The “straight razor challenge” took on a bit of a life of its own, and has finally concluded.
Fans of the Forge kindly agreed to moderate the contest, which was a difficult thing because there were no rules other than “make straight razor.” They really did a good job, though, and pulled in Albert Edmonds from Seattle Edge Sharpening to offer opinion as an expert on straight razors. I also like their production values:
When we decided to do this, Mike Poor posted about it in a couple of places, which attracted two other entries including one from Steve Schwartzer. That’s sort of like arranging a pickup game of basketball at the local parking lot, and having Michael Jordan show up; Schwartzer is a Master Bladesmith (MBS – basically a PhD member of the teaching faculty of knifemakers) who can put together a blade like nobody’s business. None of this stuff is “effortless” but someone at Schwartzer’s level is able to work much more efficiently and effectively than an advanced amateur even if they have similar gear; knowing what works is important. Make sure you take a good look at the metal in the blade that Schwartzer did – the last time I saw something like that it was the inside of my eyelids while I was tripping on oxycodone and pain endorphins during the “kidney stone incident.”
This was a great deal of fun and a heck of a project.
I was interested in the different grinds and layouts that we all used.
The plan was to “pay homage” to the winner, which seems like a pretty good way of doing it. I decided to design a T-shirt and had a small number made in a variety of sizes. Because I wanted to make them useful, I made them black so that I could wear them in the shop and wipe my hands on them. Which gave me the idea for the design.
The badger head logo I use is by Andreas Avester, and I sent them one of the shirts as soon as the box arrived. It’s modeled here: [Andreas]
I watched the video, and wow, all the razors were so cool and pretty.
I also like black shirts, but mostly for a totally different reason—under black fabric shapes are less prominent due to the dark fabric hiding shadows. In other words—boobs are less noticeable. It’s not like one can fool anybody, but some clothes can make a person’s figure look more masculine than others.
When I saw the headline I thought it was something along the lines of the Tide Pod and Ghost Pepper challenges. I’m very relieved that it’s a making thing.
So the peak is for balance … ;-)
I love the T shirt and it looks great on Andreas Avester!
Is the contest actually over? I thought it was now going to a FB page for voting? All of these razors look amazing. Schwartzer’s Damascus pattern is just incredible but they all have really unique qualities. I don’t know that you can actually be “defeated” in something like this because you learned a lot and created something really cool.
kestrel @#4
Yes, that’s basically how I saw it too—all of these razors are amazing but that one stood out as even more incredibly cool.
There exist art contests with prizes. If some artist really wants the prize, then it is possible to loose. But I agree that one cannot be “defeated” in a challenge that is more about learning and trying out new techniques.
Hm, looking at photos only. No actual handling, no actual shaving.
Kinda disappointing.
I know near nothing about straight razors, I have one somewhere around the house somewhere in a pile of junk, but I have never used one. They all look beautiful, but the Schwartzer’s one really stands out. I like the file work, which really improves the look of an already incredible looking damascus.
John Morales@#6:
Hm, looking at photos only. No actual handling, no actual shaving.
Kinda disappointing.
I can send mine out to you, if you want to shave with it.
I agree with everyone who said that the point of this sort of “challenge” is to play, not to win. I started the entire exercise because I knew Mike had been wanting to try a straight razor and so had I. So it seemed like a good way to make sure it happened: put it on a schedule and get it done.
It’s never “losing” when you compete against a top professional at the peak of their game. All I could think when I saw Schwartzer’s entry was “I should have done a fancier billet” – although, I’d be surprised if he didn’t just grab a cut-off scrap from something else and rework it. Guys like Schwartzer have piles of things in their “fucked box” waiting to be pulled out and repurposed. Even my humble little “fucked box” is pretty full, but perhaps that’s more a tribute to the level of effort I’ve been putting in, than anything else.
drken@#2:
I’m very relieved that it’s a making thing.
Yes, there will be no swallowing straight razors on my watch.
Charly@#7:
I know near nothing about straight razors, I have one somewhere around the house somewhere in a pile of junk, but I have never used one.
The thing is the grind. Schwartzer’s grind is pretty much perfect. Go figure. I went with a radical hollow because the blade was very thick and wide and otherwise it would look OK but it’d be dangerously dull. Of course, doing a radical hollow that big without building a jig for it, was a bit of overconfidence on my part, and I really suffered for it. The edge is accurate to a few thousandths, but you can see where it’s not perfect on the polished edge. I was impressed by Mike’s “iris grind” because he managed to make his heavy use of slack-belt shaping into a feature. ;)
The other key thing about a straight razor is that you hone it with both the spine and the edge in contact with the stone, so the relationship between the depth of the blade and the thickness of the spine sets the final sharpening angle.
Marcus @6, eek! I already nick myself now and then using a safety razor, so I can only imagine the results were I to essay using a cut-throat one.
(Also, I have this quaint ideas that tools should be made to be used, not just be art)
That is an incredible shirt, and a nice-looking set of blades.
If you want somebody to give it a proper shaving test, I’m game.