n00b alert!

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05-25-2008, 11:34 PM
peas_and_corn

n00b alert!

OK, what are scales? You guys keep mentioning them in posts- about razors with/without scales, and I don't know what they are...

Cheers,
Dave
05-25-2008, 11:38 PM
coachmike

SCALES = handles.......made of various different materials, horn . exotic woods. etc.
05-25-2008, 11:44 PM
peas_and_corn

OK, that makes sense now. Cheers! :)
05-25-2008, 11:47 PM
coachmike

If you have any questions, just ask. There are plenty of members here that will be willing to help out.
05-28-2008, 07:50 AM
peas_and_corn

OK, another n00bie question- you guys talk about keeping the soap in a mug- I currently use the wooden container the soap came in (NEW! Starter Kits NEW!) but doe shaving it in a mug make for a better lather or something?

cheers,
dave
05-28-2008, 09:46 PM
blueprinciple

Hi Dave -

As far as I am aware it doesn't make a jot of difference!
05-28-2008, 10:20 PM
hoglahoo

But why are they called scales! Is it because they balance the total weight of the straight razor apparatus? Or is it because they appear to be a thin protective shell layer for the blade, like skin on a fish?
05-29-2008, 01:08 AM
peas_and_corn

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueprinciple

Hi Dave -

As far as I am aware it doesn't make a jot of difference!

Well, I've been getting a reasonable lather from what I do currently, so I'm not in a huge hurry to change! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

But why are they called scales! Is it because they balance the total weight of the straight razor apparatus? Or is it because they appear to be a thin protective shell layer for the blade, like skin on a fish?

Yeah, terms like that confuse me too. I bought a grain mill for my brewing recently, and I had to build a hopper for it- it is a funnel for dropping the grain onto the rollers!
05-29-2008, 02:27 AM
nun2sharp

schales: german word forthe handles of razors, I found this out one time on Dovo website and they had a diagrm of a razor with names of parts of the razor in several different languages.
05-29-2008, 03:34 AM
hoglahoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

schales: german word forthe handles of razors, I found this out one time on Dovo website and they had a diagrm of a razor with names of parts of the razor in several different languages.

Interesting... The OED lists scale (derived from Middle Dutch "schale") as a thin board or the outermost cut of the bark of timber not thick enough to be a plank. However it lists a separate definition as a cutlery term, "Each of the two plates of bone, horn, ivory, or wood which form the outside of the handle of a knife or razor."

It seems likely to me that what we call scales on a straight razor derived from the German "schale" that you mentioned even though the original English meaning that derived from schale is now obsolete

neato frito