Thread: Aug Voss Restoration

Here are some pics of my Aug Voss restoration. This is for one of my two sons-in-Law. They both became interested in shaving with a straight razor so I restored a 5/8" Artraco for my first son-in-Law; and this 6/8" Aug Voss for son-in-law two. He didn't want the original scales (which I put in my parts drawer to be forever forgotten and lost) and so I showed him a bunch of recon stone and let him choose.

So anyway, this is the finished product. I finally realized something that was floating around in the back of my mind concerning wedges.

I searched the Wikki and read what I could find. But I had a light bulb moment, it might just be a 60watt light bulb, but at least I managed to recognize it when it flashed in the musty confines of my cerebral cortex.

Wedges are not right angle triangles nor are they isosceles triangles: they are (please correct me if I am wrong) equilateral triangles! And therefore need both sides of the wedge to be worked. I was just working one side of the wedge on the belt. This wedge is the last of the one side only wedges, I promise.
All comments and critique welcome as to errors made and the best way to correct the errors.
Kind regards
Chris

I rough fit a wedge and leave it square, then mock it all together to make sure it all works.then I shape the wedge in the scales, and then make my finish finish on the wedge end of the scales and the wedge together. Sometimes I remove the blade before I do the final shaping of the wedge. If I remove the blade I mock the pivot end with a simple block the same size as the tang of the razor. Very dull blades I don’t mind doing the wedge with the blade in, even remotely sharp blades I take out.

Thanks Rez, great information. Will cut, past, print and pin to my workshop wall.
Oops, my geometry is all messed up. Isosceles...

Originally Posted by RezDog

I rough fit a wedge and leave it square, then mock it all together to make sure it all works.then I shape the wedge in the scales, and then make my finish finish on the wedge end of the scales and the wedge together. Sometimes I remove the blade before I do the final shaping of the wedge. If I remove the blade I mock the pivot end with a simple block the same size as the tang of the razor. Very dull blades I don’t mind doing the wedge with the blade in, even remotely sharp blades I take out.

Rez, How do you shape the wedge in the scales? I don't understand what you mean.

Im sure what he is saying is he makes it a wedge but its large. Sticks out on the sides. This is what i do too. Get the wedge shape and be sure the sides that are between the scales are flat flat flat! Bolt the wedge between the scales, then finish shaping the wedge end of the scales and wedge as one. This makes for a very smooth acurate looking wedge. I do take mine apart a few times before its finished. But if you do, be sure to mark one side of the wedge as it is never so perfect it can be put in either way.

I also have some broken blades that i salvaged the tangs from. This allows me to bolt the scales together with the mock-up tangs to get things right. Easier and safer that with the actual blade. Remember, you already have the length figured out at this time. You just need something in the pivot to hold the proper shape/angle. I have 3 mock-up tangs of different thicknesses. This idea came from Glen. He has lots of tricks that help.

Remember your wedge should be the same angle at the tang. Measure just in front of the hole of your tang. That should be the thickest part of your wedge. Measure back towards the tail the length of your wedge on the tang and make that thickness the thin part of your wedge. After you have done a few it doesnt need to be that accurate but this is what your shooting for.

Originally Posted by Gasman

Im sure what he is saying is he makes it a wedge but its large. Sticks out on the sides. This is what i do too. Get the wedge shape and be sure the sides that are between the scales are flat flat flat! Bolt the wedge between the scales, then finish shaping the wedge end of the scales and wedge as one. This makes for a very smooth acurate looking wedge. I do take mine apart a few times before its finished. But if you do, be sure to mark one side of the wedge as it is never so perfect it can be put in either way.

I also have some broken blades that i salvaged the tangs from. This allows me to bolt the scales together with the mock-up tangs to get things right. Easier and safer that with the actual blade. Remember, you already have the length figured out at this time. You just need something in the pivot to hold the proper shape/angle. I have 3 mock-up tangs of different thicknesses. This idea came from Glen. He has lots of tricks that help.

