Razor blade

“ The object of honing the razor, as has been explained, is to abraid and wear away the edge of the blade so that it becomes as thin as possible. But when this is done, the process of sharpening the razor is still incomplete, for the edge, when taken from the hone, is left rough and unfit to put on the face. ”

“ But these particles of transferred steel are still mobile. A man's razor does not cut smoothly. It is dull, or has a ragged edge that is more inclined to draw tears than cut hairs. He draws the razor over the tender palm of his hand a few times, rearranges the particles of the edge and builds them out into a sharper form. Then the razor returns to the lip with the dainty touch of a kiss instead of a saw. Or the tearful man dips the razor in hot water and the particles run out to make a wider blade and, of course, a thinner, sharper edge. Drop the tire of a wagon wheel into a circular fire. ”

“ Whetstones (ipiksaun) .—
Knives are generally sharpened with a file, cutting a bevel, as before mentioned, on one face of the blade only. To “set” or “turn” the edge they use pieces of steel of various shapes, generally with a hole drilled in them so that they can be hung to the breeches belt by a lanyard. One man, for instance, used about half of a razor blade for this purpose, and another a small horseshoe magnet. In former times they employed a very elegant implement, consisting of a slender rod of jade from 3 to 7 inches long, with a lanyard attached to an eye in the larger end. ”

“ C. Push the blade from heel to point against the edge, finishing the stroke as in Fig. D. Turn the blade on its back, slide from point to heel and let it fall into the first position, as shown in Fig. A. Continue honing until the blade is sufficiently keen and free from nicks and inequalities. This may be known by drawing the edge, very lightly, across the moistened thumb nail. If it sticks to the nail slightly, it is an indication that the honing has developed the little teeth which constitute the perfect razor edge, and that the razor is now ready for stropping. ”

“ A razor of good steel, with a blade thin and hard, are the most essential points in an instrument for hand cutting. For ordinary purposes it is not necessary to have the blade ground flat on one side, although many prefer it. ”

“ There are two ways of judging of the temper of a razor; one of these is practically infallible—viz:—the examination of the blade and its edge by means of a microscope.
It will be readily admitted that the real excellence of a razor is in direct proportion to the firmness and unbroken regularity of its edge. When a razor is too brittle, in consequence of having been either to much heated in the process of hardening, or not sufficiently cooled in that of tempering, it cannot possibly take a good cutting edge, no matter how much skill may be employed in honing and stropping it. ”

“ The Concave Blade.
The thinnest edge is always the sharpest. A blade ought therefore to be as thin as the strength of the metal composing it will permit. Nearly all razors are now made "hollow-ground" or "concave"— a great improvement over the old style of thick blade. The edge of the hollow-ground razor is thinner and therefore cuts better, and is much easier to keep sharp.
Almost any desired make of razor may be had in either half, three-quarters, or full concave. The full concave blade is of course the thinnest. ”

“ Most of the men one meets strike one at first as being carelessly shaven, and at first we were inclined to regard that as a sign of a general apathy, but we understood better how things were when a friend mentioned to my son quite casually that he had been using one safety razor blade for nearly a year. ”

“ Nickel composition case. Luminous figures on dial. Time can easily be seen in the dark. Black leather wristband. Shipping weight, 7 oz.
Army Special Razor.
A plain, durable, heavy razor for army use. Blade, 3⁄4 inch wide. Hollow ground, round point. Shipping weight, 5 ounces.
Folding Shaving Brush.
Mixed badger hair. Can be disconnected and the bristles placed in the hollow nickel plated handle. Shipping weight, 2 ounces.
Razor Strop.
Double Leather Swing Horsehide Strop. One side for sharpening, other for finishing. Length, 25 inches; width, 21⁄4 inches. Shipping weight, 10 ounces. ”

