Spyderco Straight Razor

A

AussieMark

Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Messages
15
:thumbup:Hi Sal,
Spyderco knife users don't use box cutters. We don't buy blades to throw them out. We appreciate good steel and a well made product.

Your knives are "razor sharp", yet you don't make a dedicated razor. I've recently started using a straight razors. Noone makes them out of VG-10, a steel that IMHO is perfectly suited to such an application. It takes a great edge, stays sharp for ever and is corosion resistant.
ZDP would be another good option but a bit more expensive to make and a bit harder to re-sharpen. I've heard of a few custom ZDP straight razors from Japan. Users report that they are amazing to use but they all cost the best part of $1,000 and it's almost imposible to find a craftsman to make one.
Is it a worthy idea or is it too much of a deviation from the Spyderco range?

Maybe a Spyderco Zowada in VG-10 with graphite or titanium scales could be the next big thing? I know that I'd buy several.

Regards,

AussieMark
 
Hi AussieMark,

While I appreciate the suggestion, I'm not sure it's a direction in which Spyderco could be successful.

The number of people that actually shave with a straight razor is very small. When I shaved with a straight razor (for about 5 years 15 years ago), I learned a fair amount about razor steels. I would recommend it for any knife afi. Great adventure.

I acutally made and shaved with knife steels. (D2, MBS-26). I found that the dedicated razor steels worked better for me because they created a "better" burr for shaving.

I'm not convined that harder steels will actually shave better.

The stropping is what creates the burr. When the razor begins to perform less effectively, one goes back to the strop, not the stone. I don't think I sharpened the razor more than twice a year, but stropped each day.

As far as the collector market for custom straight razors, I must say I'm clueless. I guess we can see what response we get here.

sal
 
I think the handle material would take a little bit more thought, I have heard of a guy in New Zealand that makes jaw dropping handles for straights.

It would have to be something appropriate for a straight razor.

I think that Spyderco would own the straight razor market, from day one.

I don't know exactly how big the market is for straight razors, but I would venture to say that there is a big enough market for a production run to sell out. And I am also sure that many people who are curious about trying a straight razor, but don't have the confidence in any of the brands out there or the money to throw down for a TI or Henkels would give it a shot knowing that they have the Spyderco quality to back them up.


The board for this question is Badger and Blade.
 
I've been shaving with straights for a few months. It's actually fairly easy if you have a sharp razor. (That's the hard part.) I have three razors. All from flea markets for $10 - $30. I have spent way more on sharpening gear. Sure, I'd buy a Spyderco Razor if given the chance.
 
matt321 said:
I've been shaving with straights for a few months. It's actually fairly easy if you have a sharp razor. (That's the hard part.) I have three razors. All from flea markets for $10 - $30. I have spent way more on sharpening gear. Sure, I'd buy a Spyderco Razor if given the chance.
Click to expand...

OK, just for the purposes of discussion, what steel would you want.

I also might add that a European designer created a Spyderco razor design several yesars ago that was quite nice. We wanted Dovo to make the blade for us, but they were at capacity and couldn't do it. We couldn't make them in Golden, so we dropped the project.

I guess we could chase down that designer.

sal
 
WOW,

I got out of using the str8's this would be just what I need to bring me back in!!!
 
Hi Sal, thanks for the reply.

I'd want VG-10 on the first run.

You've got a lot of experience with it, it is easy to sharpen and relatively rust resistant. It is IMHO easier to sharpen and strop than ZDP-189, though ZDP does take a beautiful edge with practice.

My VG-10 Delica that I reprofiled from SE to half-convex shaves as well as my Kasumi in Swedish stainless.
 
I just bought my first custom a Kirby Lambert Whar folder and it is very much like a straight razor. I actually shaved with it the other day although I was a bit nervous.
After what Sal said I am going to try stropping it.


Sorry about the lighting in he picture but you can see the hollow ground S30V blade is completely straight and easily long enough to shave with. Maybe instead of a dedicated razor a wharnclife with less of a point that you could shave with or use for other cutting tasks would be more popular?
 
I'm a straight razor guy too. While I'm intrigued by the idea of using a new stainless (and would buy one just to "see" how it performed) I think Sal hit it on the head about razor steel(anyone surprized by that??). To me, carbon steel is the best material for a razor. You aren't trying to get a pretty sharp edge that lasts forever. You're trying to get an unbelievably sharp edge (and it WON'T last forever). But I'm open.....

I see a couple issues here.

1. Again, as Sal stated, the market is pretty small. I don't really know but I would guess Thiers Issard makes maybe 2000 razors a year.... I know there are still available "models" that are well regarded, of which only a few hundered pieces were made years ago. And, to me, TI makes the very best of the non-custom offerings. DOVO probably makes 3x - 4x that many. Maestro Livi? Maybe 200? That said, if a run of Spyderco razors could be profitable at 500 pieces, I'd guess they'd sell out.

