Thread: What are you working on?

Wait till you get your hands on a razor with a bent tang AND a twisted blade. Don't ask how I centered it, there was a lot of trial n error getting it there.

These two pics show the bend.





This one, the twist to the back side scale.



Yet closes center.

Originally Posted by outback

Wait till you get your hands on a razor with a bent tang AND a twisted blade. Don't ask how I centered it, there was a lot of trial n error getting it there.

These two pics show the bend.


This one, the twist to the back side scale.

Yet closes center.

I'm impressed Mike. Nice work! How is it to hone?

Very different, but mostly done with rolling Xstrokes.

Its gotta nice bevel, for a 6/8, 1/2 hollow.

You are way over thinking this.

And working in reverse. You want to make the wedge first, and pin the wedge side first, then fit to the pivot. You may have to make a wedge with more of an angle than 2/1. But start with that ratio. The wedge will be the size of the thickest part of the blade that fits between the scales, so the blade has to fit between the scales.

The purpose of the wedge is to bow the scales to allow clearance between the scales and to keep tension on the pivot.

The flat side will be close to the scale, but you can adjust where the tip centers/lands by shimming between the scale and the tang at the pivot pin to compensate for a bent blade, if needed, or adding an extra thrust washer or a thicker one on one side.

But if you drill your pin holes pin holes a bit larger you will have a lot of adjustment, moving one scale forward or back, at the pivot, will move the tip. Just a few thousands will move the blade tip dramatically.

If the blade has a weird warp, you can make a tapered thrust washer and glue them to the scale, once you find the right angle. But this is for a very warped blade which yours is not. The warp on your blade works in your favor, the warped is to the inside.

Make a wedge, try to fit it and start by adjusting the pins, forward or back to move the tip. If you need more clearance between the scales, make a new wedge with more of an angle.

Once you pin/bolt it all up, you will see where you need to adjust.

Sorry, I guess I didn't understand the question when I read your post. I thought you were talking about the tang hitting the scales. Marty is right. It is not as big an issue as you are imaging. In your picture with the blade lying flat you can see the edge is not touching the table. If the edge were lying on the flat and you had space in between the flat and the tang it would be a different issue. Follow Marty's advice and you should be alright the blade won't center but it won't matter. Washers at the pivot will also help. As long as they don't catch on the opening you'll be fine.

I had this Fontana, I didn't think black scales were quite right, and the slightly unusual angles on the spine and the toe made me think that less conventional scales were in order:



Overall, I'm happy. The wedge is perhaps a touch wide.

Some observations:
-with transparent scales, everything needs finishing before assembly, I did some polishing after pinning the wedge, and some polish got between the scales and wedge. Maybe a black wedge works better with transparent scales
-this plastic is from a re-purposed clipboard, and I think it is not really good enough quality for scales. There are very small cracks in the plastic visible around the pivot and along the edge of the wedge, which I am concerned will grow with time and use
-very tiny differences in the shape of the scales can be very noticeable aesthetically. Also, colour seems to make a difference to the perception of shape
-the blue scales actually overwhelm the slightly unconventional blade aesthetics

I really like that blue Monty. That looks really nice. I'm not often that crazy about wild colors but that blue works well with that.

Interesting blade Monty, and yes translucent material is a giant pain in the backside to work with. Some of the poly carbonate is tricky to drill because it fractures around drilled holes. In the end it looks pretty great.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

I really like that blue Monty. That looks really nice. I'm not often that crazy about wild colors but that blue works well with that.

I see what you did there... nice!

I like the blue. Want to learn how to make scales? Make them out of translucent plastic. As you have learned they show any flaw. You will learn a lot about making and finishing scales.

Nice job, how does it strop?

If it is a little awkward, try thinning the scale at the pivot. Take a cue from vintage scales, they really did know what they were doing, only had a couple hundred years to get it right.

Wedge thickness looks ok, with small blades you can go thinner.

Here is a thread on making clear thrust washers from a plastic water bottle so you don’t have the black hole at the pivot with translucent scales. (How I Made Clear Plastic Washers).