So I wanted to try a straight razor and I've actually forged a fairly nice little one and now I'm ready to start grinding the blade. I was just going to do a flat grind as I don't have a 10" contact wheel for my 1" x 30" belt grinder. But I just thought I'd ask, can a hollow grind be done with files some how? The only way I could think of doing it would be to make a sanding block with the desired radius and do it that way. If there's some technique somewhere in between a sanding block and a 10" contact wheel I'd be happy to hear it. This is just my first experiment with making a razor so any advice or suggestions would be helpful. Cheers Joel
If you want to do a bit of DIY, you could always make a curved platen for your 1x30 to simulate a contact wheel. A drum sander just might work too, with some work. I don't know if you can get a hollow grind with files. Maybe a Japanese Sen scraper can do it. I don't know where you'd find one here.
What Myth said. I would be inclined to make an arc by bending a piece of flat steel and mounting it behind the belt on the front of your machine. You will have to mess with the tension wheel to gain the slack you need. If you could make it easy to install/remove you'd have whenever you needed. Sounds like a project! As a one-off and less than ideal, an 8" bench grinder or a 7" disc grinder mounted in a vise may be of use. Never done so myself, but the arc seems to be about right. I've often wanted to mount a disc grinder into the saw guides on a masonry track saw. Hmmm. Let us know how it goes! Dan
That's a brilliant idea, thanks guys, I'll give it a shot and let you know if it works. If I can remember to take pictures I'll turn it into a how to or how not to. Cheers Joel