Remember your wedge should be the same angle at the tang. Measure just in front of the hole of your tang. That should be the thickest part of your wedge. Measure back towards the tail the length of your wedge on the tang and make that thickness the thin part of your wedge. After you have done a few it doesnt need to be that accurate but this is what your shooting for.

Thank you for the info. I was finishing my scales first and trying to match things up and it always looked a mess. This is really helpful information.
Thank you again.

Thats what we are here for. Now if your doing a CA finish it makes it more difficult. Becuase you want it finished then CA then sanding the CA can cause things to get out of whack. It just takes practice. A wedge it such a little thing. But for it to work right and look good can be a PITA to get right at first.

Nice work, man. I like the scale design with that blade, and white was the perfect choice to tie those swirly blue scales together. As others have said, fashioning a wedge that is both aesthetically pleasing and properly angled (then getting it all to line up perfectly during pinning) is one of the more challenging aspects of rescaling razors. I also like to do what RezDog and Gasman suggest re making an over-sized wedge, getting both sides dead flat, and then finishing the wedge end by grinding/sanding/polishing off the excess.

Though the wedge in this photo is brass-lined, the idea holds true for any wedge material. Some of us will also use epoxy or ca to attach the wedge to one side once we know that everything lines up in the mock-up bolts. Something like this:

You do not need to sand from both sides of the wedge, but as said both sides need to be dead flat. Flatten on a diamond plate or clean piece of sandpaper on a flat surface. Also, the inside of the scales must be dead flat.

I too fit the wedge on the scales oversized then shape to final finish when pinned tight. The final, finish fitting, is done when the razor is fully pinned wedge and pivot together. That is the only way to get them to meet fully, as they will not move from that fully pinned position and will be tight, no gap between scale and wedge.

Once the razor is fully pinned you may need to adjust the centering position by moving the pivot pin forward or back slightly to center the blade. This can change the position of the wedge and make it longer or shorter. The wedge or scales will need to be trimmed, sanded flush and the finish touched up, again. Note make the wedge pin hole a bit larger in the wedge to give you a bit of fudge factor for making this adjustment without the wedge having to move.

The wedge does not need to be the thickness of the tang, it should be close to the same angle as the tang, not the thickness.

Calculate the angle of the tang at the pivot. For example, say your wedge is ½ inch long. Measure the thickness of the tang a ¼ inch on each side of the pivot hole. Say it is ¼ inch thick on one side and 1/8th inch on the other, the angle ratio is 2-1. One end is twice the other side. You can do this with an angle gage or math, but this is easier and quicker. It does not need to be exact, just close.

The wedge thickness is determined by the thickness of the blade tip where it meets the top of the scale.

Place the blade on the scale with the pivot hole lined up with the scale pivot hole. (You should have done this when you designed the scales on paper to determine how wide the scales need to be).

With the blade on the scale, where you want it to be centered when closed, so the blade does not poke out the bottom, mark on the blade where the blade rest at the top of the scale. Measure the thickness of the blade at that mark.

That is what the thickness the wedge needs to be on the thick side. In our example the angle is half that, (one side is twice the thickness of other 2/1), So say, our blade at the top of the scale is 1/8th inch, The thick side of the wedge should be, 1/8th inch and the thin side,1/16th inch( 2-1 ratio).

Now you have the proper angle and thickness of the wedge. If the wedge does not have enough angle, the tang will rub as the razor opens and closes. When you look at a pair of scales from the top, it should look like a canoe, both sides should taper symmetrically.

Or, if you are rescaling, just make the wedge the same size, thickness, and taper as the original. Make them a bit longer and trim to fit.

It sounds way more complicated than it is. Measuring the thickness of the blade is the key.

Scouthiker dad and Euclid, wow! that is awesome information and a great picture. I really appreciate you guys and all the guys on here bending over backwards to help folks like me trying to demystify all the processes involved. I know I sound like a broken record on repeat but the picture and the comments get printed and hung on my shop 'AKA' garage wall.
I dig what you're saying and can see it now correctly!
I'll buy the beer and pizza if I ever get to a razor meet! My hat is off to you all!