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Back to "The Improved Eagle Razor." So I got the scales reshaped and filled a natural crack with clear epoxy. I repinned it just for kicks and to make a judgement on the wedge size and angles.
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I really love that Southern Live Oak. This has no stain. Hell, this doesn't even have clear on it. It is just sanded smooth. I have to redo the wedge but I think I'm going to hone it up and shave with it a couple of times anyway.
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Nice job, Paul-As that oak is not one of the naturally oily tropical woods like cocobolo or ebony, have you considered at least rubbing in some wax coats to keep it from getting water damaged? You can burnish Renaissance Wax to a real nice sheen (or for that matter, even Johnson's Paste Wax). And it really pops the grain without giving that plastic look that some glossy finishes give. Just a thought.
Yeah I did. I was thinking I would try some Ren wax on this one.I've never used it before but I've read good things about what it does for woods. This isn't especially hard wood. That's what old iron sides was made out of. They used southern Live Oak because cannonballs would bounce off of it. I had clear polyurethane on it before I gouged it but then I ground it down and sanded it all off. Thanks Aaron.Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad
I recently got my 1st tub of RenWax, and I have started buffing it in to all my blades and scales for added protection. Hey, if it's good enough for the British Museum...Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulFLUS
Is that safe to use on a blade that you shave with? I don't really know anything about it. It might just be beeswax with some emollients
I don't really think it's an issue. I rub/buff it in to the entire razor and blade for protection after my final shave with a razor (I generally use a razor 2 or 3 times in a row to be sure the edge is on point after any refining necessary, then put it back into my cabinet until its turn comes around again), carefully wipe the edge with tissue paper, and strop on linen then leather. I doubt any is actually left on the edge when I use it again. :shrug:
You Workshop regulars might remember me breaking a couple of nearly finished wooden scale sets earlier this summer, both highly-figured and more fragile than I thought at scale thicknesses. Though I was ready to scrap both and start over, I managed to rescue the desert ironwood set by epoxying them both together at the break and on to a G10 liner for stability (some sketchy improvised clamping also helped!). I didn't expect it to work, but it's holding up fine if only because I just made a spacer out of turquoise recon instead of a wedge. I don't think these scales would survive much bending even on G10. I was going for sort of a scimitar look to complement the blade etch on this S. Karam. I'm sure you can see the crack. Maybe next summer I'll make another set without a crack lol!
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Meanwhile, I will probably back most future wooden rescales with G10, especially on the highly-figured woods I favor! (By the way, the red mallee burl set I broke is on the bench going through some CA coats and waiting for sanding and polishing-we'll see, but looks good so far).
Here's a couple of links with some info---Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulFLUS
https://conservationsupportsystems.c...ssance_Wax.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Wax
Thanks Roy-Waxes and naptha, about what I thought. In any case, like I said I doubt more than trace amounts are on any edge after stropping.
Benzene is the worry but @ less than 0.1 %, mebe not so worriesome :)
Plus everything except the wax is volatile, which of course is why waxes dry. And that's about all the chemistry I have in me for one day.:)
Glad to see you'll get some amount of use from those lovely scales. Waiting for the return of the mallee burl. That wood was amazing.Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad
But Oz, there is a ton of that in cigarette tobacco, how harmful could it be?Quote:
Originally Posted by onimaru55
Awesome Aaron! I'm glad you pulled those out of the fire. I know I was very vocal about trying to save those. Those came out really nicely! I think my work here is done. :roflmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad
Yeah, you inspired me to try to save them. I think your quote/sig. line applies here. I get a lot out of this forum, and just getting ideas and input from fellow razor geeks. As I tell my students often, we learn the most from our mistakes.
+1 I've learned a lot from my mistakes, mostly it seems the lessons "stick" better than just hearing/reading about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad
Many a year ago I helped the 17 year old son of a friend rebuild the front suspension on a '69 Camaro. I tore down one side and replaced bushings etc then reassembled with him watching and helping then I supervised while he tore down and replaced bushing etc.
His biceps were about the size of my wrist and when he was installing the upper A-frame he failed to recall that I'd lubed the outside of the new bushings with some Vasoline and had used a large tapered punch to pry the piece back into place.
His strength left him and the A-frame was 'stuck' so he let go, turned his head and said "Roy it won't go any--------------------------BANG! That A-frame hit him squarely along side of his head.
While he was under the car moaning I said "Chad, you just learned a lesson I could have talked about for hours upon hours and wouldn't remember as well as you will now/you will NEVER EVER AGAIN leave a part unbolted or some how secured ever again".
I still see him once in awhile and ask him if he's been working on a car. He just smiles and said he remembers that lesson and in fact had shared it with his own son--who now has that same Camaro-----
:roflmao Almost worth a Thanks as a useful post mate. Made me laugh hard.Quote:
Originally Posted by RezDog
If that's the case then I should be the most learned man on Earth.:roflmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad
Roy had sent me a blade and some scale blanks. He told me he didn't know what kind of wood it was but....
I went at it today and made some scales out of the wood. Figured it would be best to dress the blade he gave me in them. Here are the scales ready for pinning...
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Different lighting...
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They are extremely flexible. Must have a lot of resin in them. But they sure look nice! There you go Roy. Hope you like them.
As has been said I was given the raw material and can't remember what wood it is. I do know that it was stabilized and with the build up of excess stabilizer there were questions if after sanding things down if the wood would indeed be flexible.
I'm glad that they were. They look nice, can't wait to see the project finished and honed. :tu
Since the different lighting gives much different looks to the scales--which one is closer? :shrug: Just wondering.
