Thread: where to get hardware for scales?

Be sure to use bolts and nuts to test the fit before pinning. This is a must for first time scale pinning.

Doing so will show if any adjustments such as blade alignment needs to be fixed.

I just finished up and did a last minute staining. The scales are set at 1/8". The wedge looks nice. I kept it a millimeter or so smaller than the spine and nose of the blade so the blade would wedge in there tight. I couldnt find a store locally that had brass rods so i used some pins i had. I dont even know what they are made out of, aluminum or stainless steal. Not sure. But i was able to nip the ends off, file them flat, and then peen them over. The only issue was i didnt have washers for the outside, so i peened them over the scales wood. But i did have washers from the old scales that i put between the scales and the tang. I figured that was more important that the outer side? The blade is a little off center...about 75% to one side than the other. But when testing it i couldnt get it center either. I am not sure if the blade is slightly bent or what. When i peened the pivot pin in, i made sure to put more pressure on it from one side to try to force the blade the other direction but i dont think it helped too much. Its not professional by any means, but i think it does it for personal use. I think the next time i will buy the proper parts and wait for their arrival. As well as make the scales thinner. The scales do bend from the wedge to the pivot pin but it feels like a lot of scales when holding it. So i think that is a tall tale sign that they need to be thinner. But i might be just use to a different razor too.

It was an interesting experience and i learned a lot for the next time i do it. Thank you all for your help. And i will surely buy the parts from ajkenne.

Collarless (no washers under the peen) is done too. Mainly on Ivory scales and it can be touchy to do. You look like you got a good start on your first. One thing I will point out if you don't mind is your wedge. It should be thinner at the back and thicker towards the blade. Before you test fit the blade, you hold or bolt the scales and wedge together and they should spread out from the wedge end in a V shape. Looks to me you made your wedge backward. This would pull the scales together and not put them out. Sometimes at the factory, they don't even use a wedge shape but a flat spacer.

When being really picky, you measure the thickness of the blade at the pivot. Then measure the length of your wedge. Measure that distance from the pivot on the blade towards the tail of the blade. At that point, you measure the thickness of the blade. The difference between the thickness of those two points is the difference you should have on your wedge from end to end. The thick end of the wedge is set by how deep you want the blade to sit in the scales.
Hope that makes sense to you.

There is some great info on building scales and making wedges in the library. I recommend you give it a good read. And lots of threads on wedge shapes have been posted in the past.
Some folks just make a wedge shape that is the thickness they want to hold the blade tip the right depth in the scales. Then tapper the wedge down so that when test fitting the scales a wedge together, the spread is about 1/2 to 3/4 inches at the pivot end of the scales. Close enough!



I just grabbed two scales and a wedge. Not made for each other. But you can see the spread of the scales because of the wedge. Wedge is thinner at the back and thicker at the front.

Collarless (no washers under the peen) is done too. Mainly on Ivory scales and it can be touchy to do.

whew, i was worried someone might say that eventually the wood is going to pull that out or something. Good to know.

Originally Posted by Gasman

It should be thinner at the back and thicker towards the blade.

If you look at the one image it appears like the wedge is very small towards the pivot pin section. But in fact it is actually really small on the back side of the scales, and really large on the side where the blade comes in. However i also have that too, but not as much. That wedge is more like a slant in 2 directions. Going smaller towards the pivot pin and towards the outer side the scales (the side that the blade does not go into).

So i either misinterpreted the video i watched or the one i watched said to do the wedge incorrectly then. I thought it was the thicker point of the wedge was towards the scale side that the blade went into and the thinner point towards the outer scale side. I thought it was suppose to be wider where the blade goes into the scales to "pinch" the spine between the two scales. Also before i put the blade in, the scales were pinching together at the point of the pivot pin hole area. I thought this was to make the blade nice and tight so that it does not swivel out by itself.

Now that i think about it. It would make sense to have the V shape wider at the pivot point so that when they are pressed together it bows the scales out leaving ample room for the blade. Arrrrrhggggg. I dont think that would be easy to remove, as i glued the wedge to the scales also. But i will surely remember that next time.

The difference between the thickness of those two points is the difference you should have on your wedge from end to end.

OK that makes sense. I was wondering what determines that difference. I just eyeballed it, but its good to know the exact measurement for next time.

Thanks so much for the helpful hints. And i do not mind feedback at all as that is the only way i will improve. I will definitely read the library well next time i do this.

Nice job on your first scales. Pretty wood.

It's not too late to narrow those scales. I did the same thing with my first - too big. Then went back and sanded the width down, because I could visually see that I had more scale than the blade needed for protection.

If you think the scales are individually too thick, here's a trick. Taper the edges of each scale and it will give you the illusion of thinner scales.

Looking forward to seeing your next project.

Yep, nice job for the first try. I made my first ones too thick also.

Me Three.
I bet most of us made our first set of scales too thick. And there is nothing wrong with eyeballing the wedge. Most folks do and don't worry about measuring. That's only us OCD guys. Ha. Gluing the wedge is one way of doing it, but it's really not the right way. Some people do it on one side, others glue both sides so no space can show between scale and wedge. For your first time, you did just fine and did some of the basic mistakes most folks do. Don't worry about it. Fix them up if you want, or keep them as a reminder of what your first set was. A year or so from now you will look back at the first one and know you have come along ways.
Restoring razors and making new scales is a lot more involved than most people think. Only the guys that have been doing it for years think its a walk in the park and takes no time at all. I remember when I was trying to learn all there was to learn about a wedge, I had no clue. One of the much more experienced guys here said he could have made a half dozen in the time it took him to type out the comment. I believe him. But when your first starting that tiny thing is a real PITA to get right. Ha.

I still have my first set of scales in a razor around here somewhere, they are very thick and poorly shaped, the wedge is also wacky. They are a lot more complicated then initially appears. Thankfully we all progress with every set of scales we make. I think your set came out much nicer than my first set.

so i tried thinning the scales down a bit. When i took off the blade i cracked a scale at the wedge point trying to get the pin out. Then i made an entire new set of scales. As i was peening the brass rod, the scales cracked. The brass rod bent inside the wedge and cracked the scales pushing them outward. The first ones didnt crack as easy because they were so thick. With these ones they were a lot easier to crack being so thin. Im about to just go buy scales and hardware and give up on making them.

+1 on Microfasteners. I also get rods and sleeves at my local model shop. They also have very high grit sand paper that really gets my wood scales to shine.