Thread: First three re-scales - Bengall, Gelle Freres, George Butler

Finally getting around to posting my first 3 re-scales. All 3 blades still require some work with polish, honing, etc, but have been freed from rust and minor patina. The scales are a variety of woods, all finished with a natural wax polish. I use microfasteners for my re-pinning.

I realise that my tools and my skills are both lacking for now, but hopefully I make some ground with patience/time spent working on these. Any feedback is appreciated. Hopefully the pictures come through okay.

1. Bengall Extra Hollow Ground

This one came in poor condition, with cracked scales and a fair amount of surface rust. The scales are made from a single piece of wood that showed quite stark colour differences in the grain - hence one side being much lighter and the other more red. The spacer is lead - this is one aspect I am not pleased with and improved on for my second attempt.






2. Gelle Freres Paris

A fair amount of rusting on the blade and in the pins. Blade cleaned up very nicely with some hand-sanding (which is generally what I limit myself to, where possible). Scales are a native New Zealand Rimu, stained to a darker smoky brown. Blade centers nicely.






3. George Butler wedge/part wedge

One of the first blades I picked up (top of the first picture, below), but knew there was something special about this one, so have been saving it. And it really does have a lovely solid feel to to - my first and only wedge or part wedge. For this one, I opted for an ambitious single-piece of timber, I believe a deep red macrocarpa that proved a little softer than I'd hoped, but gives a lovely finish and has a wonderful natural grain. Still requires a little bit of tinkering for the curves to look as nice as I hoped for, but very pleased for a first attempt at a single piece.

I think they look good and look forward to seeing more from you.

I like the second set of scales a lot, but no complaints on the others Intersting one piece scales on the last one, the grain at the "wedge" is nice.

Great work on some nice blades!!!

Really nice! I was thinking about doing a wedgless scale as well! Looks hard

Very nice work!!

Ray

Originally Posted by robert2286

Really nice! I was thinking about doing a wedgless scale as well! Looks hard

It has been a huge pain in my behind, but well worth the time and effort. I had three templates before this one, and for me the hardest part was cutting a perfectly straight line between what become the two halves. I ended up relying on a band saw and many hours of hand filing to get it even. All the best with yours if you give it a go! There's a great thread floating around here somewhere...

Thanks for the positive comments everyone.

Very nicely done!