Thread: The Stub-Tailed Shavers

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Troll.......

Well I’m joining the club. My friend, er, enabler Tom has been getting me interested in the old razors, so I have acquired a Shepherd, not the Crown and Wolf maybe but one of the other two? Any ID help would be very welcome! The metal is in excellent shape, extremely light pitting except where the scales touch the blade, and not bad there. The scales are in good shape but warped, and the blade must be guided in. Fortunately I have a plan B if the horn can’t be straightened, as my pal Scott gifted me some period tortoise scales and I have some domed replica washers on the way.

If you do choose to replace the scales, please do save them - those are excellent examples of scales that are absolutely period correct. IMO it's worth it to deal with a misbehaving closure to have the originals in such nice condition.

Beautiful stub. I would argue that those scales are perfect for restoring. Carefully remove the blade from the scales. I used a heat gun to get them pliable, then clamp each to a metal plate or some stiff wood for a few hours or even overnight. Use many clamps along the scale to get them very flat. I am almost positive they will straighten perfectly. They are so beautiful to not use.
Best of luck,
jeff

Steve,

Those original scales actually look really nice. Not sure I would change them out. If you are going to do a soak in neatsfoot oil try using something like popsicle sticks or wedges of some kind to help hold them in the shape you want while soaking and they may come out not hitting the blade. You could try similar placing the scales in hot water then cool water. Just be careful since those are nice scales.

It’s been recommended to me to use steam from a kettle to soften them up. I suppose then it’s just a little weight strategically placed whole cooling?

Beautiful razor the scales look in excellent condition, just need some love. Before you do anything speak to Outback, hes has done some spectacular work with horn and given a new life to scales that many would throw away.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Beautiful razor the scales look in excellent condition, just need some love. Before you do anything speak to Outback, hes has done some spectacular work with horn and given a new life to scales that many would throw away.

I had actually thought of Mike, I’ve seen some of his work and it’s truly excellent.

Gorgeous . They can be straightened but the whole operation needs some expertise ..

Originally Posted by JOB15

Gorgeous . They can be straightened but the whole operation needs some expertise ..

Yepper, that’s why my pucker factor is high, but at least I know that I don’t know!