Thread: Bengall In Paua

Yeah - try not to get too excited. This is one of those razors where you ask yourself "Why???".
The answer for me is that I have a soft spot for Bengalls. On my face I find they are consistently great smooth shavers.
This one is a 4/8" marked "Full Concave".
The rookie mistake I made was not checking the tang before making scales. The test fit showed a huge problem. The worst case I have ever had of uneven tang. Seemed to be both ground unevenly and also warped. in the straightness test when the tang was pressed flat the blade edge sat about 1/16th off the flat. Flipped over the other side was a good 1/4 inch off the flat. Any sensible person would probably have stopped there.... Anyhoo, not too much at stake except my sanity.
The laminated Paua Shell I used was an offcut I had sitting about. Usually I use it so the panels of shell run along the length of the scales. In this case the remnant only allowed for them running perpendicular.
I used a combination of adjusted wedge {black & bluse G10}, angled and extra washers, and scales shaped on the inside all to move the razor closer to centre. Far from perfect, but it does not hit the scales. Stainless pins and washers with brass washers between scale and blade.
Regards, Adam.

Lovely looking restore. Should be a fine shaver

The scales seem very wide to me for a 4/8 blade.

Beautiful. Wish you took a closeup. Would love to see the scales better.

Adam,

Its always frustrating when things don't go smoothly. Kudos for being persistent. Most importantly, how does she shave?

Stu

Adam, I can post pic's of scales I made yesterday, if you need to feel good about your work
Your's look way.........better then mine. I might just stick to turning shave brushes....
I don't even want to talk about the pin job I did.....

Thanks for sharing Adam, and I fully agree with you about Bengalls - I haven't found a single one that isn't a smooth shaver for me. My only small (4/8) blade is a Bengall in bone that I can't bear to part with.

Would you mind sharing how you go about laminating and working with the paua? This is something I've always wanted to do and envy every instance I see online! No need to explain to a fellow Bengall user why you chose the blade you did, despite its flaws.

Hi All.
thankyou for your kind comments. She is a good shaver.
The laminate you can buy in sheets. I cut it with a coping saw. I find this too brittle on the edges to file, so I use emery cloth to smooth the profile and then use it again "shoe shine" style to round the surfaces. Then wet dry sheets in various grades to polish out all the scratches.
These scales are wide for two reasons - one the laminates were a little weaker cut in this perpendicular style. Two - this razor has a very thick tang and spine and I needed it to balance. It feels good in the hand.
Thanks for the encouragement all.
Adam