Thread: Wood Scales.advice

Hello. So I recently procured a Dorko 8/8 300. And the scales are made of wood. But when shaving with it water tends to get soaked into the wood. I just do not wish to have to re-do the scales are they are pretty nice. 'am wondering would just applying few coats of a water repellant help?
Something like this
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Thanks.

I would let them dry thoroughly and then apply Renaissance wax, or if you can't get your hands on that pure Carnauba will work, but it can be tricky to apply evenly without a buffer.

I am, however, curious how your scales are getting so wet... I have little or no water on my scales during or after a shave, maybe your best bet is to work on keeping the scales a bit further from the water?

Instead of rinsing(I assume you rinse) your razor, fold a washcloth in two and put it on your sink, and wipe the lather off on it. That way you can keep your scales dry throughout the shave.

Originally Posted by Blix

Instead of rinsing(I assume you rinse) your razor, fold a washcloth in two and put it on your sink, and wipe the lather off on it. That way you can keep your scales dry throughout the shave.

Remember to wipe in a stropping motion.
I agree with both of these gentlemen.
Another idea for future is to only use scales with a finish compatible with your technique like CA or epoxy.

Hmmmm, agree with the comments above, I have taken the advice here that the least amount water near the razor is best amount. However, I have a nice razor with Canadian Maple scales and never have a problem with water soaking in. I believe the maker used Tung oil...

As everyone else notes avoiding getting water on the scales is best - continual soaking and drying isn't good for the wood.

One of my 7-day rotation has olive wood scales, to protect them from the unavoidable occasional splash I've treated them (re-done annualy) with oil. There's a few different products out there that will do the job - I use bagpipe bore oil (mineral based) because I always have it handy and I know it doesn't overly affect the wood colour (darkens it but barely noticeable).

Hi Sorry guys I should have said this... like small splashes of water. Not like drop the whole SR into the water. The seller I procured a SR from on bay commented to use Arm-R-Seal ... i take it is a wax/oil based product. Was able to hunt it down to this store
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... I will give this a spin and the Wade n Butcher I put pix of in my previous post the scales came out really really nice + shiny + repel water.

You probably don't have to worry then. A rare splash shouldn't affect the wood unless it was some really soft wood. An oil treatment should do the trick. I think most of the deterioration we see in wood scales over time, is from oil from the hands and aging and insects.

Wood doesn't get soaked that fast. If you clean your scales thoroughly after each shave it should be ok. My greatest shaver has cheap wood scales - I'm guessing the originals - and they get dipped in water daily. But after each shave I wipe them very good - outside and inside - and so far there's absolutely no problem with them.