An open razor is a fantastic artisanal product. We always say here: 'Cars are produced by robots, open razors are made by hand.' The production has been taking place in the same way for hundreds of years. The most beautiful and best open razors come from Europe. Particularly in the German Solingen and French Thiers, there are many producers, such as DOVO, Böker, Giesen & Forsthof (Timor) and Thiers-Issards. In these factories, hundreds of razors are manufactured daily with great passion, love, and craftsmanship.
The production of the open razor consists of several dozen separate production steps. To recognize these steps, you first need to know what the components of the razor are. In the detailed drawing from Thiers-Issard, you can clearly see the different parts of the razor.
It starts with the base material for the blade. A round metal rod is cut to length and heated to a red glow. This round rod is then flattened in a mold. This is done with a press machine. This mold has the rough basic shape of the blade. In a punching machine, the excess burr is punched off. Tempering and hardening the metal is of great importance. Depending on the type of steel, it is heated to 810°C or 1040°C. After that, it is cooled in special oil. The blade is then inspected. Any warping is corrected manually or with a press machine. Through the specially controlled heat treatment (tempering), the perfect steel is created: a combination of hardness and flexibility.
In the grinding shop, the blade is further processed and sharpened. In several dozen steps, the blade is ground and milled. It starts with coarse grinding up to super fine, sharp, and smoothly shining. The razor blade of an open razor has a hollow grind: hollow ground. Hollow grinding the razor blade is the only way to achieve a super sharp edge while still maintaining sufficient stiffness. The blade is pushed by hand between 2 rotating grinding wheels, giving it its hollow shape.
Then the razor blade is provided with an etching or a gilded engraving. Using laser technology, the etching is lasered into the metal. The gilding of the razor blade is done in an electrolytic bath. This covers the metal with a thin layer of gold.
The raw material for the handles is supplied by various fixed suppliers. In the finishing/handle department, the wooden handles are smoothed. The blade is manually clamped between the handles using silver-nickel pins and rings. The clamping is done with a small hammer.
Finally, the razor is sharpened step by step using various whetstones and ultimately polished super sharp with the strop. The sharpness of the blade is tested using the 'hanging hair test'. A loose human hair is held with two fingers and pushed against the edge of the razor. The blade is only truly sharp when it splits the hair in half without much pressure. The razor is cleaned and packaged. Ready for use.
