My first scales and blade restore.

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03-22-2013, 06:35 AM
traps38

5 Attachment(s)

My first scales and blade restore.

After following your advise and great info here and on the stuff you guys put on youtube here is my first restored straight razor.

Bought the cheapest piece of wood from Home depot as i was not sure what i was going to end up with.

Did sanding on this very dirty straight starting from 120 grit to 3000 grit by hand then polished it with Mothers mag cleaner.

Made a funky set of scales and then added about 8 coats of shellac pinned and Voila.

Attachment 125033 Attachment 125034 Attachment 125035 Attachment 125036

this is what it looked like before:

Attachment 125037

After all this i have followed Lynns youtube video and used my Naniwa 1000 to set the bevel and then Norton 4000/8000 combo to finish.

And it actually shaves pretty good.

I don't have a better finishing stone but i have ordered a chinese 12k stone to see if there will be a difference.

But man is it fun to shave with your own creation.

Have made 4 more in the meantime as this is amazing.

Keep up all the great info you guys put out here and have a great day,
03-22-2013, 06:49 AM
Swerve

I had a chinese 12k and hated it so I broke down and purchased the naniwa ss 12k from SRD and I love it. Its much faster and easier to use plus the naniwas prep time is about 2 min if that
03-22-2013, 06:53 AM
traps38

It is a little more expensive.
That is why i want to see how the 12k will work and see if there is a difference on my honing.

And if there is even a slight difference,Hell ya i'm gonna get the Nani 12k.

Thanks for the heads up that the Naniwa is that good.
03-22-2013, 07:09 AM
Swerve

I couldn't get the chinese stone to work for me unless I spent about 2hrs on it with or without slurry. Just trying to warn you not to get your hopes up.
03-22-2013, 09:09 AM
PigHog

That looks great. You're scales look a bit on the chunky side for my liking but you've certainly done a good job on them!

I have a W&B that I'm going to start on at the weekend -- or I'll get the scales off, at least, as I'm still waiting for my sandpaper.

Seeing what other guys have been doing on their first go gives me a but of confidence that I'm not going to screw it up.

Hopefully I'm going to put the original scales back on mine, if I don't crack them. I'm not ready to try to make my own -- I don't really have the right equipment, and they'll never look any good!

Have you made scales before or were they your first?
03-22-2013, 10:36 AM
kratos86

very nice razor and a very good restore!!!very well!!
03-22-2013, 10:41 AM
bill3152

Looks great! I agree on the naniwa 12k. I had the Chinese 12. Hard to lap and cuts very slow. Naniwa leaves a nice finish and you get there quick too. Perfect for the crox felt film or pasted strop.
03-22-2013, 10:43 AM
bongo

This is really nice !!....8 coats of shellac certainly makes a difference to the wood. Fantastic hand sanding on the razor too.
Thanks for sharing and it's hard to believe this is your first restore, great job !!
03-22-2013, 05:27 PM
traps38

Quote:

Originally Posted by PigHog

That looks great. You're scales look a bit on the chunky side for my liking but you've certainly done a good job on them!

I have a W&B that I'm going to start on at the weekend -- or I'll get the scales off, at least, as I'm still waiting for my sandpaper.

Seeing what other guys have been doing on their first go gives me a but of confidence that I'm not going to screw it up.

Hopefully I'm going to put the original scales back on mine, if I don't crack them. I'm not ready to try to make my own -- I don't really have the right equipment, and they'll never look any good!

Have you made scales before or were they your first?

Yes,they are a little chunky but very light in weight.
It was the cheapest and thinnest wood i could find.
I even sanded it thinner than it was but couldn't go more by hand as i got tired.

And yes this was my first time i made scales all by hand as i am not very handy and don't have the great tools some of these guys here have.

Al i had to buy was a coping saw and a small hand drill to make the 1/16 holes.

I followed a video on youtube where someone shows how to make scales with a minimum amount of tools and it worked like a charm.

Sanding the scales was the same as sanding the blade by hand.
03-22-2013, 05:28 PM
traps38

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill3152

Looks great! I agree on the naniwa 12k. I had the Chinese 12. Hard to lap and cuts very slow. Naniwa leaves a nice finish and you get there quick too. Perfect for the crox felt film or pasted strop.

YUP,The naniwa 12k is on my wish list.
03-22-2013, 05:53 PM
PigHog

Hand made eh? If that's what hand made scales look like then I may give it a go myself, after all!
03-22-2013, 06:17 PM
Krusty01

Great work, hard to believe this is your first. Gives me confidence to try a restore,

Russell
03-22-2013, 06:25 PM
traps38

4 Attachment(s)

After learning a little more i got smarter so i ordered scale blanks from ebay that were only 1/8 in thickness.

Did the same routine with an old crappy blade and sanded it by hand but more delicately as to save the etching, cut out a pattern on the scale blanks and sanded.

Back to shellack and this is my second restore:

Attachment 125065 Attachment 125066 Attachment 125067 Attachment 125068

Now this is a thick blade,more like a wedge and i am having a really hard time honing it.

Need to get some big advice on this on.

And all with no power tools but takes a little time.
03-22-2013, 06:28 PM
traps38

I don't know if i am allowed to post the youtube link but this is the guys video i followed to a tee and it worked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQm7...Upi7ZA&index=8
04-24-2013, 08:24 PM
traps38

4 Attachment(s)

Now my first dabble with acrylic scales

Well i have restored a few straights now with wood and shellac coating.

I thought i might take a chance with acrylic scales.

I got some black acrylic scales cut out rough by a friend as i have no means to cut acrylic other than a coping saw and that is a little too much effort as i tried it once.

I sanded them down same way as i do with wood(120 grit all the way to 3000)

Then put a bone wedge that was supplied to me also and some final sanding that ended up with some car wax to shine up the scales.

Added a restored blade i had also sanded down by hand and pinned them.

And now VOILA.

Attachment 128378 Attachment 128379 Attachment 128380 Attachment 128381

Now the only problem is that i have restored some nice thick blades close to a wedge type and am having a reaalllyyyy haaarrrrd time honing them.

Can just barely get them to cut arm hair from my naniwa 1000 as i am trying to set the bevel.

I have used 1,2 and three layers of type but still hard.(tape does help a bit though)

Anyways thank you again for all your info as this was never gonna happen if you guys weren't there.