Thread: Sheffield micrtome restoration

Found a pair of made razors made in Sheffield, originally I thought they were wedges, judging from the pictures available, but when they arrived I got a bit of a surprise. They were in "normal?" rough condition with rust stains and I would have kept the scales, really liked them, but they fell apart at slightest touch. So it was time to try out some new g10 that had arrived, hunter orange. Hand sanding, dremling and making scales took about 3 full days but the results were satisfactory.

Some dark spots are still visible and the carbon blade REALLY doesnt like being exposed to water for long as it darkened previous spots significantly and had new ones appear, oh well.

One problem though, the blade wont align properly and I am currently using 3 washers on the ground side and 1 washer on the flat, and still the blade touches the scales. Anyone had similar problems? Been reading up on the forum and wiki, but I don't know if it applies to microtomes too.







The last picture shows how much I can close the razor before the edge hits the scales. Would removing some material near the wedge help, making a "pocket"?

Damn flaw ruining my nigh on perfection

/Manne

Nice work! We all have that problem from time to time. I would suggest unpinning the top. See if the pin was bent during peening. That might be all it is.Then, scotch tape the top of the scales tightly together, insert a length of rod thru both top holes and hold the scales up to see if the rod looks straight. If it is leaning,take a 1/16 bit, or tiny round file, and saw back and forth against the lean until the rod wobbles the same going up, down,and sideways. Looks like you are using some big collars, so you could get away with oversizing the holes some. Then pin it up with the blade closed, one spacer per side, and it should find it's center as it gets tight! If the pin was bent, tap lighter......get it on...Tom

What you may have is an asymmetrically ground tang or a warped blade or both... If your scales were made of plastic or horn you could apply a little heat to flex them enough to avoid fouling the edge but as you used G10 that is not an option. One reason I don't like the stuff for rescales
Have you read this ? Blade Centering - Straight Razor Place Wiki
A little judicious sanding at the pivot end of the scales will make a big difference at the wedge end & shaped thrust washers can do the trick too.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

What you may have is an asymmetrically ground tang or a warped blade or both...

That last picture that's on the far left seems to shows that something really doesn't look right! It does look askew! Maybe a good straight edged measuring tool along the length would help!!

Let's us know how it works out! Beautiful Razor!

They are looking good! But, "Boys to Men"?.. You are gonna lose a few points on the man card for that one..

You fellows are right! I was thinking the top pin holes might de drilled at an angle by the first pic. Agreed it looks askew a bit. Still G10 is rock solid, so anything is possible! I don't think it will take much. This would be a fine razor for the deer lease! If you hold horn up next to your face, you could get shot! I really like it!

Originally Posted by Wintchase

They are looking good! But, "Boys to Men"?.. You are gonna lose a few points on the man card for that one..

I had convinced myself I did not see THAT!

Got plenty of points to spare, so no worries, got to keep it Swedish though. Anyhow, I unpinned and the pin was a bit roughed up and bent. Funny thing is that as I unpinned, the blade aligned better, but then of course it was way too loose. Also, as guessed, the blade is warped and the tang is flat on the flat side and a bit convex on the ground side. What would the better option be in this case, grind the tang or the scale to compensate?

Originally Posted by sharptonn

I had convinced myself I did not see THAT!

http://straightrazorpalace.com/images/smilies/rofl.gif

Originally Posted by Mannelito

Also, as guessed, the blade is warped and the tang is flat on the flat side and a bit convex on the ground side. What would the better option be in this case, grind the tang or the scale to compensate?

I guess you could do either but it may depend on how confident you are of your grinding skills ie the scales are replaceable but the tang isn't.