# CA Finish on razor



## renowb (Oct 18, 2011)

Is CA finish water proof? Say, like on a razor handle. Would it hold up with hot water, cold water, etc for shaving over time?


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## qballizhere (Oct 18, 2011)

I have seen lots of ca finished razors. Done a few myself.


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## penmaker1967 (Oct 19, 2011)

i put 6 coats of ca on my razors and have not had any trouble with them in the water. i had a few customers who bought them and emailed me about it. they said they are holding up very well. just wouldnt leave it in the water to long.


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## Ruby pen turning (Oct 19, 2011)

I have made maybe 2 dozen or more razors. 10 layers CA wrapped around the edge/edges and have not had anyone notify me of any problems.


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## moke (Oct 19, 2011)

I have often questioned that myself. From the research I have done for some local "wood" experts I got a definite "maybe" as an answer. The issue does not lie with the finish, rather the ability for the water to penetrate around the inside of the tube and with the type of wood and it's properties to swell. I have not been turning razors, coffee scoops, or pizza cutters out of wood for that very reason. 

I have no ideas how much of an "expert" these people were, but their hair was grayer than mine and that must impart some sort of wisdom right? Seriously, I think their thought process was that they were going to get quite soaked at some point....I am not sure we can not assure that they won't. Just IMHO.


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## Chasper (Oct 19, 2011)

I've done a few wood razor handles with CA and have not had a problem, but I've stopped making them.  I cannot believe they will hold up over time, even though all of them have so far.  I now make them from resin, tru-stone, stabilized wood, etc., but not raw wood.

Thats my decision and I'm sticking to it, it really doesn't matter if 100 turners make dozens of wood pens each and none of them get damaged from water, I'm not going to make any more of them because I can't believe they won't eventually show the effects of water damage.


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## PenMan1 (Oct 19, 2011)

Chasper said:


> I've done a few wood razor handles with CA and have not had a problem, but I've stopped making them. I cannot believe they will hold up over time, even though all of them have so far. I now make them from resin, tru-stone, stabilized wood, etc., but not raw wood.
> 
> Thats my decision and I'm sticking to it, it really doesn't matter if 100 turners make dozens of wood pens each and none of them get damaged from water, I'm not going to make any more of them because I can't believe they won't eventually show the effects of water damage.


 
I made the same decision. I DID have a problem with wood/CA razors.I had like 15-20 coats of CA on the razor and even epoxied in the screws on the razor head.

The guys who wash the entire razor in a full sink of water STILL manage to get water into the tube. This causes the CA to Ghost.  Wood is simply not worth the problems to me.


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## Justturnin (Oct 19, 2011)

I would dare to say yes it is water proof but not *water tight*.  You are counting on it to seal between the wood and brass and prevent water from seaping in but all 3 materails are going to expand and contract at different rates creating the void between the glue and the brass allowing water to access the wood eventually.


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## qballizhere (Oct 19, 2011)

Ca finish is great on wood for razor scales.


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## ghostrider (Oct 19, 2011)

Justturnin said:


> I would dare to say yes it is water proof but not *water tight*.  You are counting on it to seal between the wood and brass and prevent water from seaping in but all 3 materails are going to expand and contract at different rates creating the void between the glue and the brass allowing water to access the wood eventually.


What about some of that flexible CA?


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## Justturnin (Oct 19, 2011)

ghostrider said:


> What about some of that flexible CA?


 
Is there really a such thing?


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## Timbo (Oct 19, 2011)

renowb said:


> Is CA finish water proof? Say, like on a razor handle. Would it hold up with hot water, cold water, etc for shaving over time?



CA once cured is a plastic, so yes its water proof.  The easy part is applying multiple coats of CA to the outside of the blank to seal out water.  You also have to seal the end grain, and the space between the brass tube and the inside of the blank.  I do this by turning the blank on end and puddling on CA until no more will soak in.  I make sure the CA goes all the way to the edge of the brass tube.  I then use a barrel trimmer (by hand) to clean up the excess.  I do this to both ends of the blank, after turning, but before applying my CA finish to the outside.

I just started doing razors so I can't say for certain that this process is foolproof, but I think its pretty darn good.  That said, I'm always looking to improve, so I'm going to make one modification to this process.  I'm going to use polyurethane to glue in the tubes, coating the inside of the blank and the brass tube before insertion.  The polyurethane glue will expand to fill any gaps, thus sealing out any water.  We have a ten year old cutting board that gets used and washed almost everyday...it was made using polyurethane glue and show no signs of coming apart.  I don't think a razor would be anymore punishing.


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## ghostrider (Oct 19, 2011)

Justturnin said:


> ghostrider said:
> 
> 
> > What about some of that flexible CA?
> ...


Well, I've never tried it myself, but if it lives up to it's name...


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