I've been wanting to try out a razor with metal scales, but I don't want to buy a restored vintage or Dovo only to find that I can't get used to the razor's weighting and balance.

What I'm considering doing, is buying one of those cheap razors off ebay, un-pinning the scales, and then re-pinning them to a real blade. The original blade will go in a place it belongs.

I've watched a few youtube videos on them, and needless to say, most people only bought them for decorative purposes, some of them were even holding it by the spine and swinging it open/ shut/ open/ shut. One person claimed to have brought an edge onto it, but he didn't say how long it lasted or if it was shave-ready (HHT, thumbnail etc). One of my favourite comments on these videos was "That is not a straight razor, but a straight razor shaped object."

Would this be viable?