Straightening Crooked Scales

Oh, worthy craftsmen:

I have a 4/8" spike Burrell Cutlery "Top Flight" razor that is a fabulous shaver. I am not all that fond of 4/8" razors, but this one is sweet. Although the original scales have hardly a scratch, they are crooked nevertheless, thus preventing the blade to fit properly in the slot.

I have tried to straighten them by using a hot hair dryer, but to no avail. My next move is to use hot water and see if that works. Obviously, I can have the razor rescaled, but I prefer not to spend the money. Not only that, but the scales are the perfect color and weight for the razor.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Many thanks.

Regards,
Obie

When you used the hair dryer did you put something between the scales to hold them in the proper position when they cooled off? This works for us 99% of the time.

A hair dryer has worked for me in the past. The scales need to get really hot. SOmetimes I make a wooded wedge to fit between the scales to bring them to the correct shape and hold them in place as they cool. Do be careful not to burn the scales with the hot air. Boiling is almost the same as hot air except for the burning part, but there is melting to consider.

Hello, Carrie and Joed:

Oh, such clever minds. No, I have not tried this. I will, though. Thank you for the suggestion. Naturally I'll give you my report.

Regards,
Obie

+1+1 to Karen and Joe

Wooden spring-type clothespins make great wedges and can even help you hold things and manipulate them while you heat them.

Depending on what you're heating -- boil some water in the teapot, hold the scales over the spout.

We wish you the best of luck Obie :)

Thanks to all for this thread. I've been mulling over starting a similar one for a couple of razors I have that need scale straightening. Had considered hair drier + wedge but was going to appeal to the collective wisdom here before trying and, what do you know, Obie poses the question for me.

Easy does it. I dipped some scales into boiling water a while back and almost turned them into melted blobs! After that I used a hair dryer. When you do it right the results are really great.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html.


How to fix warped scales, yep we have one in there :)

BTW read the whole thread there are some ideas in there that worked really well later...

This is not the fast and easy fix...

This may be a stupid thought, forgive me, total newb here LOL

But, doesn't heating plastic tend to cause outgassing? And isn't that the issue I've read about on here that is the cause of "scale rot"? I just wonder if doing this to a set of scales now would be the razor we're looking at on eBay in 15 years saying "My God! that's some nasty scale rot!"

Ladies and gentlemen:

Thank you for your suggestions, Carrie, Joed, and all the rest. You were most helpful. I used a wedge between the scales and hot air from the hair drier. Afterward I placed a heavy cast iron cooking pot on the scales for weight (Where are bricks when you really need them?). That seemed to work, although the spacing between the scales is wider now.

At the same time I tried to tightened the pivot pins using my little jeweler's hammer, and succeeded somewhat, although the blade is still loose. I still have to use care folding the razor, but it is much better than before. I'll work on tightening the pivot pins a little more.

While all that was going on, I also put a little red paste on an old beat-up strop, stropped a couple razors, looked at some shaving sites, ordered a shave soap I did not need, drank two pots of tea, had a long conversation with a dear friend in London, went to the mail box to retrieve my Edwin Jagger aftershave balm, ordered a Filly strop from Ruprazor to use for pastes, and . . .

Well, I didn't feel like working today anyway.

Regards,
Obie

Sounds like a great day Obie! I'm sure the more you try to straighten razor scales the more you will like the results. Nobody was born knowing how to do this type of stuff ya know. :tu

My dear Joed:

Thanks for your thoughts.

I have never worked with my hands except in recent months, when cleaning razors, slowly learning to hone, and performing other razor activities that rely on the use of the hands. My wife is the opposite: she is the fixer-upper around here. Would you believe she once asked for a sander for her Christmas present?

Anyway, when I do accomplish a task that requires using my hands, however small, that is a major fete for me. Considering my small success in straightening the scales on that lovely razor, I have scored a major accomplishment today. I mean that is big stuff for me. Oo-Rah!

Thanks to you, Carrie and our other SRP friends for your help.

Regards,
Obie