Cutting Edge

"Nothing Is Impossible" engraved on the sharp edge of a razor blade.

I'm always thinking in extremes. Extremes of microscopic levels of course, the impossible, and it's strange how moments of inspiration can occur in such unrelated circumstances.

As you may know I swim everyday, 5000 metres at least and that time spent in the pool gives me time for reflection and contemplation. It was during one of my swimming sessions that the concept for 'Cutting Edge' presented itself to me.

A couple of nights before I had watched that iconic film 'Apocalypse Now' starring another creative master, Marlon Brando. As I slid through the water the improvised line Brando conjured for his character, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, replayed in my head...

"I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving"

As I looked down through the water at the white lines running the length of the pool, just for a split second, I was that snail. Then it struck me. Was it possible to engrave anything on the sharp edge of an old style razor blade? My mind answered itself with the same response it always gives, "Nothing is impossible'. At that moment, 'Cutting Edge' was born.

After the initial concept I then decided to up the stakes by selecting the toughest blade available. The quality and strength of the Wilkinson Sword razor blade is legendary which made it a natural choice.

The task before me was to engrave 19 letters, within 3 words totalling 80 engraved strokes. Each letter S for instance required 9 cuts each to complete. I estimated that the height of the letters would need to be around 5 or 6 microns. When you consider that the thickness of a human hair is measured at 100 microns you begin to see the scale of the project.

Working at 400x magnification and monitoring my heart rate throughout as usual, 'Cutting Edge' was eventually completed in eight months of pain-staking work and believe me, the blade fought back on many occasions. I have the scars to prove it.