Shaving sharp Buck 110?

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znapschatz

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Jan 24, 2005
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So I was flipping channels other night and I happened on a few minutes of "American Gothic" which I have never seen before and have no interest in. But this was the ending of one sequence showing some guy in what looks like an outdoors setting sharpening a Buck 110 on a flat stone. Next scene he is indoors, using it to shave his cheek with the blade plain and no shaving cream. Another fellow asks if he would like a razor blade. No, guy says, I'm used to it.
Well, I can get a Buck knife sharp enough to treetop my arm hair, but I don't know if I want to shave my face with it, especially without prep. I have seen pix of shaving done even with an axe, but that dude had plenty of lather on his face.

Q: Anyone ever shave no prep with a knife they have sharpened any method, let alone on a rock, or know if it is even doable?
 
znapschatz said:
Q: Anyone ever shave no prep with a knife they have sharpened any method, let alone on a rock, or know if it is even doable?
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I have not shaved with a pocket knife, but I have shaved with no prep. It isn't much different than using soap. A couple of the fellas who post in Traditional say they have shaved with a knife they have sharpened. I have no reason to doubt them.

Buck 42HC isn't much different in composition from razor blade steel.
 
I use Feather blades. No one is going to get a knife as sharp as a Feather blade. Geometry is king. I've seen videos of people shaving with knives, but it's not something I'd ever try when Feather blades are ~30 cents and they're way sharper than I could ever make a knife. They're so thin it's really not even a contest.
 
Coastiekevink said:
It is Hollywood


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Sort of like McGuyver's SAK with implements that can solve any emergency when it is really the writers doing it. But in real life there's never a writer around when you need one.

knarfeng said:
I have not shaved with a pocket knife, but I have shaved with no prep. It isn't much different than using soap. A couple of the fellas who post in Traditional say they have shaved with a knife they have sharpened. I have no reason to doubt them.

Buck 42HC isn't much different in composition from razor blade steel.
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I'm not sure steel composition is the key factor. Regular razor blades are probably made of inexpensive grades of steel.

Fanglekai said:
I use Feather blades. No one is going to get a knife as sharp as a Feather blade. Geometry is king. I've seen videos of people shaving with knives, but it's not something I'd ever try when Feather blades are ~30 cents and they're way sharper than I could ever make a knife. They're so thin it's really not even a contest.
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That's what I was thinking. I've had a knife blade sharp enough to split a hair (once, for fun), but arm hair seems to be different than facial. I regularly test my sharpened knife on my arm and have the bald spots to show for it (drives my wife crazy), but on my face it doesn't seem to work so well. I always suspected geometry was the key. But this exercise is just a notion for me. For daily shaving I use an electric razor. :D
 
I have shaved spots I missed with a Buck Scout Lite when I was much younger, 16 to 18. Wouldn't try unprepared shaving now even with a real razor.
 
I used a boar hair brush and good soap, after putting a mirror polish on my 110 was able to shave easily. No nicks!
 
I shave my head. On occasion I've done it with knives and even once with an axe (wouldn't recommend it), just for fun, to take a few silly pictures.

It can be done, but it's uncomfortable. There's a reason why straight razors are designed the way they are.
 
No way! With my beard I have to prep it with at least some lotion or bar soap. I prefer to use my brush and mug. There is no way I am going to shave without such with a knife. I have dry shaved with a razor, but not by choice, and I was much younger and my beard was not so heavy. I would not even attempt it now.
 
Probably I’m in the minority that I regularly dry shave with my knives.

Struggled with VG10, but managed to overcome and improved my skill. Have used Sanrenmu 710, 763, Byrd Cara Cara & Spyderco Resilience (8Cr13MoV), Spyderco GB1, Stretch VG10 & HAP40, Endura VG10, Superblue, and ZDP, CS Broken Skull XHP. Have not managed to achieve same result with Manix 2 S110V.

My thinking is that why dispose a razor if knives can be sharpened adequately. Probably I have thick skin and thin hair. :eek:
 
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I could shave with my 110 but why? There are other implements designed for shaving that do much better job.
 
I see this thread got bumped. I stand by my post from years ago. Feather razor blades are still the best.
 
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