Thread: What are you working on?

We’ll see, that’s the idea for now. It would be nice to get a whole weekend to devote to making a razor instead of picking it up and putting it down, it has made for a bunch of easily avoided mistakes. Making sure to finish an entire process before I put it down has helped but not always practical with my time limitations.

Finished up the thing with the problematic scales mentioned earlier. I noticed that I don't think I drilled the pivot hole straight through, which is probably what lead to my alignment problems. So, I soaked it for a while (wooden) and spaced the scales out a bit. A little too much, really. I then had to refinish it. But looks good enough for me now. Just need to hone it.

I cannot see very well by your pictures, but it looks like you do not have any taper on your wedge, and your scales appear to bow in in the middle and back out at the pivot. They may be tough to keep tight.

Originally Posted by RezDog

I cannot see very well by your pictures, but it looks like you do not have any taper on your wedge, and your scales appear to bow in in the middle and back out at the pivot. They may be tough to keep tight.

The scales came in one piece. It does seems like a slight wedge, but not much of one. So, not great news. I saw the bow in the pictures, too. I didn't notice it before, but it is probably there.

If they don't stay tight I may have to get a new set of scales.

PS. If I do get scales from this place again, I'll definately get them in pieces and not already glued together.

Maybe not from a practical point of view but an aesthetic one the scales are to large for that blade.

Yea looks a bit off. You can measure from the pin to the back of the scale on the wedge side with a pair of calipers. The holes must not only be aligned, they must be square to the pivot pin.

Cut them apart and make a wedge, glue it, or pin it. Pinning gives you a bit more wiggle room for alignment. Make the wedge angle the same as the taper of the tang at the pin. Not the same thickness, the same angle.

Measure the angle of the tang with an angle finder or just measure the tang thickness centered on the pin, the same length as the wedge. For example, if it is 1/4th inch on one end and 1/8t at the other end the ratio is 2-1, use the same ratio for your wedge.

The thickness is determined by the thickness of the blade tip, where you want the blade to sit at the top of the scales, when closed.

Say the blade is 1/8th inch where you want it to stop, that should be the thickness of the wedge on the thick side and the narrow side should be 1/16th, a 2-1 ratio. It does not need to be exact, just close.

The good thing about wood and a mis-aligned hole is you can glue in a plug and re-drill, if you need to, use a larger collar to hide the repair. Domed collars will also keep tension on the pivot.

If you do not have a tapered wedge, you will always fight trying to get the pivot pin tight, because the scales are not under tension, especially with wood, wood moves constantly with the weather. Loose scales are dangerous to strop and shave with.

I like the design and shape of the scales. Just needs a wedge, could be a bit thinner. Thick scales are clunky and awkward to strop.

This is all part of the design process, but you can always retro fit on the fly. I do all this on paper when I make my scale template.

“If they don't stay tight I may have to get a new set of scales.”

If you fix them, you will learn a lot about scale design.

32t: I see what you mean. I think they looked better before I stretched them out and the blade sat higher in the scales.

Euclid: I thought by buying scales I wouldn't have to learn to design and build them yet . The odd thing is that the scales were wider than the blade and had to be drawn in tight with the pin. Maybe the oil was still wet when I pinned them and warped as it sat.

I'm anxious to hone it up and see how the near wedge feels. I'll see how the stropping and shaving goes and then figure out what to do with the scales. It's a good idea about filling the hole with glue and redrilling the hole.

Thanks

Don't just fill with glue. Put a plug of wood in the same size as the hole. You should have to hammer it in but dip it in glue first. Glue on its own won't do it. It is not strong enough plus it will shrink and even if it were strong enough it won't look right. If you match the color well and leave enough above the surface to sand even you'll have a hard time finding the patch.

You can still work with those scales. Just depends on how much time you want to spend on them. Marty always has good ideas on how to fix things. I too would go about it a bit as he said. But then again, they are yours and you might not want to go through all the trouble right now. No big deal. Hone it up and give it a few shaves and see how you like it. We all have a few that are not perfect that we did in the beginning. I still have a couple that are twice as thick as they should have been. I'd cut them apart. Sand out the wedge and make a wedge of a contrasting color. Play with it, but it doesn't have to be now.

I’ve had more than one set of scales hit the bin. My first ones were so thick I probably should have made two sets out of them. I often learn best by trying and doing. Tom often helps me on the back channel when I’m trying to get a new design. He ma not make scales but certainly knows what looks correct.