Thread: I've been a busy wee lad

I've been playing around in my dungeon but didn't take the time to make some pictures of the results. Well, time to make up for that


First, a few brushes. Silvertips and finest badgers. The middle two were gifts for my father and father in law.


My own brush, from beech, I think:


This one for a friend, made from camphor. Now my dungeon smells really nice and I made him a matching razor!


Another line-up.


The matching camphor-scales Gold Dollar. Red acrylic wedge, NiAg pins, SS washers. Ground off the stabiliser and left the blade otherwise untouched. Now I'm out of Gold Dollars.
Not my best project, the wood is too soft and the holes were too large (I don't know much about English slang, but I believe I brushed on a universal truth there). Still, it took a good edge.





More stuff in the next post!

Great work I love the camphor wood, both for scales and brush. What do you mean by "too soft"

Here's a C.V. Heljestrand MK 7 I got from my mother. Meranti scales, ebony wedge, NiAg pins and SS washers. I left most of the gunk on the blade and just cleaned up the tang to reveal the stamps.

I don't know what's the deal with this razor, but I cannot make it take a good edge. Will try again soon with a microbevel, I guess.



It doesn't get any more snug than this. In fact, I had to scrape away at the wedge with a knife between the scales to stop the blade from lightly hitting it. I like snug fits, but I tend to get a bit carried away sometimes.






Next, a Walter Witte from Rotterdam, where my girlfriend is born. Why it says Solingen Rotterdam I can only guess, suppose it's Solingen steel. I got this razor along with a 10/8" GB anchor. It was a bit tricky to hone, but finally took a very sweet edge. One of my favourites.
Dressed her up in ebony with a bone wedge, again NiAg/SS hardware. Not too happy with the scales and wedge, but I think I'll leave it like this. The ebony finish isn't as good as on another razor, though I'm not sure what I did differently. Also, I took a bad piece of bone, but because it's so smelly, I didn't want to start over

Love the brushes, the scales look nice too; I like how thin they are. I find the look of a lot of wooden scales a bit chunky. I have a razor by Maxi that is very nice, but other than that one I don't really go in for wooden scales; so yours must look good if I like them!

I like the brush on the left in the first photo and also yours. I admire people who can make nice stuff like this...

[EDIT] you posted the other photos just as I was writing a reply; now i see the other razors. Love the Heljestrand and well done for leaving the patina. I can see why it was tricky to hone; seems to have a bit of hone wear; well done for saving her!

Saved the best for last, a Fänger best silver steel from Solingen. I got this little fellow for €10 NOS with some patina. The red label was still wrapped around it, the original box was missing. I decided to clean it up and get it as close to factory finish as I could. It has a little warp and uneven grind, but I got the honing right the second time and man, does it shave

Polished bocote scales, thin ebony wedge, washerless NiAg pins because I'm out of washers. I love these scales, I think they're my best yet. The balance is good, the wedge is super thin, snug fit again (no picture, sorry!) and I managed to get the stripes in the bocote to match from one scale to the other (fourth pic). The latter happened quite by chance, but I'm thrilled!

Honing on all razors is Shapton 1-4-8-16K, where I had my first successes with progressive honing as opposed to pyramids. Finish differs, some .5 diamonds, some Jnat with thin slurry. I've yet to find what I like best, or what the razor responds best to.


The sanding lines in this pic aren't as obvious in real life. Not such a good picture. Also, the line in the third pic is from the tape, I forgot to wipe it off.










Thanks for watching and I look forward to hearing your opinions/critisisms!

Thank you, gents

Originally Posted by AndrewJM

Great work I love the camphor wood, both for scales and brush. What do you mean by "too soft"

I'd read that camphor is soft, but never thought that it might hurt the pinning. The pins and washers sunk a way into the wood and I can't leave the razor standing open, it's not tight enough and doesn't get any tighter. Perhaps with bigger washers, which I'll try next time I use this wood.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Love the brushes, the scales look nice too; I like how thin they are. I find the look of a lot of wooden scales a bit chunky. I have a razor by Maxi that is very nice, but other than that one I don't really go in for wooden scales; so yours must look good if I like them!

I like the brush on the left in the first photo and also yours. I admire people who can make nice stuff like this...

[EDIT] you posted the other photos just as I was writing a reply; now i see the other razors. Love the Heljestrand and well done for leaving the patina. I can see why it was tricky to hone; seems to have a bit of hone wear; well done for saving her!

Thanks Carl The first brush you mention used to be my brush, but the loft was too high and the hole too big, resulting in a very floppy brush. I started again, made the same mistake, and my current brush is the third try, nice and chubby.

Edit: I'm with you on the thick wooden scales. I try to mimick the shape of the beautiful horn scales on my ERN The Crown & Sword Razor: they are thick enough to get the balance right, but look thin. The idea is simple, thick in the middle, thin at the edges. I'm glad you like them

Nice looking razors, and brushes. Good job.

Great work on the razors. I really like the bocote scales.

How do the brushes "fit" your hand as you load and lather?

Dave

Originally Posted by rolodave

Great work on the razors. I really like the bocote scales.

How do the brushes "fit" your hand as you load and lather?

Dave

Thanks Dave! I keep the fit in mind when I turn them and I like how the 5 in the last picture feel. Especially my own chubby brush and the camphor brush feel good. The camphor one is thick where I hold it, whereas my own has the recess (is that the right word?) there. I think I prefer the camphor's shape, so I'll use that again on the next handle.

Wow, you have been a busy lad! Great work-I especially love the bocote scales. And yeah, those are some thin wedges (I've barely started making real wedges, so not exactly an expert!).

By the way, I got my machinist son to make me a doming setup with punch for making domed washers from another thread of yours-works like a charm!