Thread: Joseph Rodgers Pair: Ebony and Ivory

This is going to be an ongoing thread as I do the work. Things've been far too busy for me the last couple months and if I don't post about these here they'll just sit in my to-do pile never getting done.

About a month back I got a Joseph Rodgers in original macassar ebony scales, which I'd never seen before. I thought it'd be neat to make a complimentary pair so I scrounged eBay and found an appropriate match in ivory.




Both sets of scales have some problems that need fixing. The ebony was apparently chewed on at some point by some manner of rodentia (mouse, rat, gerbil, hamster, jerboa, chinchilla, maybe capybara... but probably just rat). Whatever nibbled didn't like what it tasted though. Was it the wood or the pewter wedge? We'll never know. The ivory scales are broken at the pivot and the piece is missing and it's got that crack at the point.

I thought it'd be fun to try and completely repair the ivory scales and do the tiny bit of touchup on the ebony, then make both razors as pristine as possible. The one in ivory has already been reground and buffed at least once, but I can make it look better, and probably remove the worst of the corrosion around the pivot.

I've got some scrap ivory scales that I'll be cutting up to replace the missing piece -- in fact, I'm going to cut these off a bit before the pivot so I can make interlocking pieces for better stability.



The toe-crack is probably from uneven pressure on the pewter wedge. That seems to be one of the main reasons ivory scales crack. Ought to be easy enough to fix after running it through the ultrasonic cleaner. I might grind out the crack and completely fill it in with ivory/ca spackle.



The ebony I'll fill in with a bit of Timber Mate tint-base dyed blackish brown with India ink then sealed with CA.




Everything else will be sandpaper city. Maybe when I'm done I'll make a neat box for them.

Best of luck with your repair agenda. It will be interesting to watch it progress. I've not tried a repair on ivory but we probably have several members who have. Enjoy.

Originally Posted by lz6

Best of luck with your repair agenda. It will be interesting to watch it progress. I've not tried a repair on ivory but we probably have several members who have. Enjoy.

I've done quite a bit of work on ivory. Despite being easily broken, it's also pretty easily fixed. Superglue loooooves it. More, even, than fingers!

Here's another ivory resto I did.

Love the blades...Can't wait to see this one unfold!

WP34

I think I would just replace the scale like and kind and age it to match,JMO

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

I think I would just replace the scale like and kind and age it to match,JMO

Yeah. That's absolutely the best path.

I'm not content with the quality of work I'm doing with ivory yet, so I wanna keep practicing and trying new techniques. I'd really like to get closer to invisible repairs.

Plus, I don't have a matching scale or raw ivory to cut a new one.


(and this whole project got put briefly on hold, but I pick it up again tomorrow)

Alright already! The ebony is done, but I got a little discouraged trying to make a perfect ivory graft.


See? Not happy. Needs more work!

And like a chump, I don't have pictures if the finished ebony on my phone, and I won't be back at my computer for a bit.

There will be more pictures much quicker than this update!

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

Alright already! The ebony is done, but I got a little discouraged trying to make a perfect ivory graft.


See? Not happy. Needs more work!

And like a chump, I don't have pictures if the finished ebony on my phone, and I won't be back at my computer for a bit.

There will be more pictures much quicker than this update!

You will never be able to make an ivory graft,you need a replacment scale.PM me.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

You will never be able to make an ivory graft,you need a replacment scale.PM me.

Part of the goal of the project for me was the unclimbable mountain of a seamless ivory repair, hence the completely boring scales I'm trying it on. That said, I really do want a very nice pair of Rodgers when I'm at the end of this, and if all my other ideas for the repair fail, I'll be in touch.

And now, more pictures.









I'm not fully happy with the polish on the blade. There are still too many visible scratches, but I got a little gun shy about polishing after dropping it onto concrete twice while working on it. Also, since these pictures were taken I got fed up with that ugly, recessed pin at the pivot and put tiny collars on.

In the process of doing that, a big chunk broke off at the pivot. Fortunately, that repair is invisible even if you know what you're looking for.