Thread: Customised Bengall

Another Sheffield razor. Yep - I have a soft spot for them. I find that a German razor of equal sharpness feels harsher on my face than a Sheffield one. Could all be in my head....
Anyhoo... 4/8" blade marked "Cadman and Sons. Sheffield, England. Bengall". Jimped on bottom of tang. Unusual very large flat sides to spine that I do not believe are hone wear as they are too big, and they do not sit on the hone - just the edge of them.
Re-scaled in highly figured red dyed buffalo horn. Recon turquoise wedge. Brass pins and brass washers inside and out, with smaller stainless washers added in a stack on the outside.
Honing progression; Naniwa Superstones 1K, 5K, 10K, 12K. Chromium Oxide on Balsa. Horsehide Strop x 100 passes.
No access to my light box or camera at present so please excuse phone photos.
Adam

Nice job! Should be a great shaver. The Bengall razors are very under rated. I have a couple and both are fine shavers and have enjoyed every shave off them. The German razors are fine shavers too, just not as smooth as the Sheffield's are, IMHO. Enjoy!

nice scale wedge colour combo, I like it. I also have a piece of Recon turquoise material that I plan to use as a wedge and would like to know how did you work with it, it looks pretty fragile and I'm afraid I'll shatter it or sth while belt sanding or sth else... shich tools did you use?

Very nice job Adam! +1 on the 'smoothness of a Sheffield' compared to others...couldn't agree more!

WP34

Originally Posted by miha

nice scale wedge colour combo, I like it. I also have a piece of Recon turquoise material that I plan to use as a wedge and would like to know how did you work with it, it looks pretty fragile and I'm afraid I'll shatter it or sth while belt sanding or sth else... shich tools did you use?

i learnt the hard way after previous attempts. First i mark out the wedge shape and pin hole location. Then drill the hole while at full thickness. Little less fragile and if you drill before you cut then you have something to hold on to. Make sure you use a sharp drill bit. Then i used a coping saw to cut out the profile. Then taper the wedge by hand sanding with the various papers on a flat surface and rubbing he wedge on them. As wedges are so small i always taper them by hand. All my restos lately are done by hand with the only machine used being a bench top drill press.
Have fun.
Adam

Very nice job, Adam.
Compliments !!

@Adam: thanks for the share of info ,.. I'll give it a try since I've bought the material just for this cause ... am a bit worried what drill bit to use (I guess this is epoxy captured stone bits) in order not to ruin it with drilling 1 hole (btw. did you use normal drill bit or the one for stone (sorry I don't know the word, we call it vidia drill bit)),.. I'm a bit worried about using coping saw since I'd say I'll shatter the recon resin sooner than if I'd be using high speed stone cutter on eg. Dremel .. I'll just give it a try and see, thanks !

i just used a nirmal high speed drill bit the same size as the pin material. Just go gently and back it in and out a bit to clear the swarf. Make sure the recon stone is flat on a piece of wood to support it.
Coping saw - as it is a hand saw i just go gently with very little pressure. a fresh, sharp blade goes through very quickly and does not chip or damage it. Just drill and cut it all out before starting to taper it and it will go fine.