An 8/8″ Predator razor in XC130 steel. It was differentially heat treated with fireclay on the spine, and quenched with an interrupted water quench. I really like the visual artefacts that were caused by the interrupted quench, in the blade and in the body of the razor. This was the first time I used this steel but so far I like it. This XC130 has the benefit that you have more options to explore during heat treatment compared to O2, but it’s also much easier to mess up the heat treatment or destroy the razor during quench.
For a while I didn’t make any monosteel razors anymore because I had gotten bored with making mirror shined O2 razors, but I will probably reconsider this decision. With steel like this, there are several options to do visually interesting things with monosteel. Up until now there were also some practical difficulties. I got O2 from the steel mill in sizes that were good for forging razors. XC130 comes in 1/4″ by 2″ which requires a lot of work just to get it to useable sizes if you do it by hand. But with a power hammer (currently) and a hydraulic press (in the near future), stock size is no longer a concern.
The scales are orange gem juma. It’s a very easy material to work with.
Snailforge 