Thread: First Re-scale project!

I recently got 2 blades in great condition from Ebay, neither one has scales and both need honing, they look like they are both full hollow ground. Both blades arrived today and I've already got a sketch for scales for both of them.

The first is stamped Hibbard Spencer Bartlett & Co. Made in Germany on one side of the tang and Rev-O-Noc on the other. The blade looks almost unused and has an almost mirror finish












For the scales I'm going to use Bois de Rose which is a rosewood from Madagascar.
For the wedge I'm going to use American Holly.

Once it has been sanded and finished, the colors of the Bois de Rose become even more vibrant.


The second blade is stamped Jas. T. Scott Warranted Hand Forged, on one side and Germany on the other. It has some pitting and staining on the faces of the blade, and 2 small patches of rust, though none on the bevel.






I still need to decide on what to use for the scales, but I think I want to use purple heart for the wedge. I am open to suggestions though.

Here are my sketches for the scales. The top one is the Jas. T. Scott, and the bottom one is the Rev-O-Noc



I do have a few questions/thoughts...
First, if anyone knows anything about the history behind these blades I would love to learn about them.

Next, I plan on sending these blades to be honed, since I don't have the tools to do it myself, and I've never done it before. My instinct is to make the scales for the blades first (while they are relatively dull), rather than working with shave ready razors. Good idea?

and last, I know there is a website that has been mentioned where I can get materials for pinning, but my question is, could I find the same materials at a local hardware store, or even someplace like Home Depot. I know I have seen wire stock in craft stores before, so maybe I could even find the washers there too?

Anyway, thanks for any thoughts/suggestions!

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

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.

@(@#&@)*()!!!$&#@()@*%&)!...

... That being said, I think I'm going to have to re-design the scales. I tried pinning the blade today, and both scales broke through the pivot holes. I epoxied the pieces back in place, but it seems like that is just a weak point in the scales. I'm going to keep them, and maybe if I get a short enough blade at some point I'll use them for it...

I'm going to keep the design I had for the wedge end, and just straighten the pivot end a bit so the pivot hole is more in line with the main body of the scales. I'll also use brass for the pins this time. As much as I like the look of the copper, it deforms to easily for the method of pinning I'm using right now. I think that may also have contributed to the scales breaking today.