Cleaning up the W&B

[Johnny J]

A buddy of mine once went to see John McLaughlin play. When he got back home, he wanted to throw his guitar out the window. Looking at some of the stunning work in here, I know how he feels...

Anyway, this is a W&B wedge that I made scales for some time ago. A colleague who was into woodworking used to give me the thin strips of wood he'd ripped from his workpieces in order to square them up, knowing that I could make scales out of them. I made these scales from such strips. The razor's oversized, raggedy, oblong pin hole has been an annoyance ever since I first put it together, because it allows the blade to wiggle radially during stropping in a very annoying way.

I decided to take it apart and fill the pin hole with epoxy and re-drill. I nicked the scales while filing the pin to take it apart, so I figured I'd take this opportunity to do a better job fitting up the wedge, and also re-finish the scales, since I know how to do these things better now.

These pics show the results of my efforts. Pic #2 really shows off the figuring in the wood.

Note that I deliberately avoid polishing my razors. It's a personal quirk. I like the patina--I like old things to look old.