"
:goodvevil