The Bluebeards Revenge straight razor project - The Billet
Last week The Bluebeards Revenge announced to the world they would be embarking on an exciting new straight razor project. Not wanting to do anything by halves, the leading British male grooming brand have searched high and low for someone that possesses the quality of craftsmanship they feel a project like this fully deserves.
They told The Shaving Shack: “Obviously, we’re rather excited at Bluebeards HQ about the prospect of this razor; a razor fully deserving of our branding. The process is a long but enjoyable one, and we hope you enjoy coming along for the ride with us.”
We sat down with the brand to look at the development of the razor billet and the different stages behind it.
1. Initial billet of 12 plates , 6 of white paper steel , 6 of 1:2842
White paper steel is also known as Shirogami, and descends from Japan. The steel itself is made from sand iron, and is the same sand iron that makes the legendary steel Tama-hagane. The steel is very pure, with hardly any alloys, and is very popular in Japan in the making of high-end kitchen knives. When hardened, it has a very fine grain structure.
1:2842 steel is the equivalent to the U2 02, a tool steel that has been around for years in the industry, and is known for it’s durability and good forging potential.
Over his many years in the industry, our master bladesmith has combined these two steels many times before. The plan with this damast is to then coat the blade with TiAIN (Titanium Aluminium Nitrate), which brings up a particularly nice pattern.
The overall feedback is that ‘Shirogami’ white paper steel and 1:2842 combined has a tough and aggressive cutting edge.
2. Heating in gas forge of initial block of 12 layers of steel
The gas forge is heated to around 1400 degrees.
3. 12 Layer forge welded together
4. 12 layers drawn out to make second welded billet
The forge welding process is conducted either on a hydraulic press or an air striking hammer - Check our Facebook/Instagram page for the videos.
5. Second forge weld 4 x 12 = 48 layers
The billet is then once again separated into 4, and the parts are stacked on top of each other. The process of stages 1 to 4 is repeated to create a 48 layered billet.
6. Heating in the gas forge for second forge weld
7. Second forge weld completed
If you look closely, you can even see where the two different steels are parallel to each other.
8. Drawing out of second weld
9. Third forge weld billet stacked ready for welding in forge
The billet now consists of 192 layers (12, 48, 192). Again, if you look closely, you can see the layers of the different steel.
10. Third forge weld heating up in gas forge
11. Length of 192 layers
To think, this will eventually be a straight razor.
12. 192 layer being drawn out for razor billet
13. Razor billet ready
14. 25mm wide 6mm thick 192 layers finished ready for next stage
Finally, the 192-layer razor billet is ready for the next stage. The craftsmanship that has gone in to just creating the billet at this point is 6 hours - Blood, sweat and tears have gone into getting it ready for the next stage of creating the blade.
Hopefully next week we’ll be able to bring you more details on the creation of the blade itself.
The Ultimate Straight Razor For Real Men?
Starting with just a shaving cream three years ago, The Bluebeards Revenge has always been on the quest to deliver the finest shaving equipment and products. From their love and industry background, they have always wanted to develop their our own straight razor. A premium razor which didn’t compromise on quality and a keen eye to detail. A razor which finally meets the needs of the under supplied and overly demanded straight razor market.
We recently spoke to David Hildrew, Bluebeard-in-Chief, about his hopes, aims and expectations for the project.
Heating in the gas forge to around 1200 degrees
And this is what he said:
“When I laid the foundations for The Bluebeards Revenge brand I was absolutely determined to ensure that we stood out from the crowd. Up to now our packaging, approach to market and products have succeeded in achieving just that and I am really very proud of what we have achieved so far. Our brand is innovative, market leading and totally fearless and now is the time to embark on another challenge and to create The Ultimate Straight Razor For Real Men!
Join us on our quest to create the finest of all shaving instruments – I have convinced a personal friend and one of the world’s finest bladesmiths to work with us on this project. A man whose blades are renowned throughout the international Special Forces fraternity and upon whose work I once relied upon to produce a combat knife tough enough to tackle any challenge – one that literally could mean the difference between life and death! Between us we are fully committed to producing a thing of awesome beauty and infinite functionality.
The prototype phase is well under way and over the next few weeks we will be bringing you constant updates, technical briefings and a visual insight into how the razor is developing. Suffice to say that we are using the finest of materials – the blade is being crafted by hand in Damascus steel – but also skills that have been developed over millennia and now reside in the hands of a very few men.
You are most welcome to join us on this grand adventure. Here is your opportunity to become involved in the development of what we hope will be an amazing shaving instrument, one that any man will be proud to own and to pass onto his son or grandchild. Feel free to ask questions, offer input and guidance. In due course we will be running a competition to name the finished article with a handsome prize to the successful entry. Please be prepared to be patient and indulge us with some forbearance – this is an honest attempt to take the straight razor into uncharted territory and it is bound to face challenges and obstacles along the way.”
We will be publishing regular articles on the progress of this project, so please bookmark us and follow the journey.
Time to shave guys: Clean-shaven men now more attractive to women as “Peak Beard” is reached
Thinking of going au naturel and cultivating a facial forest? Hold it right there. You might be more attractive to the opposite sex than you think – and relaxing your grooming routine could have a detrimental effect on your pulling power.
According to new research, the more men who grow beards, the less attractive facial hair becomes to women, proving that it doesn’t always pay to follow the pack.
After being shown a succession of pictures of bearded blokes, women consistently rated clean-shaven men more attractive, researchers at the University of New South Wales found.
Clean shaven men have found to have better job prospects and have more sex
The study of 1,453 women involved them being shown images of 36 men’s faces, with the first 24 being exclusively bearded. The final twelve included a mix of differing facial hair styles – some of them clean-shaven.
Women consistently rated the smooth-faced men higher on a scale of attractiveness than those with beards of moustaches – showing that daring to be different and standing out from the crowd sends popularity soaring.
Individuality often translates as confidence, which could explain the spike in desirability for the well-groomed .
While we at The Shaving Shack are all for the clean-shaven look, there’s no denying that stars such as Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake and Liam Hemsworth have sparked a flurry of facial-haired imitators in recent years, leaving only a select crowd, including a newly clean-shaven Brad Pitt, to fly the fresh-faced flag.
With a daily razor date conveying an air of self respect, men who do so have also been shown to enjoy greater career satisfaction than their bearded counterparts, with better promotions and bigger salaries coming as part and parcel. A study conducted by Behavioural Ecology proved that better-groomed men enjoyed greater overall success at work, and with just 8 out of the 86 men on the Forbes 100 Richest People in the World list sporting a beard, it’s all the evidence we need!
With facial hair having gone so “mainstream”, it appears that we may now well have reached “Peak beard” – and the best time yet for men on the lookout for ladies, luck and a lavish lifestyle to give up the ghost and shave it all off.
Other studies showing why it’s better to be clean shaven
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