Resharpen blades in a glass.

[wolftiger]

My grandfather used to resharpen a blade through holding it inside a glass, push it to the proper angle and then slide it back and forth. Anyone else that do this or seen anyone do it?
Both him and my father also flip the razor blade before discarding it.

 

[nuclearblast]

That topic comes up once in a while, I have seen it before.
I never tried it but I also don't see the point to be honest. Why bother trying to extend the life of something so cheap, and that will probably still give you a sub standard shave?
Also, flipping the blade has been discussed many times, and I also don't think it is worth our time. If the edge of the blade is symmetric, what's the use of flipping it? It will cut just as good or as bad in either position.
Just my 2 cents, and I am not saying it doesn't work at all, but in my humble opinion it is highly unlikely.

 

[takisg]

Yes, i remember in my youth(45 years ago, give or take), the father of a friend of mine did that, when he run out of blades...well at that era the blades were made out of carbon steel...cant recall if he had a descent shave after that.

 

[Stubblefield]

Guys often did this during the depression to save a few pennies. When a penny was worth something. There were even glass sharpeners made for the expressed purpose of sharpening blades.

Now? I wouldn't bother, as I don't think it actually works. Same with blade flipping.

 

[wolftiger]

Guys often did this during the depression to save a few pennies. When a penny was worth something. There were even glass sharpeners made for the expressed purpose of sharpening blades.

Now? I wouldn't bother, as I don't think it actually works. Same with blade flipping.

View attachment 414851

Thank you! Most interesting!

 

[23eagle]

I have my grandfather's straight razor and the glass he used to hone the edge with.

 

[ouch]

I used to do that all the time. Then I found a dime on the street.

 

[wolftiger]

I used to do that all the time. Then I found a dime on the street.

Please. This thread is not a matter if you can afford a blade or not.
It's about another time era and a possibility to better understand that through our hobby.

 

[Eeyore]

It should work. Glass was also used for polishing fountain pen nibs (by writing figure eights on a piece of glass, or even on an ink bottle).

 

[SteveWY]

I would never try this because of safety and the risk is not worth it. The discussion is interesting though. Some of us still have parents or grandparents that lived through the Great Depression. Ask them about what they did to make it. My father had one pair of shoes and when the soles wore out they extended the life of shoes by putting cardboard in them. People of that era fixed things before throwing away, perhaps that was the thinking behind sharpening a razor blade on a glass. I bet our forefather's had one razor, one brush, and one soap and didn't collect things for fun.

 

[Kentos]

Rubbing a blade on glass in hope of sharpening it was likely a gimmick. Some of the stropping contraptions, however, might have actually worked a little.

 

[4freek]

I've seen this same shape for sharpening blades but made from carborundum. It came in a box. I wondered if it actually worked.

 

[BlackBard]

That topic comes up once in a while, I have seen it before.
I never tried it but I also don't see the point to be honest. Why bother trying to extend the life of something so cheap, and that will probably still give you a sub standard shave?
Also, flipping the blade has been discussed many times, and I also don't think it is worth our time. If the edge of the blade is symmetric, what's the use of flipping it? It will cut just as good or as bad in either position.
Just my 2 cents, and I am not saying it doesn't work at all, but in my humble opinion it is highly unlikely.

+1.

 

[Stubblefield]

I used to do that all the time. Then I found a dime on the street.

Dude, that is MY dime, I lost it in the street right where you were standing! I swear.

 

[Ender78]

If the glass helped the blade I think it was from cleaning the blade rather than resharpening it.

 

[Go West Young Man]

It made sense with the old thick steel blade. Modern blades are thinner and have high tech coatings that you would rub off.

 

[oldbluelight]

A couple of points that come to mind. I believe that glass might have been somewhat effective with the old carbon steel blades. But to really renew the edge on a razor blade you would need to be dexterous enough to consistently match the angle of the grind achieved by the machinery at the factory as you moved the blade back and forth or persistent enough to grind a whole new bevel. It would be hard to do. In fact if you were that skilled and precise with your hands you could pursue a career in brain surgery and therefore always be able to afford new blades. I have a feeling these devices were the equivalent of all those lovely, ingenious 'solutions' to the dramatic 'Oh No!' problems currently advertised on TV with the admonition "call now operators are standing by."

 

[whistleman123]

I've seen this same shape for sharpening blades but made from carborundum. It came in a box. I wondered if it actually worked.

I have a Goodrich Hone and it does work. It almost doubles the life of my injector blades. I've been using the same 2 blades for quite a while now.
I think there are several reasons for trying this. One is a curiosity with our past. Another is a fascination with "sharpening" in general. And lastly, just being cheap (or should I say frugal).
I fit equally into the last two catagories. I'm a penny pincher. Always have been. But equally, I have always had a fascination with the art of sharpening a blade. I work with edged tools all the time and am always looking for better and easier ways to sharpen them.
For my injector blades I first use a leather strop with a green rouge & diamond coumpond. Then a few passes on the concave Goodrich Hone.
It works for me.

 

[sgreenstreet]

I've seen this question more than once on B&B. In 1933 Popular Mechanix magazine expressed their doubts.

 

[whistleman123]

With all due respect, after sharpening a lot of different things I have come to the conclusion that a really good sharpening device can do a terribe job and a really poor device can give good results. It's all skill, technique, and understanding the process.