I’ll ask the same thing I asked in the last thread on this: what would Spyderco bring to the table? I don’t need a different logo on my straight razor and the one I have works great. There’s some opportunity for maybe a game-changing ergonomic development... perhaps, I guess. There isn’t, in my opinion, a way to improve on the hollow grind that western razors have been using forever.
Please don’t say “whiz-bang steel XXXX”. Not all steels are suitable for razors. Your high carbide steel of the month makes a lousy razor edge, it doesn’t matter how long it holds it. And corrosion resistance isn’t as important as you would think — plain high carbon steel is quite common in razors and works very well.
Straight razors at least command high enough prices for Spyderco to play. You can get very decent ones for $30, but people also spend $300 on them. Much like knives.
Ez556 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 17, 2020 9:49 am
I’ve always had the understanding that you want a (comparatively) soft steel for a straight razor, something that is then regularly touched up on a leather strap to keep it razor sharp. Is that incorrect? Would a modern “super steel” be fitting in that application?
Sort of. They’re meant to be sharpened by the user frequently, so ease of sharpening is important. I wouldn’t say “soft”, but you don’t want max hardness. I haven’t really dug into the stropping debate much but I suspect the strop has more effect of cleaning the patina off the edge than it does actually sharpening.
I made a ~63 RC razor one time and it was a pain to sharpen.