About this episode
Stuart Kerr is a knife maker from Queensland with a bit of a difference. 8 years ago he wanted a straight razor made and couldn't find one for an affordable price, so he decided to make one. Over those years he became the go-to guy for straight razors. He makes beautiful clean classic looking razor's but is possibly best known for crazy and amazing exposed vertebra dragon-esk razors. Stuart is not afraid to push the boundaries of what is possible and has many 'one-off' custom designs flowing from his mind onto paper. He continues to want his work to stand out and perform, always looking for new and different material for his handles and expanding his range of steels he works with. Stuart will be at the Blade Symposium this year in Canberra so make sure to say hello. What we talk about. He didn't like normal razors for shaving. A friend got him onto 2 edge razors and he was interested in straight razors. Found straight razor place forum. Asked for a price from some makers and found the prices were too high, so he decided to make his own. Grew up out in the country and was handy. Was always good at shop A and shop B at school. Was a metal fabricator building heavy machinery. After making a couple of razors for himself, people started asking him to make them one. Makes most of his blades out of 'O1 steel'. "Every time I make a razor for my self, someone wants it" He's been making blades recently from San Mai. Have only made a few knives and finds them a completely different animal to make. Enjoys the challenge and will be joining the Australian Knifemakers Guild. The skeletal looking blades all came from a single custom that a customer asked for. The balance between the ergonomics and looks of razor and what pushes the boundaries between the 2. Hand delivering a customer's order to Italy. The thickness of the spine vs. the depth of the blade is so important. The geometry of the bevel is set by the thickness of the spine. Owns about 20-30 vintage razors. Spent real-time studying them. Western style razors are center edged and have 2 hollow grinds. Why it is so important for the wedge in the handle to be correct. Why the scales are tensioned like a leaf spring. Handle construction and pin placement. Tried to get Hugh Jackman on board for a wolverine collaboration. His reasons for the name boxer custom razors. You got to love Boxer dogs. Nitrous and oxide. After 8 years of making, his first show was last year in Sydney. Razor prices range from $400 up to $1800. How family life works with knife making and how he finds time to make. Time escapes you when you are making. Knifemakers are that "weird knife guy" in outside life and razor guys are the same. The different tooling required for razor makers in comparison to knife makers. Most of his razors are ground on a 4" small wheel. 8 8ths of an inch. 1' no? Most of his razors are folding and why. He's coming to the 2020 Blade symposium. Looking forward to meeting Kyle Royer. Chatting about the Blade Symposium. Makes his scales in pares stuck together. A serious problem with material acquisition disorder. Has drawers and drawers of handle materials. He has had to unfollow some handle suppliers because he can't help buying. A lot of knife block standard sizes aren't long enough for razors. If you're going to have a go at razor making don't start out with really complicated stuff. Companies mentioned Hills Heat Treatment Oblivion Blades Odens Arms Sharp by Coop Mitchmade The Blade Symposium G.I Hansen and sons Loveless knives Alex Stabwood The Australian Knifemakers Guild People mentions Karim Haddad Jezz Heywood Trevor Cassville Guest links https://www.instagram.com/boxercustomrazors/ https://www.facebook.com/BoxerCustomRazors/ Find us at https://www.instagram.com/tobyfireandsteel/ https://www.facebook.com/MurrillandSon/ Products and site www.tobyfireandsteel.com Email toby@tobyfireandsteel.com TFS Knifemaker Challenge Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/711126822742169/