Thread: Yard sale jackpot

Weird.
See, THESE are the kind of oddball little curiosities that i would abuse time travel for. Forget the big, important stuff lol

Here's the pics of the damaged scale on the WB Barber's

There's some general chipping around the edges, nothing that can't be sanded down and re-shaped
This is the only big chip, so that end would have to be a little more rounded once done

You can also see here where someone filed down the pivot pins

This is the bad spot by the wedge, where the razor got crushed down into them.
4 cracks around the wedge pin, the worst of it is bent out to the side and missing a small chip



Squeezed down so tight you can see the blade from poking through the back



If i had to guess, i would think something like this, let me know if I'm on the right track?
Unpin carefully, save the washers.
Steam the scales to soften the horn
Sandwich them around a flat piece of wood, then clamp them with some leather between the scales and the vise and let them cool. Repeat if necessary.
Thin CA to stabilize the cracks?
Grab another piece of horn and some fine sandpaper and make some powder, make a paste with a dab of epoxy and the horn dust, and patch the missing bit (would have to test this first, works with sawdust, not sure about horn dust. Maybe just black dyed epoxy, and first depending on how bad the chip even is once everything is squeezed back together)
Then soak them in neatsfoot oil for a while.
Wet sand with the oil
Then decide on a satin finish or buffing.
Reassemble with the original washers and wedge and fresh brass pins (after practicing repinning on a bunch of less awesome things first! Not very experienced with that, and not going to rush this)

Oh, and clean up the blade while it's out of the scales, of course.

Lemme know if I've overlooked anything, or if I'm off base on any of those thoughts?
Particularly if thin CA is best for stabilizing cracks in horn? Never tried glueing this stuff before

I would use dust from something like ebony or bog oak to mix with the epoxy or CA to fill the voids. My experience with horn dust is that it's not very black.

Yeah, i was second guessing that as i was writing it, that's why I said I'd have to test it first
It's been a few years since I've sanded horn

You can also burn a few wooden matches, remove the heads, and grind up the charred sticks. Makes a perfect filler for CA or Epoxy.

Interesting. I'll have to give that a try too, and see how they compare.

I also have some powdered pigments on hand here that i could try, if the other options don't get it dark enough

Originally Posted by Kavik79

Interesting. I'll have to give that a try too, and see how they compare.

I also have some powdered pigments on hand here that i could try, if the other options don't get it dark enough

I've used bog oak dust and epoxy for fairly large repairs, with great success.




PM me your address, I'd be more than happy to send ya some.

Originally Posted by outback

I've used bog oak dust and epoxy for fairly large repairs, with great success.




PM me your address, I'd be more than happy to send ya some.

WOW! that is an insane repair!!

I've got tons of woods here, including some ebony, but bog oak is something I've yet to try to get my hands on.
That's a very kind offer. Thank you, sir!

Beautiful Repair !

Originally Posted by outback

I've used bog oak dust and epoxy for fairly large repairs, with great success.




PM me your address, I'd be more than happy to send ya some.

Outback did a fabulous repair on one of mine that you cant even tell was busted. Has held up perfectly for probably two years now. The guy can fix some scales!