Thread: Working Man's Fred

A Frederick Reynolds 7/8' near wedge with homemade replacement scale. From Ebay.

At some point in this razors life, it belonged to someone who had access to some shop tools, a hand saw or even a table saw. The original scales got broken and needed to be replaced. The razor may have been a gift from a loved one that cost a days wages or a hand-me-down.

Using the materials he had at hand, a scrap piece of lumber and a brass bolt, he set to work. He cut a piece of pine to lenght, ripped it to width and then plowed a dado down the middle for the blade. Some hand sanding and back into use.






I thought I should respect the original efforts and honor the history.

The blade polished up nicely and the hone wear on the shoulder seemed to even out with hand sanding. Took it up to 12k and Flitz.

The scales are walnut in 6 coats of Minwax Tung Oil Finish, nickel/silver pins and for a touch of tomorrow, a G10 wedge. Recycled brass bearing washers.





My first time using nickel/silver and it will have to be a pretty special piece to use it again. I ended up using the hammer in the picture to do the bulk of the peening after several hours with the 4 oz. produced little progress. I used the tools at hand to get the job done like the original owner. Wedge could have been slimmer and the finish reveals some shaping flaws upon close examination.

Looking forward to honing it and seeing what kind of shave I'll get out of it.

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