“ If the disposition of the molecules is such as to give too great hardness, the blade, though capable of taking a fine edge, will probably snap, or the edge will crack and shiver on meeting any hard obstacle. For example, if you put razor steel into a cutlass, and then try to cut lead, the blade will either snap off or the edge will break away in large pieces. If, on the other hand, you make the blade of too soft steel, the edge will be readily dented or turned on one side. ”

“ I have a razor of nearly the same form from the Seine at Paris, and others have been found in various parts of France. [784]
The nearest in character to Fig. 275 is perhaps one found in the hoard of Notre-Dame d’Or, [785] and preserved in the museum at Poitiers. Instead of the blade being a single crescent, it consists of two penannular concentric blades with a plain midrib connecting them, which has a ring at the external end. An instrument with the blade formed of a single crescent was found at the same time.
A German example is in the Museum of the Deutsche Gesellschaft, at Leipzig. ”

“ A guard, a cap or backing member, a blade, a handle, and means to clamp the blade in shaving position between the cap and the guard. King C. Gillette accomplished a major advance in the art when he conceived a double-edged blade so thin and flexible as to require external support to give rigidity to its cutting edge and a safety razor embodying such a blade. ”

“ But the most unique feature in the whole affair is the arrangement of the razor blades, which are fixed longitudinally on cylinders, from three to six inches in length, four on each cylinder, at an angle of 60 degrees, with fine camel-hair brushes between; for you are lathered and shaved at one and the same time, the lather being slipped from the interior of the cylinders, which are hollow. The machine is put in motion by the weight of the patient, the seat gradually giving way beneath, and sinking with him until he reaches the ground, when the operation is completed. ”

“ As already suggested, every safety razor consisting of a combination of guard, cap, blade, and clamping means must also provide means to keep the blade in position relative to the cap and guard. The means adopted have been various. Gillette resorted to the device of square rods or round pins fixed either to the guard or to the cap and slots or holes in the blade and the other member through which the rods or pins should pass to fix the blade in position. ”

“ The readiest and most simple plan, if the piece be large enough, is to hold it in the left hand, and, having brought the surface to a perfect 20level by cutting off several rather thick slices, endeavor to cut a thin section by the aid of a very sharp razor, the blade of which must be kept well flooded with spirit. As in the use of Valentin’s knife, so here, great care must be taken steadily to draw the blade across the tissue, every effort being made to avoid pushing the knife, else the section will be torn off, instead of being cut. ”

“ The hone being the only means of sharpening a dull razor, its use becomes at once of the utmost importance to those who wish to keep their razors in perfect order.
Hones are seldom used dry, but are usually covered with either water, lather or oil: first—to prevent heating the blade which would quickly spoil its temper; second—to keep the particles of steel that are ground off the blade from entering the pores of the stone, which would soon fill up and result in what is known as a glazed surface ”

“ Descended from his flint knife is the abounding variety of steel cutting tools all the way from the razor, concave on both sides, to the axe, doubly convex. As the arts have become more specialized, as artificial power has been introduced, the contrasts of the form of one tool with another have grown more and more striking. The bar which slices metal is stout of build, and rectangular in section, while a lancet is little wider or thicker than a [90] blade of grass. The knives which divide leather, rubber, and rope, differ much from one another ”

“ The finished blade is then riveted into the scales or handle, which may be of ivory, bone, horn or other material; and when thereafter the razor is set on a hone it is ready for use.
The processes employed in making a table-knife do not differ essentially from those required for a razor. Table-knife blades are forged from shear and other steels, and, if they are not in one piece, a bit of malleable iron sufficient for the bolster or shoulder and tang is welded to each, often by machinery, especially in the case of the cheaper qualities. ”

“ But—I took to using an electric razor now, because I had to.
One workday morning I dragged myself to the bathroom of my bachelor apartment to wash and shave. Getting started in the morning was never a pleasure to me. But this time seemed somehow tougher than usual. I lathered my face and put a fresh blade in my old razor.
For some reason, I could barely force myself to start. "Come on, Johnny boy!" I told myself. "Let's go!" I made myself take a first stroke with the razor. Man! It burned like fire. I started another stroke and the burning came before the razor even touched my face. ”

