Thread: One piece custom scales

I made some meranti scales for a friend, trading it for a puck of Institute Karité (and receiving 2 more pucks, 2 creams and a few packs of DE blades ). My slab of wood was a bit thick, maybe 8 mm, so I figured I'd go for a single piece rather than two with a wedge.

Before fine sanding:


After fine sanding:


First layer of laquer out of three:


And the result:

Very nice, it's a great thing to see an old razor go back on the line.
Thank you for sharing it.

You did a very good job on the one piece part of these (this?) scales - taught English for a short time and I'm not sure if this would be plural or singular. The overall look is very crisp - sharp edges and angles. My initial response was, I'd have liked them better with the edges rounded, but now I'm not so sure - they are growing on me. The pinning could use some work - read the wiki on pinning. For a early effort in your journey - a decent job. Again, I really like the one piece part of the project turned out. Band saw????

Here is thread on a few tricks to making them...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...solutions.html

Thanks for posting, Glen. I went back and read that whole thread. I was waiting with for your scales to crack at the wedge as you were sliding that false wedge tighter and tighter - but it didn't happen. One thing to consider is the grain direction - parallel to scales=potential splitting, right angle to scales less so. The rounded corners on the slot make a lot of sense, and the router with jig idea is interesting - just what I need - another project to work on. LOL. Final thought - maybe scales just look flat out better with a separate wedge and pin. (or two).

Originally Posted by skipnord

Final thought - maybe scales just look flat out better with a separate wedge and pin. (or two).

3 piece scales are by far easier to get the fit right, but the smooth look of the one piece has it's own appeal, my problem with most of the one piece was the fit and flex, and getting the build uniform with both... There are tons of one piece scales out there, some from a few of the custom guys that drive my OCD into hyperdrive, if the cuts are un-even it really bugs me I don't find it artistic my brain says it is "Off"
That whole venture into trying to get the flex in there with a smooth even cut was all an exercise to see if I could do it

Is it just me or does the blade seem off-centered in the scales?

And, flex is a function of the thickness of the scales AND the grain direction, which is not always the same in both scales. I finally figured that out after making a bunch of wood scales that didn't center properly. It seems to me that it is easier to adjust the flex when you have two scales to work with. I'm thinking about designing a jig with weights to test for equal flex.

That whole venture into trying to get the flex in there with a smooth even cut was all an exercise to see if I could do it [/QUOTE]

You did a very good job on the one piece part of these (this?) scales - taught English for a short time and I'm not sure if this would be plural or singular. The overall look is very crisp - sharp edges and angles. My initial response was, I'd have liked them better with the edges rounded, but now I'm not so sure - they are growing on me. The pinning could use some work - read the wiki on pinning. For a early effort in your journey - a decent job. Again, I really like the one piece part of the project turned out. Band saw????

Thank you! I was wondering about the scale/scales myself. The guy I made them for said he liked a sharp and rough look, so I left the corners like this. And the pinning is done with an Ikea hammer on a wrench, lacking both a round head hammer and an anvil. All was done by hand, coping saw and sanding, though I am looking into buying some machinery. Possibly a Dremel, I can usually muster the subtlety to get this sort of thing done with something as imprecise as a Dremel.

Is it just me or does the blade seem off-centered in the scales?

Not just you, I fear. The blade had a bit of a warp, so I had to compensate for that. And then I overcompensated.