The bottom pic is more like the real thing.
Thank you. :bow That's pretty much what I'd envisioned what it might look like after the built up stabilizer was sanded away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gasman
How do you like the feel? Also does it look 'plastic' to the eye? Yes, No--Maybe so :shrug:
It looks a bit like plastic, but enough wood in it you would take another look. It feels like plastic and is very flexible like soft acrylic. Very easy to bend and flex. but I think it got enough strength to be nice for scales. But just barely. It's that flexible!
It's my understanding that 'Stabilizing of wood' is reserved for softer woods to give them strength. It will be interesting to see how they work once you've got them pinned up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gasman
I think they are cool! Reminds of old celluloid 'end of day' patterns.
Crazy colours in those scales for sure.
Nice work gentlemen.
They look great Jerry.
I think that if it were me, I would put a thin layer of G10 as backing just to be on the safe side.
Pete <:-}
Am I the only one who occasionally goes through the razors and just handles them, sorts through them and "fondles" them for lack of a better term?
Anyway, I was perusing them last night and looking for my next project and I pulled this one out. Sorry, these are eBay pictures. Again I neglected to take some good before pics.
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Second one up from the bottom
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I had gotten this one in a large lot with ones I was much more interested in, namely the pre '90s Wade & Butcher right below it in the second picture. I looked it over and it was so stained that the lighter portion from the hone wear looked really exaggerated plus it had some serious scars just under the spine which you can see in the after pictures if you zoom in. I don't know what on earth they did to this poor thing but when I looked at it last night for some reason it caught my eye. It really didn't have any pitting and so I said, "hey little fella let's see what we can do with you."
About an hour later we have this.
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It's by no means perfect but with the deep gouging it never will be but what's wrong with it is sheerly cosmetic. I have decided that I really like the look of the barber notch, humpback, faux frameback types that look really cool but I just don't really like them to shave with. This is an extra hollow which I love to use. I honed that bad motor scooter up and shaved with it this morning. Nice, smooth, comfortable, close shave.
This one definitely goes near the front of the rotation.
Edit: I forgot to mention and you probably can't see it in the picture but it's an Imperial Razor Co. New York - Germany and is marked registered 20507
Careful Paul-Too much fondling of your razors will make you grow hair on your palms and make you go blind.:nono:
Seriously, though, I do that all the time! In fact, I've got about 3-dozen bare blades I bought in various lots this summer for re-scaling; they are all neatly ziploc-bagged in a re-purposed plastic storage bin. Periodically I will get them out to play with until one just jumps out at me; then I will pair it up with some scale blanks and complementary pinning/wedge components, or at least some build notes to go in the bag with it. But as I just started getting serious about the upcoming school year (which promises to be my most challenging ever with a record-sized AP class, and moving a 14-person department into a new building with mostly new administrators-oh, and lots of new testing!), they are going to be lonely for awhile.
I don't know, though. I hope to do 1 a month if I can-shop time with razors is a great stress reliever!
You know, they say the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys but there's one other thing that the adage doesn't take into account. When you become grown you don't outgrow your toys like you did when you were little. With this particular hobby some of these things have been around for
200-300 years and will be around for at least that much longer. How great is that? You can take something that to one person may have seemed discardable and turn it into something that will be of great use for generations to come. As for this particular little sweetie, I was more than pleasantly surprised how well it performed. I think these Imperials of this area were ground by ERN also weren't they? In any case I have another one that I got in a different lot exactly like it which will likely be my next project. I think I might try to collect enough to make a 7-day set out of these and maybe even get the days of the week engraved on the spine. That would be a cool project. I'll have to look through some of the boxes earlier in this thread to get some ideas for it.
Sounds like a fun project! I think Tom is the 7-Day set guru, and Jerry is the sensei of boxes. And yeah, any ERN razor is probably going to be a sweet shaver. I don't know about your Imperial. I have one that just says Germany on the back of the tang. I'll get it out to fondle later and see if I can figure it out.
Imperials are made by a different maker. I have his name somewhere but he made razors for many many people. I beat ya to the set. I made a 14 days set out of Imperials. All with different etchings and all with a different wood for scales. They are gr at shavers. It was one of my favorites when i first started shaving with a straight...
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Nice Jerry.
I must be getting what I read mixed up. I think it must have been that they, like ERN, ground razors for a host of other companies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gasman
Beautiful, Jerry-Now I remember you working on that. Would it be too much trouble to ask for the woods used? Top and bottom, left to right, 1-7, something like that? I LOVE #6 on the bottom-bocote?
Lots of nice projects showing up.
Made some progress on my latest Packwood. Got the blade finish where I like it and started on the scales. I decided on some olive drab and black G10 material. I've never worked with it before...wow it's tough! Should have read up on it a little before I started, it pretty much destroyed my band saw blade. After cutting it I was a bit concerned about dulling my files, so I cut up a 60 grit PSA disc and stuck it to a small paint stick. It's been working well. I got the profile finished and am working on the final shaping.
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G10 is not only tough on tools but it's really tough on your lungs. I do hope you had adequate respiratory gear on.Quote:
Originally Posted by JellyJar
Good luck on your project, it's coming along nicely.
Looking good JJ-I was going to say exactly what Roy/CudaRunner said. G10 is tough indeed; it's basically a matrix of microscopic fiberglass in some sort of epoxy if I understand it correctly-someone correct me if I'm wrong. I always mask up and wet my sanding/grinding surfaces when working with it to keep the dust down.
G10...Tough stuff indeed.
Even the very thin pieces used as a scale liner are a bear to cut.
It has always worked great for me on wooden scales.
Pete <:-}
