Sal: any chance of a Spyderco Straight Razor?

[mjdragonfly]

Don't know if there would be any interest for the SSR (Spyderco Straight Razor) but if there is and if you would build one what steels would would you choose to be on the list of available options? Also would any modern steels be able to equal the edge of a traditional carbon razor steel but have a longer edge retention (could a dozen shaves be possible on a single sharpening?) and still be easy enough to sharpen? Or do you think that traditional steels are still the best tool for the job? Thanks Sal.

[BrianMcCord]

Roc cleaver? Not a straight razor, but just like the flatiron

[Daveho]

Many of the current steels would be suitable but the tooling for doing things like extra hollow singing blades may be more trouble than it’s worth for one line.
Especially considering you can pickup a Dovo for quite cheap I don’t imagine spyderco would sell a huge amount but you never know I guess, if it was reasonably priced I’d pick one up.

[zhyla]

I think whenever we start asking for Spyderco to make something we need to ask, "what would Spyderco bring to the table?" I don't want to buy something just because Spyderco stamped their logo on it. Frankly, that logo is expensive.

Spyderco might do some R&D to select the ideal steel for razor blades. I think it's pretty well understood that finer grain size makes for a better razor blade. I've never seen anyone suggest any kind of stainless steel for this purpose. Maybe there's a magic super steel that competes there. Maybe.

But any company can use that same steel to make razors. Is there some problem with existing razor designs? They don't need to be easy to open, carry, etc. The blade shape is pretty much settled.

Plus the market is flooded with razors from $10 to $500. Not something I'd jump into unless there were real problems people had with existing designs.

[NickShabazz]

For me, the idea has an appeal. The straight razors I've tried, even those made by serious makers, seem just barely up to the thickness of my stubble, often requiring mid-shave stroppings. I've often wondered what a modern PM steel (e.g. Maxamet) might bring to the table, and whether it could let me do more shaving and less stropping.

But, that said, I can't imagine the tooling being too similar.

[zhyla]

For me, the idea has an appeal. The straight razors I've tried, even those made by serious makers, seem just barely up to the thickness of my stubble

I'm assuming you're good at sharpening since... well you post a lot of videos about knives, so you'd better know :). What's your sharpening methodology with this? I just use sandpaper and go up to around 5000 grit. My cheap razor slides right thru everything for several shaves before a performance difference is noticed. But I have noticed some vintage razors I toyed with just never performed as well. I mainly think this is a thinness behind the edge issue but I'm not sure.

[NickShabazz]

I'm assuming you're good at sharpening since... well you post a lot of videos about knives, so you'd better know :). What's your sharpening methodology with this? I just use sandpaper and go up to around 5000 grit. My cheap razor slides right thru everything for several shaves before a performance difference is noticed. But I have noticed some vintage razors I toyed with just never performed as well. I mainly think this is a thinness behind the edge issue but I'm not sure.

"Good at" is relative. I can do fine, but compared to professionals, I'm nothing special. But I actually got started with sharpening and restoring old straight razors. I tended to use DMT Diamond plates to remove damage, then I had larger japanese waterstones to get to the high grits needed for a razor. Some older razors were very poorly performant (very soft steels), but I've had some that were pretty nice too. And I don't think my sharpening technique is the issue, as I've gotten some professionally made, higher-end straights which are "ready to shave" and stropped and honed and still had this same longevity issue. I think I've just got maxamet follicles.

[ThePeacent]

I don't shave with a straight razor but have always liked the blade shape,
the new Gerber one is nice enough in all but the steel, :rolleyes:

and my personal favorite is the one from Extrema Ratio, to me overpriced but I really enjoy N690 (especially in humid environments like a bathroom after a shower) and also the fact that is non-locking making it legal almost anywhere...a nice picnic knife if you ask me! :p

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/EX1000 ... um-handles

[Nate]

Stuart Ackerman has a straight razor prototype on his website. Not much real interest for me personally as I'm the bearded type, and I imagine it might be a tough market for Spyderco to break into. Still, it looks pretty cool:

The Rozzor

[Evil D]

I recall someone on this forum years ago reground an Atlantic Salt ( think?) to a very thin hollow grind and was shaving with it. There are a few sheepsfoot blades that would work if you can get around not having a true straight razor style pivot.

[Daveho]

I think spyderco would be more likely to make something like a Kamisori.
Personally I find these straights to shave better than the western style and honing is easier.

[JD Spydo]

OH heck yes!!! I would buy a Spyderco STRAIGHT RAZOR in a heartbeat!! I hope I remember this correctly but I do seem to recollect at one time Sal said he even worked with them at one point. It might be another forum but I'm 95% for sure it was this one where he mentioned something of that ilk.

Now this would probably be one Spyderco cutting tool I wouldn't want in Spyderedge :eek: :rolleyes:

But this really needs to be taken seriously because in Kansas City where I was recently living we had a top notch shaving shop at the "Country Club Plaza" ( a really swank, snobbish shopping center here in KC) and it is called "The Art Of Shaving" and I understand it is a nationwide chain. They told me some time back that the popularity of straight razors is on the rise because of the catapulting costs of throw-away shaving razors.

That place has to sell a lot of units I know because the rent at the CC Plaza is up in the stratosphere :eek: And with the popularity of straight razors increasing it might just be a perfect time for Spyderco to get into that market.

[me2]

I shaved for a week or so with a Salt 1. Lowered the edge angle to 12 dps with a 15 d0s microbevel, the honed all the way to 0.3 micron film and plain leather. H1 should work, and a damp bathroom won't dull it.

[mjdragonfly]

There are other options. My Dad carried a Rolls Razor during WW2 and as a kid I thought they were a really interesting device.

[krikun98]

For me, the idea has an appeal. The straight razors I've tried, even those made by serious makers, seem just barely up to the thickness of my stubble, often requiring mid-shave stroppings. I've often wondered what a modern PM steel (e.g. Maxamet) might bring to the table, and whether it could let me do more shaving and less stropping.

I've read a bunch on high carbide steels for razors, and the consensus is there are many factors working to their detriment here. The low sharpening angle and tiny behind the edge thickness mean the performance wouldn't be stellar at a high hardness, and the size of the carbides makes the edge uneven on a microscopic level. You can't see it without serious magnification, but the skin feels it.
I'm no expert, and that's just what I gathered from weird Russian forums, but there is a difference between shaving with S30V (Millie) and 1075 (Opinel), although it may be my sharpening or the angle.

[flasharry]

I had one of those - and once the edge was cleaned up, it shaved as well as any of my Gillette safety razors... It seemed to work well when touching up the edge on it as designed

There are other options. My Dad carried a Rolls Razor during WW2 and as a kid I thought they were a really interesting device.

Rolls Razor.jpg

[Dargarin]

This is a great idea. I'd love to see a Spyderco straight razor in a high quality and high edge retaining steel.

[mjdragonfly]

I am wondering if V-Toku 2 would be a good razor steel? You want a really fine grained steel that is easy to sharpen. Would be a really nice feature if the steel would stay sharper longer than traditional razors do and not be harder or not too much involved to sharpen. I have watched videos of Razor guys who can put a really fine edge on a razor which will go a week between sharpening. I don't imagine that most uses of straight razors get their edges that well honed though.

[Surfingringo]

Straight razors always make me think of a South Alabama country boy named Willie McCoy. Him or Leroy Brown.


https://youtu.be/YQrTGE4wwwA


https://youtu.be/aB_TM5AvJP0

[Ryno]

It seems like Aogami super would be great for a straight razor, but I don't really know.