Making a straight razor or kamisori at home, without power tools

Can it be done? How difficult would it be to get a hollow grind, or an approximation of one, with files? (ht would be by peters)
If I wanted to make a kamisori, does anyone have any resources for information on their construction and geometry?

Would it be easier to make a kamisori or a straight razor with files?

Legion made a Kamisori out of a file a short while ago. I'll see if I can dig up the thread. I thought it came out very nice.

Here you go:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/206522-I-made-a-razor?

There are many talented razor makers here that will likely weigh in with more details. Just figured I'd share this one as it popped in my head as something very cool.

I'm going to assume you are taking about making it with "files" as your tools and not files as your blade steel.
If that is the case.
It can be done and I would think that a kamisori style would be easiest. I would check you tube for knife making videos. I know I've seen at least one with a guy make a knife using files as the tool.
Stick with a wedge grind with very little hollowing to keep it simple.

Ah, yes, I definitely do mean to use files as the tool, not the steel. I have some nice bar stock for the steel.

Rsq said:

Ah, yes, I definitely do mean to use files as the tool, not the steel. I have some nice bar stock for the steel.

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Do you know what kind of steel? It has to be high enough carbon content for the razor to take and retain an edge.

I have stock of m390, cpm154, 440c, and 1095. I'm going to make one out of 1095 first, if it goes well, then I'll make one from m390. I'm a fan of particle metallurgy metals, and I've seen very good opinions of both m390 and cpm154. I'm curious about the higher vanadium pm steel, as I think this will be a good opportunity to test how finely distributed the vanadium carbides are. I want to make a traditional straight from the cpm154 bc its a narrower bar (1" vs 1.5"). The 440c is strictly for folder liners, not good enough for a razor that I'm going to use.

I was worried that you were getting in over your head until that last post!

1095 should work nicely

There was a post somewhere, might have been SRP, where the guy made some gouges/scrapers with which he carved out the hollows of a razor.

What are you heat treating plans?

I don't see why you couldn't make a razor with files, people do it with knives. In fact the slow filing process would be better in some ways because you can keep checking that everything in nice and straight.

I think an asymmetrical grind will be easier for your first one. That is why I went that way. Trying to get a symmetrical grind exactly even by eye, freehand... I could maybe do a knife like that, but not the tolerances needed for a razor. You might be much better than me though.

Jim said:

What are you heat treating plans?

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Peters

Have you thought of using scrapers. I'm not sure how much work you can do before the heat treat though.

I like the idea of scrapers, but Ive never used them. Do you know which types/sizes I should look for?

how about a frameback steel like a band saw or power hacksaw

Rsq said:

I like the idea of scrapers, but Ive never used them. Do you know which types/sizes I should look for?

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I'm sorry I don't, I have only seen it done on small parts that I had an old machinist repair. I just remember at the time he said how they repaired some piece of equipment without power tools during the war. It is something that I've always want to try.

Well, I'll start wit my files and dremel. Maybe I'll have scrapers by the time they get back from ht. Although I'd be skeptical of any metal's ability to cut well heat treated m390