i have been having no luck at all finding double edge razors, every hardware store had “safety blades,” which have a stiff steel edge on one side, Walmart and other like stores just dont carry them. (at least in my area)
my wife and i got tattoos today and my tattoo artist had a star made out of double edged… beauty salons… let me say it again… beauty salon… who would of thought?
so if anyone else is having trouble finding blades, hit up the beauty salon, they took our hackle, now lets take their blades!!! lol
A trick someone expressed, not sure who, where or when I read this, was to break the double edge razor in half lengthwise and tape (masking or duct) the broken edge also lengthwise. This gives you somethin to grip onto and is a lot safer for your fingers. Let me tell you there’s nothing tasty looking about a muddler minnow with a blood stained nose. Especially when the blood is yours.
If you do a lot of trimming big bass bugs, there is a battery operated device which lots of folks use that creates a white hot small element which allows one to “burn” the hair off. I think it is similar to ones used in medicine to catharize (sp?) a bleeding vein or capilary (sp?).
I get mine at the grocery in the shaving department with all the other razor blades. I use them to trim the tag ends on guide wraps. You can use the injector type razor blades as well. Blades made for shaving are much sharper than utility type blades.
The thing you are looking for is Caurtry (sp) tool. The one I used was an eye surgeon’s. Try to find one that uses a single battery (AA) cell. The one with 2 batteries gets too hot.
I shave with a single edge safety razor. I normally buy my shaving blades on line. I prefer Feather or Astra blades. I picked up some Wilkerson Sword blades at Wally World. They suck for shaving but work great for trimming deer hair or other types of hair. I carefully snap them in half for trimming hair. I think they are a couple of bucks for a pack of ten.
I’ve been able to pick up double edge razors regularly from ACE hardware, and Walgreens. Both places you’ll need to ask for them because they are in locked cabinets to keep them away from kiddo’s.
I hve one of those as well. Outstanding tool. I can trim hundreds of bugs with one blade.
For those of you without one of these, though, you can also get ‘hair shaper’ blades from the beauty supply store. They hold up to trimming deer hair for longer than the double edge shaver blades, and are safer to handle. Look like longer and thinner single edge blades wit ha really sharp edge.
A tip for using double edge blades, rather than breaking them, try holding them with an Exacto Knife handle. You can use both sides that way without handling the blade, and it gives you a better grip on the blade.
Buddy (with no scientific evidence to back this up either)
Although I break a double edge and use one side, I don’t tye that many flies with trimmed deerhair so replacement or cost is not an issue. However, I know of one tyer who packs his hair so tight that he uses a Dremel tool, not sure about which attachment, to trim and shape the deer hair. This tyer tyed fantastic multi colored sunfish and other exotic type flies using deer hair for the entire tail, body and head. His flies were pieces of art and sold for the price of artwork too!
A while back I had a modern razor that had a battery powered beard trimmer built in to the handle. This was brilliant for trimming deer hair. Unfortunately it “went missing” when I moved home. Looking for another now, but I think the model has been discontinued. If memory serves it was a Wilkinson Sword one. I’ve also tried an eyebrow trimmer, but the comb on it was too fine.
Cheers,
A.
Gigmaster I tried hair clippers on my hair bugs but could not clip the bottom and could not trim the hair close enough to shape mine. Hair was packed to tight.
If you want to keep a double edge razor sharp, do what folks did back during the depression. In 1961 I was an apprentice in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Many of the Journeymen Machinists I worked with had lived through the depression. Carefully lay the dulled razor blade inside of a empty drinking glass, lay your finger on the middle of the blade and swipe it back and forth so that the cutting edge rubs against the inside curve of the glass. Turn the razor blade to the other side and swipe that side too. Just remember to handle the razor blade carefully. This trick worked eighty years ago and it still works today!!
