Quote Originally Posted by chworby View Post
Yeah, I've read about scales and I am very far away from being able to do that. Would refinishing take out the 'crown and sword' etching? And who's a good person for a full restore? I kind of want to wait until I can do it myself but I may be waiting years for my first straight shave if I do.
A good polishing with Maas polish should have it looking really nice, if not quite brand new. It should not take out the etching.

You can buy plain plastic scales for not too much, and use the small nuts and machine screws instead of peening brass pins.

You need to post over in The Workshop forum to get some more detailed advice on the DIY re-scale.