2. Razor collectors are like Spyderco collectors. If these get good play at Straightrazorplace and badgerandblade, that's probably 100 razors right there. But razor folk are pretty traditional. Lots more chatter on the boards about razors made 100 years ago than about most of todays models. TI has been making razors in France for 120 years to get the following they have today. Spyderco razors would be considered a novelty until folks like Lynn Abrams declare them "worthy". To that end, the first run would have to be an amazing shaver. Take and hold a wonderful edge. If it were stainless, great but razor guys are used to taking care of carbon steel so it wouldn't make a real difference to sales - IMO.

3. I agree with an earlier post that scale material would need careful consideration. My favorite material (on by beloved TIs) is Bison Horn. Exotic woods are okay. Some prefer Stag horn.... I don't see FRN....

4. Steel will be the most important issue. Being able to explain why this is the best razor ever made. Why it's better than DOVO Fire& Ice or TI Silversteel would perhaps double demand....

Right now I'm waiting with baited breath for the newest TI offering (due in Oct IIRC) but a Spyderco offering would definately make my buy list.

Straight razors are making something of a comeback. There is more energy at TI than there has been in years. SRP and B&B can take some of the credit for this, for sure. But it's still a niche market and one where high end (performance wise) products are actively sought out (for obvious reasons:D). Make it better, make it sharper - it'll sell. Enough to cover your cost??? Hmmmm - I'm guessing research and testing would overshadow actual production on this project.

Thanks for listening, Sal.

Ken
 
Thanx Ken,

In the last "go-around" we were planning a carbon fiber handle, to keep with the "hi-tech" approach. But it was most important tha the razor shaved well. We don't have the experience to be able to build a "hi-performer" right out of the shute. That's why we wanted to use an experienced blade maker with a good product.

Do you have any experience with a hard steel used in a razor?

sal
 
I used to shave with a Straight razor every day when I was in college. It worked well as that the guys in ROTC wouldent bust me for my five-o-clock shadow.
I no longer shave with a Straight, but would be interested in what steels yall would be using as well as the razors as well.

I think this would be an excellent Mule Team addition to see what, possibly exotic, steels worked best.
 
I've got a couple of BOKER straight razors I play with occasionally. I would certainly buy a Spyderco Straight razor. I would bet that ZDP-189 would make a great razor. I was sharpening on my ZDP-189 Calypso Jr today and it gets a really grippy, grabby edge on it that I think would shear really well.

Because when you think about it shaving with a straight razor is kind of a shearing action and you need a steel that would shear well and I think that ZDP-189 would be ideal. I also think that either a Titanium or a glossy CF handle would be great. BRING IT ON!!!
 
Sal Glesser said:
In the last "go-around" we were planning a carbon fiber handle, to keep with the "hi-tech" approach. But it was most important tha the razor shaved well. We don't have the experience to be able to build a "hi-performer" right out of the shute. That's why we wanted to use an experienced blade maker with a good product.
Click to expand...

Makes perfect sense to me, Sal.

Sal Glesser said:
Do you have any experience with a hard steel used in a razor?
Click to expand...

The hardest steel I have is a recent TI tang stamped V. It's somewhere around 62-63 where my other TIs are a couple point less. They're all high polished, lead annealed carbon steel (Silver Steel in TI vernacular).

Good luck!

Ken
 
What are the carbon steels that are used in the best straight razors?
Are they super hard (62+) or rather soft? Is edge retention at all important or could it actually be counter productive? If a steel has to much edge retention it cannot be stropped back to sharpness quickly.
 
For what it's worth, I usually shave with a straight razor, I tried my Subcom yesterday, funnily enough it worked fairly well!

A Spyderco straight razor would be an interesting thing to see for sure! Don't have much to say regarding the actual razor, but perhaps have it come with a stone and a strop might be a good idea.
 
Unsub said:
I just bought my first custom a Kirby Lambert Whar folder and it is very much like a straight razor. I actually shaved with it the other day although I was a bit nervous.
After what Sal said I am going to try stropping it.


Sorry about the lighting in he picture but you can see the hollow ground S30V blade is completely straight and easily long enough to shave with. Maybe instead of a dedicated razor a wharnclife with less of a point that you could shave with or use for other cutting tasks would be more popular?
Click to expand...

That is one nice knife! Maybe Spyderco could make a straight razor/pocket knife like that one.

I wouldn't buy a real straight razor but I would buy a knife based on a straight razor for sure. I really love my Centofante 4 and I think the more Wharncliffs the better!
 
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