Thread: Are Scales the Handle or the Case?

Here's some unimportant shaving semantics, that still caught my attention...

I was discussing wet shaving with a co-worker who doesn't do it, but is interested and showed him a picture of a couple of my kamisori blades and he said "Your razors don't have any handles."
Of course he meant scales, but I was like "Hmm..."

Are scales actually handles? Straight razors are not pocket knives, where the blade case actually becomes the handle you use for cutting. Scales seem more like the case the razor is housed in, attached to the razor so you don't lose it. But then again, you do grab the scales between your two fingers as you shave. But does that make them the handle?

My assessment is that handles are handles and scales are scales. And yes, my kamis have handles. It's the end I grab when I'm shaving that ain't sharp.

I've always thought of scales as being synonymous with handles ........... in any case ..........

Originally Posted by HopChugger

Here's some unimportant shaving semantics, that still caught my attention...

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Are scales actually handles? Straight razors are not pocket knives, where the blade case actually becomes the handle you use for cutting. Scales seem more like the case the razor is housed in, attached to the razor so you don't lose it. But then again, you do grab the scales between your two fingers as you shave. But does that make them the handle?

My assessment is that handles are handles and scales are scales. And yes, my kamis have handles. It's the end I grab when I'm shaving that ain't sharp.

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Some guys who build knives call them scales too. Tc

I was just having this discussion, about scale design.

They are both, a handle to hold the razor and a kind of sheaf of saya/guard to protect the edge, and user, when closed.

If you look at and disassemble vintage scales you see similarities, size, pinning and wedge design and more importantly that they worked so well, for so long. It really is a well thought out piece of work and simplicity.

I am always amused, by new guys making their first set of scales, tossing out a hundred years of proven design and esthetics, and carve a modern art sculpture, that rarely work well.

I've always thought of handles as being synonymous with scales..........

Scales are flat, thin, rigid plates that that provide protection in European knife design (note the "European" part because other continents have different names for it). Scales can be removed and the knife design will still function as a knife.

Handles, on the other hand, are fixed, non-removable control points on a blade. If you remove the handle, you no longer have a knife - you have a spear head.

If you remove the scales from the handle of a sword, you still have a sword with a handle, but it is uncomfortable to fight with.
If you cut the handle off of a sword, you have a sharp blade that you cannot hold onto and fight with.

In the case of a sword with a wooden "handle", the wood is actually the scales riveted to the metal handle (or tang) between the pommel and the guard. The scales in this case provide protection to users hands from the metal handle under the wood.
For pocket knives, the scales are the inlay (bone, horn, wood, or plastic today) between the bolsters, that protect the knife body (handle when the knife is open) from being bent.

The handle of a razor would actually be what we call the tang because it is the fixed point of control and the scales are connected to the handle with a pivot pin.