“ Rusting must be prevented, especially upon the edge, which seems to rust more quickly than any other part of the blade. A tiny rust spot on this delicate line, by causing the metal to soften and crumble at that point, will soon end the usefulness of the razor, unless the edge is ground back past the rust spot. In such a case there is always the liability of not getting a good edge. ”

“ It takes a good many years to wear a Washita hone hollow or to wear away the blade of a Swedish razor until the maker's mark is encroached on. The state of health, and to some extent the age, are suggested by the toothbrush and the dental-brush. ”

“ In addition to swallowing the customary swords and sabers she introduced such novelties as a specially constructed razor, with a blade five or six times the usual length, a pair of scissors of unusual size, a saw which is 21⁄2 inches wide at the broadest point, with ugly looking teeth, although somewhat rounded at the points, and several other items quite unknown to the bill-of-fare of ordinary mortals. A set of ten thin blades slip easily down her throat and are removed one at a time. ”

“ The blade is about two feet in length, and the handle of course somewhat larger, and, when opened, the blade is kept from shutting by a spring at the back. It is employed for decapitating criminals, but by way of a weapon it is almost worse than useless, and quite as likely to wound the person who holds it as it is him against whom it is directed. The razor was invented by a brother of the late King Gezo. On the 558th page is an illustration of one of the war-drums of the Amazons. It was taken from the slain warriors in the attack upon Abeokuta. ”

“ The blade is exceedingly sharp and honed carefully like a razor—the sharper it is the swifter it will do its work. [158] The blade must be securely fastened in the handle. The handle must be light, of comfortable shape and well balanced. In a few words, the knife must be able to get down and under the center, cutting the side segments as well as making the tough walls “fade away” easily.
DEVICES DESIGNED BY THE AUTHOR FOR KEEPING CUTLERY IN CUTTING FORM
The knives are made in stainless steel, in nickel-plated steel and in the ordinary and fine vanadium steel. ”

“ A Mecklenburg [761] knife or razor figured by Lisch is analogous in form.
I have a rough and imperfect blade of somewhat the same character as that from Cottle, but thinner and more curved. It has no hole through [216] it, but thickens out at one end into a short boat-shaped projection about 1⁄2 inch long. It was found near Londonderry.
A diminutive pointed blade which appears to be too small to have been in use as a dagger, and which from the rivet-hole through the tang can hardly have served as an arrow or lance head, is shown in Fig. 263. This specimen formed part of the Reach Fen hoard. ”

“ Unless removed it will very speedily ruin a fine knife, therefore look out for it and wipe off the hone carefully if you have any suspicion that particles of steel have broken off the blade and got on to it.
In honing, as in everything else, however, nothing but practice will impart skill, and he who intends to become an expert should practice on a few old razors, grinding, honing 91and stropping them himself, until he has acquired the art of giving them an edge far keener than most of the razors ordinarily used for shaving. ”

“ In the machine shop, we find the angle of the cutting edge large—often 80 degrees—while a razor has a cutting edge of about 5 degrees. All cutting tools are wedges, whether saws, chisels, planes, axes, or knives, and the angle depends on the hardness of the material in which it is to work. The action of the tool may be a chisel action, a knife action, or both. In the rip saw, the teeth are really a series of chisel edges cut in one piece of steel, while in a cross cut saw we have a knife action for cutting the fibres, followed by a chisel action for removing the wood. ”

“ If you take a razor in one hand and hit the palm of the other hand a smart blow with the edge, no harm will be done; but if you vary this hit, by making it lighter and putting the slightest possible draw into it, a cut will be the result, and blood will flow freely. That is to say, anything like drawing the edge along the skin will produce a cut. ”