Thread: First Re-scale project!

Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

Any blade that gets restored/worked on is going to need to be re-honed, and you don't want to be working on a razor sharp blade anyhow..for your own safety. The one thing I'd suggest with your scale design is to consider how they are going to affect your stropping.
Good luck and have fun

Edit: You can find the answers to your other questions here

+1 on thinking about how the scales will affect stropping.

Originally Posted by JoelLewicki

+1 on thinking about how the scales will affect stropping.

+2 on that :-)

Thanks for the note about stropping, its actually a pretty comfortable position to hold, almost like a pistol grip (which I really like as a fencer).

One question, I've been searching around and haven't found a thread on this... Is there an order that I should pin in? Should I pin the wedge end first and then the pivot, or does it make more sense to do the pivot and then the wedge? Or does it just not matter.

Once I finish sanding and polishing the scales I'll post a new set of pictures

definitely wedge end first. pivot end goes way smoother with the wedge done first. lookin forward to seeing those when they're done!

My razor is ready to pin! I almost went ballistic while pinning the wedge though...

I decided to use copper for the pins, and I'm glad I did because the contrast against the finished wood is really nice. but what I didn't account for is the softness of the metal. when I started peening the end. the whole piece inside the scale started to deform, splitting both scales and the wedge...

Thankfully I was able to superglue it, and the repair is now almost invisible. I then widened the holes slightly to accommodate brass sleeves which prevented the copper from deforming.

I've noticed a lot of people talking about using 1/16th rods for pins, but I found that 3/32nd fit perfectly through the pivot of my blade. Is that just an unusually large hole? Or is there some other reason for using 1/16th?


As I mentioned above, the scales are Boise de Rose, and the wedge is American Holly. You can see how much brighter and richer the colors are once it has been sanded and polished.

I'm very pleased with how these came out, considering they are my first set of scales.



I found this in the hardware store when I was deciding what finish to use on the scales, I have never seen this before and was interested. You can see it came out great!


Now that I'm almost done with this blade, I'm going to start working on the second one. I still have some pitting to clean off, but not to much. Also, I've decided on mahogany for the scales, and maybe Purpleheart or Gabon Ebony for the wedge.

[Quote: Now that I'm almost done with this blade, I'm going to start working on the second one. Quote. ]
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I would strongly recommend that you finish assembling this razor before you start the second one. I am sure I am not alone in my concern for how this razor will flip during the honing and stropping process.

Working on a project of your own design can yield a great deal of satisfaction. Keep up the good work.

the color of those scales really is gorgeous, nice choice! ive used the feed n wax on wood scales as a finish by itself and also on scales I sealed with shellac. when sufficiently drie and buffed with a rag it leaves a nice soft feel to the surface. ive also used it on a bunch of furniture Ive constructed, nice product.
I mainly use 1/16" brass, gives a nice amount of play to most pivots without being sloppy. oddly enough the 3/32 is too big for most ive tried, haha! I bought up a bunch of 3/32 thinking it would fit perfectly in the pivots that just a little too sloppy for my liking. apart from sleeving the pivot ive slipped a small washer or two inside an oversized hole to take up play.

When you're pinning, you may want to try leaving the wedge just a TINY bit loose. Just enough so that it is easier to make fine adjustments once you get the pivot pin in if everything isn't closing perfectly square.

Just my .02

It's just what I do to make life a bit easier on myself.

Cheers

M

After my issues with the first set of scales I adjusted the shape of both designs. Tonight I pinned the Jas T Scott!!

PICTURES!










The scales are mahogany with a purpleheart wedge and finished with bees wax. The blade has been sanded to 1000 grit, I left some of the staining on the tang and some of the deeper pitting because I liked the character of the blade and wanted it to still look its age.

The new scales for the Rev-O-Noc are in the works, I'll post pictures as soon as it's done!

Nice job!
I like the looks of these scales.
A single pin on the wedge end would have looked cool also: