Thread: Help and opinion needed for makeing a new handle!?

I bought two Ebay razors (H. Boker & Co.) the blades themselves could be saved in my humble and newbie opinion, but the handles are absolute crap.

I bought a piece of maple to make new handles but am wondering what you guys think would make good handles?
There is a exotic wood store close by so i can get pretty much anything.

Also when you make a handle do you pin together two separate pieces or do you cut one thick piece down the middle?

Thanks
Mike

P.S
Are H. Boker good razors?

Originally Posted by mike_ingram

Are H. Boker good razors?

NO! They are evil incarnate! For the sake of your very soul, you must send it to me for proper... ummm..... disposal. Yeah, that's it! Disposal!



In all seriousness, Bokors are very fine razors. I just purchased a restored one from Garythepenman and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Originally Posted by mike_ingram

I bought a piece of maple to make new handles but am wondering what you guys think would make good handles?
There is a exotic wood store close by so i can get pretty much anything.

Any oil rich, hard wood will make good scales, like Rosewood, Ebony, Cocobolo, Desert wood, e.t.c. But, Maple and other softer woods are OK too, if properly protected...


Nenad

Bokers are fantastic razors. They have stood the test of time with Henckels and others. But, if it will shave really depends on the condition of the blade....

As for the wood, a lot does depend on the markings of the wood, etc, but half of the project is the design or what you do with it. Nailing wood on either side of the blade does not make for an attractive set of scales.... As Bill Ellis use to say, just remove what does not look like it belongs.

The wood you do decide on using, it would not hurt to ask if it is recommended to harden the wood, or handle it in any way so as to avoid future cracking or unforseen problems. There are tricks for treating tricky materials. It's easier to troubleshoot them one at a time rather than try to give one caution for all.

Ideally, we try to find wood that is only 1/8" thick to use. Personally, I do not have the equipment to cut/split blocks down to size...I only have a dremel and a coping saw, so the least rough cutting I need to do, the better.

Good luck and keep us posted!!!

C utz

Maple is nice wood, but I say indulge yourself. There's no end to the imaginative creations we've seen here recently and I want to encourage flights of fancy.

X

Most of my favorite handles are maple. You need to dye it, however, to bring out the pattern that makes this wood so wonderful. It's not soft, but does need oil (I recommend Tru-Oil, which is basically linseed oil) to protect it. CA works, too, but I like oil on non-oily woods better. On extremely oily woods like cocobolo or bocote, the Tru-Oil won't dry...it stays tacky, and as such, is unusable.

thought about Thuya Burl?
http://images.google.com.au/images?s...rl&btnG=Search

Burls are great! BUT, are apt to crack if not treated right (i.e. stabilized with chemicals, or on a solid backing/liner)

I love 'em!

C utz

Then try to track down some Ironwood from Australia.

http://www.auswood.com.au/timberdetails.html#ironwood
note the hardness and density

oh and buy some new blades for your wood working gear... you'll need em...

I got tired of lookin at expensive woods online so I went for a walk in da woods with an axe.

Found a deformed tree with a bunch of lumps on it and cut it down.

Don't know what it is buy I did manage to cut a slab off wet and it dried without splitting so far.

Good news for you is that the wood will be partially dried already what with it being winter and all.

Go get your own wood and make alot more personal than some ol peice of store wood could ever be.

Look for a maple with a large deformity near the ground and I bet you will get some free burl. (well, cost of labor)