My First DE

daz

daz

Messages
1,263
Location
A wee field in Scotland
After the demise of one of my straight razors I decided to get myself another one. The question was "what do I get?"
I decided on a DE as I have never used one before and would prove useful for when time is short and travelling. After a fair bit of searching I decided there was no point in spending a fortune to find out I couldn't get on with it, so this afternoon I popped into Boots. A couple of quid lighter I went back to work to wait on my lift home. I took the Boots razor out of the packet and was a bit dissapointed at the plastic handle, but what do you expect for £3.50?
After a few seconds thought I unscrewed the handle and checked the thread size, M5.
Mmhhh, I have a good quantity of aluminium and brass rod that was destinned for projects that never took off and I had just finished making a pile of ali and brass priests for a fishing forum that I am on. So a quick clean down of the lathe, chucked up a length of aluminium and took off a light skim to clean up the outside. Drilled and tapped one end and turned a ten degree tapered end, turned the piece round and rounded off the end. Felt a wee bit slippy in the hand so it needed a knurl on it, could I find my knurling tool? No, so instead I ground up a wee cutter and put it in the tool holder. I plunged the tool in 0.25mm and back out, moved it up a bit and plunged back in. I repeated this till it looked about right and then gave the piece a quick polish with 600 grit paper, I would usually finish off with much finer stuff but I was in a rush to get it done before going home. Finally I fitted it to the head and decided it was worth the rush job. Not the prettiest looking handle I have ever made for something but it only took 20 minutes and has given me some nice ideas which will all go down on paper tonight after my first DE shave and a nice malt.
Original crappy plastic handle
[attachment=5226]
Nice shiny aluminium one
[attachment=5227]

You tell me which looks better
I can see a whole new obsession starting :)


daz
 
Great! Keep up the good work and you'll see some foreign capital flowing into Scottish economy, just like it's currently flowing into Spain.. :)))
Nevermind, you'll get this joke later ;)
 
49er said:
Wouldn't it just have been easier to buy a decent razor in the first place?

Joke. Nice work. Which malt?
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Hehehe, yeah it sure would have been. But I also enjoy making things on my lathe and milling machine. And I also wanted to see what shaving with one of these things is like before splashing out.

As for the malt? Most likely my favourite Laphroaig, peaty smokey heaven in a bottle.

Daz
 
Lose the beard said:
A new sideline in razor handles then ;)
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Could well be if forum members were interested? Obviously the handle I just made was a rush job and needs tidying up but that will have to wait till I get back to work on Monday. Knurling might be a problem though, decent knurling tools that leave a nice decorative finish are expensive and take lots of practise and time to get the right effect. If not done right it looks worse than awful.

I have some plans for incorporating some brass into my next handle, something like in the photos of the priest below. Press fitting different thicknesses and or lengths into the head end will increase weight to varying amounts, so a bit of experimentation will be required!

[attachment=5228]
[attachment=5229]
[attachment=5230]



Helveticum said:
Quarter cask is nice
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Not tried that yet, might just have to seek out some this weekend:icon_biggrin:
 
I'm impressed, I think the handle is really nice, like you say needs a little clean up but I like the effect you have done and I think those priest things would also make a really nice handle! can I put my name down for one?
 
The Mackem Shaver said:
Here are the UFO handles, made by Rafael in Spain, which are much coveted on this forum.
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I saw the handles a few nights ago after seeing them mentioned so many times on here. He turns out some very nice work and the knurling he does is top notch. Knurling can be a very tricky thing to do and get repeatable results that are perfect every time. At first they might seem expensive for what they are, but the time Rafael would have put in to be able to get knurling of that standard will be very high. The knurling tools are also very expensive for high quality ones and putting them onto stainless steel will take time and most likely multiple passes, and that means getting all those lovely lines to match up perfectly. To do that you need a good quality, beefy and rigid lathe, again very expensive equipment.
I could look into getting a decent knurling tool, but I would probably have to be able to sell quite a few handles to recover the outlay and with the lathe I have, I doubt I would get results quite as good. Knurling on stainless would most likely not be possible on my lathe but I can give it a go, nothing ventured nothing gained!

If I did make some it would most likely only be for forum members and they would be done to order. I also wouldn't be looking to make much, if at all, from it. I do it for fun and trying to make money from it would spoil the enjoyment I think.
I might even make a couple up and donate them to the forum to sell off for funds.

Give me a few days to have a think and a chat with a couple of toolmakers I know about tooling, got one coming today to buy a cnc lathe from me and he should be able to point me in the right direction.

daz
 
Its been said before, but the Boots cheapo razor can be a surprisingly good little tool with the right handle attached.
Im almost certain these same razors are packaged and branded as Gillette 7 O'clocks out East.

Im liking that handle, very similar to one of Cooncat Bobs handles I have, but I'll not tell you what thats currently lashed onto for fear of being sent to Coventry!
 
I've never thought of getting a custom handle made, its not a bad idea. But then, I do tend to buy more modern razors so would prefer to buy the full razor.

Those handles with the knurling look stunning.
 
Tackleberry said:
Well I wouldn't mind one without knurling, I need a thicker, slightly longer handle for my PAL and just smooth or with lines going around the handle would do.
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How thick would you like? I have a nice piece of 3" OD aluminium:icon_lol:

Using the right feed speed and tool will leave it nice and smooth but with tiny little ridges you can't really see and will give a little grip. Too smooth ie finished with 1600 grit paper and the stuff slides right out of your hands, but you can see your face in it!
I love nice and shiny smoth, but it's not really practical for a handle, especially on a sharp razor:icon_eek:
 
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