{"id":1085,"date":"2021-01-11T13:33:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T10:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodiswood.com\/?p=1085"},"modified":"2022-09-07T12:00:58","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T09:00:58","slug":"how-to-make-a-carving-knife-from-a-straight-razor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodiswood.com\/how-to-make-a-carving-knife-from-a-straight-razor\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make a Carving Knife From a Straight Razor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Making your own whittling or wood carving knife is not very hard at all. You just need a straight razor, pliers and a few other tools of your choice to sharpen it, this can be done at home and does not require any extraordinary skills, anyone including you can do it. So, how do you make a carving knife from a straight razor?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make a knife out of a straight razor you need to shape the steel of the razor to a smaller and more convenient size by breaking the sharp edge down. After you will need to use a 325-400 grit whetstone to smooth the rough surface and a 1000 grit whetstone to sharpen the razor. Simply change the handle on the straight razor after to turn in into a carving knife.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we will be going step by step over the process of creating a convenient to use carving knife, as well as provide you with some tips and tricks that will be useful if you have never done it before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step-By-Step Guide To Creating a Wood Carving Knife Out Of a Straight Razor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Creating a carving knife out of a straight razor is a rather short process, with that said, there is more to it than you may first think. To be sure you get the best possible result, follow our way of doing it in with our 6 steps to create a carving knife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.Have a good straight razor<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is actually a more important step than it may seem at first glance. Cheap low quality steel will not be sufficient enough material to carve wood, therefore getting a good razor made from good steel is a crucial step to creating a carving knife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The better the steel of the straight razor, the more durable and safer your carving knife will be. Thin or low quality steel is very likely to break off and generally be a worse experience carving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are looking to purchase a good straight razor you can get the cut throat razor <\/a>with a wooden handle on Amazon, otherwise, if you are buying the razor elsewhere or using your own, make sure there is enough steel in the razor to create a carving knife out of it. Keep in mind that the sharp edge will be almost fully removed during the transformation, so make sure you have enough to carve with afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Remove the handle<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

From here onwards we advise you to wear a mask and protective goggles.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Now you need to separate the blade from the handle to work on the steel of the razor. There are multiple ways to remove the handle, and not many of them are clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can use anything from a screwdriver to leverage it to open, to a drill or other power carving tools to cut it open and peel the wood off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way we do it is we clamp the razor and saw the area that holds the nail of the handle closest to the blade, after you can remove the nail, the rest is easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Plan a rectangular shape of the steel<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Straight razors are too long both ways to be used for whittling, therefore you yourself have to come to an optimal size for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is very important that you take off the length both ways; from the handle to the end of the knife and from the sharp edge to the dull edge. The second one is often missed, however, it is very important to plan this ahead as you will end up taking it off regardless of whether you want it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to plan the shape of your knife is with a permanent marker. If you color in the excess steel on the razor it will be much easier to go through with the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind, that you don’t want it to be too small. Knives made from straight razors are much larger than carving knives, and this is normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Take off the excess steel<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are multiple ways to complete this step, the most “home-friendly” way is using flat-nosed pliers or generally any pliers that preferably are large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To remove excess steel from a straight razor you must firmly secure the blade using clamps, then using pliers carefully break down the steel from the sharp edge. The result will look unorganized at first, however, after you sharpen the knife the edge will look just how it is supposed to.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at the video below to see exactly how this is done, skip to 7:20 to see how the pliers are used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=S1_Ik-_1do4<\/a>