Thread: What are you working on?

When I was in Edinburgh late last summer I picked up a few razors at a delightful little antique shop called Unicorn Antiques. One of them was this Lockwood Brothers Pampa:



The scales are Bakelite and you can see the toe end one has a crack. There's actually a bit of oxidation at the crack which gives it that lighter color. Because the crack seems stable and I have yet to find any adhesive that gives a strong bond on Bakelite, I figured I'd leave them alone. There's no wedge in there, oddly enough -- the toe ends of the scales stick out to form a wedge shape.

Incidentally, I'm no chemist but my search for a good Bakelite adhesive led me to this video:

https://youtu.be/GlCFBexBWGU

which tells me nothing about how to bond Bakelite but it was pretty fun anyway.

Anyway, there was some rust on the tang, and at the heel end the scales were weirdly misaligned also and I thought I knew why. So I drilled out the pivot pin and sure enough, the pin was all bent, probably at the factory during peening. As usual with older Sheffield blades there was a big pivot hole, and my personal theory is that these are not great because when you peen it if the pin is a little weaker in the middle, or someone gets a little too enthusiastic with the hammer you get a bent pin in there.

I originally put brass sleeves in these things. Because getting the brass to exactly the right length is a pain, I started putting in aluminum plugs and drilling them. But lately I have just been putting in lead plugs and drilling those, because it's so quick and easy. You just put a piece of lead in there and hammer it down, and slice off the excess with an old razor blade:



You can just cut off any excess lead with a razor blade.

So here's the end product, ready for my New Year's day shave:



Wishing you all a great New Year!

Seems to be a few of us starting off the new year, with some salvaged gear.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Top-notch and correct Mike! Hat's off to you!

Oohhhh, no, no, no, sir.
My hat comes off to you, and the members in the work shop. Because of the combined knowledge from all the members, and that gentle shove of encouragement you and others gave me some time ago, I get to look at the progress I've made, thru those that shared their knowledge, and mistakes.

So, thank you.!

Well said Mike.

Long time since I've been working on my own projects :-)

Originally Posted by Thaeris

Long time since I've been working on my own projects :-)

For years I have admired the works of art that you present! Thank you!
~Richard

Now some things we try will just not work out
So far; two+ years since starting the project spoiled by such things as losing focus, rushing and clumsiness!!:

A pair of bone scales.
three (3) bone scales replaced, with drilling out pins and breakage at pinning.
seven+ (7+) pinnings
Gotten close a few times..settled in for a final pinning, had another blade nearby...
Yup, some projects are ill fated.

Now, with this out of my system, I can again be enjoying the time spent at my hobby and rescuing razors. This is not my first project, I have already done dozens that came out very well!.

Thanks to all for making my life better!
~Richard

Originally Posted by Geezer

Now some things we try will just not work out
So far; two+ years since starting the project spoiled by such things as losing focus, rushing and clumsiness!!:

A pair of bone scales.
three (3) bone scales replaced, with drilling out pins and breakage at pinning.
seven+ (7+) pinnings
Gotten close a few times..settled in for a final pinning, had another blade nearby...
Yup, some projects are ill fated.

Now, with this out of my system, I can again be enjoying the time spent at my hobby and rescuing razors.

Thanks to all for making my life better!
~Richard

I hate that all is not going as planned. I thought these things only happened to me. Since this is not the case I may work up the nerve to try a restoration of my own in the near future.

Originally Posted by Diboll

I hate that all is not going as planned. I thought these things only happened to me. Since this is not the case I may work up the nerve to try a restoration of my own in the near future.

Good on you! That is the answer, I learned a lot working on this project about myself and have more projects in line to accomplish.
~Richard

Bummer, Richard!
If I can help in any way let me know.

I have busted my fair share, BUT not for a long while.