Thread: Great Custom Scales--Tuttle

Randy was nice enough to put custom scales on a razor I have. They are gorgeous, and the razor looks great, very professional. To those of you who are looking to spruce up some of your razors with one-of-a-kind scales, I would recommend Randy's services. I'll take a couple photos of the razor and put it in my gallery folder.

Thanks again, Randy

Andrew

I was just getting on the forum to get info on new scales. I have two ebay razors and the blades are much better than the scales. I see that there are replacement DOVO scale sets on classicshaving.com. Are these sets hard to do on your own if you have never put the scales on before and do they have to be for a DOVO blade? I wouldn't think so. Also, Randy how much do your scales cost?

Thanks,

I have replaced scales from those Dovo's on the classic shave site and they can be used on any razor as long as you match the razor size with the scales. As long as you can drill a straight hole on the blade side of the scales you can do the job quite easily. There is info on this site on changing scales.

Originally Posted by ryan_a

I see that there are replacement DOVO scale sets on classicshaving.com. ... do they have to be for a DOVO blade?

Those notched W&B's are too long for those scales so don't try it with those, and the ebony ones are apparently thinner than the rest and prone to cracking when you hammer them together.

X

You welcome Andrew,

Thanks for your unending patience!

Originally Posted by str8_razr

Randy was nice enough to put custom scales on a razor I have. They are gorgeous, and the razor looks great, very professional. To those of you who are looking to spruce up some of your razors with one-of-a-kind scales, I would recommend Randy's services. I'll take a couple photos of the razor and put it in my gallery folder.

Thanks again, Randy

Andrew

Hello Ryan,

Currently I am not selling any scales. I am doing a couple just to get the hang of it for now. When I do have some available I will post a notice in the Buy/Sell/Trade forum.

Originally Posted by ryan_a

I was just getting on the forum to get info on new scales. I have two ebay razors and the blades are much better than the scales. I see that there are replacement DOVO scale sets on classicshaving.com. Are these sets hard to do on your own if you have never put the scales on before and do they have to be for a DOVO blade? I wouldn't think so. Also, Randy how much do your scales cost?

Thanks,

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Hello Ryan,

Currently I am not selling any scales. I am doing a couple just to get the hang of it for now. When I do have some available I will post a notice in the Buy/Sell/Trade forum.

Randy,
Are you using weather resistant exotic woods? If not, how are you stabilizing the wood?

The wood used has been either cocobolo or bloodwood. Both are dense,high oil content woods. They are first sealed with several coats of shellac , to fill the pores, and then with several coats of Renaissance wax.

I have been experimenting with composite resins that are waterproof such as acrylic used for bar tops and with waterproof epoxies. But I still need a little more practice in the application and curing area.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

The wood used has been either cocobolo or bloodwood. Both are dense,high oil content woods. They are first sealed with several coats of shellac , to fill the pores, and then with several coats of Renaissance wax.

This is what I thought you were probably doing. Makes a lot of sense. Do you use a buffer such as Baldor buffing machine to buff out the wax? For Renaissance wax, I've been doing a variant of Beall's buffing system.

I have two additional buffs for the Baldor. One is lightly loaded with Renaissance wax, the other is clean. If I want a satin finish I stop with the first. When I want highly polished results, I use the final buff. The system as a whole is well worth the investment for finishing smaller items - I get more compliments from clients on items finished this way. If you're interested, I can shoot you over some samples.

I have been experimenting with composite resins that are waterproof such as acrylic used for bar tops and with waterproof epoxies. But I still need a little more practice in the application and curing area.

I've been doing the same and have I've found that it's very difficult to achieve natural, smooth to the touch, results with these products. They have a tendency to have a plastic look to them. If you have a break through please share. I'll do the same.

For the acrylic composites, heat the containers in hot water before you mix them. This makes the mix thinner. Also go tap,tap,tap,tap many times to get the air bubbles out and blow on the mixture to remove any air bubbles after you apply the finish.

And yes, they look very plastic, but, thats what they are!



Hope this helps,

Originally Posted by Rik

This is what I thought you were probably doing. Makes a lot of sense. Do you use a buffer such as Baldor buffing machine to buff out the wax? For Renaissance wax, I've been doing a variant of Beall's buffing system.

I have two additional buffs for the Baldor. One is lightly loaded with Renaissance wax, the other is clean. If I want a satin finish I stop with the first. When I want highly polished results, I use the final buff. The system as a whole is well worth the investment for finishing smaller items - I get more compliments from clients on items finished this way. If you're interested, I can shoot you over some samples.


I've been doing the same and have I've found that it's very difficult to achieve natural, smooth to the touch, results with these products. They have a tendency to have a plastic look to them. If you have a break through please share. I'll do the same.