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