Thread: Matching up scale halves

Thank You Martin and Darl! I am getting down to the busting ivory part!

Got my blades pretty much done. The tangs are still pretty rough. At least the rust and some of the pitting is gone. I might sand them a bit more before installing them.





I checked my old wedges with a caliper and sure enough, no taper. GOOD! I suck at making tapered wedges!
So I flat sanded my ivory ones to the same thickness as the old ones and mocked one up. Closed center.
So far, so good!





A detail I forgot is to have a friend lazer etch Roman numerals I and II on the spine reliefs. Has to be done, IMO, so I will pin the bottoms as mocked-up and wait for him to accomplish that in order to pin the tops.
Neat top jimping on these!

Now, I shall get with pinning the bottoms. I previously sanded my wedges closer to the scales and removed the blade, replacing it with a nut, slightly wider than the thickness of the tang. No sense having the blade involved here!
I then lightly squeezed the scales together and taped them around a few wraps with scotch tape. This keeps everything tight and aligned as I proceed. Keeping things tight as sizing and peening is paramount.



I have decided to go with teeny collars and peen over them as best I can due to some anomalies in the tops of the pin holes. Works out good and looks like collarless from a slow-moving horse as done well!
Besides, I did not want to risk cracking a scale here. These things are tiny!



So I dressed one end of a nickel-silver 1/16 rod and removed the nut and bolt, pushed it thru. Then, I dropped a collar on, set the sticky side of a small bit of tape on the end of the rod and pushed the rod to the scale, taping the collar to the scale in the process.
I then pushed the rod through the tape( use the thumb to hold the collar tight while breaking the tape!) and repeated on the other side. I now have my collars taped in place. It is tough as they go flying to places unknown. Also, it is handy to work over a paper towel or such so when you drop something, it will stick instead of bounce or roll!




I then cut the rod off a bit longer than I will need. Takes some experience to judge this. Just make it too long a few times! You have probably figured that out! Make it a bit too long. The pin can get pretty hot during dressing and sizing. The leather keeps my finger from having a tiny circular burn! As doing celluloid or horn, be careful not to get the pin too hot! Can really cause scale melting problems! The Dremel has a little fan which blows out of a vent near the top. I use that air stream to cool the pin occasionally. Sizing the pin is the hardest part. If I could describe it, look at how high you want your peen to sit. Add to it, the area you want to enlarge it. Using this estimation, dress the pin to where your calculated height will be protruding from each side. Again, practice on old scales, etc, will get you in the ballpark, and hopefully, closer! I then go back to the bench and push out the pin with a piece of rod to anneal the tips.
A 20 count kissing the blue propane flame on one side, quench in water, flip and repeat on the other side, softens the tips for easier peening.



Now, I go back to the bench and use my pin to push the rod out. Ready to peen!

So all is set and I begin on one side, lightly tapping the pin at angles, working around it. As I get the pin enlarged so it will not go through the collar, I stop, remove the tape from that side, flip and perform same on the other side. The hammer is very small. I don't use the ball end much, but the edges of the face. Tapping on the sides of the pin and the occasional tap on the top. You should feel solid taps. Listen! If something sounds strange, angle the razor a bit on the anvil. "Feel' your way here! Be sure to keep squeezing with your thumb and forefinger throughout the process so as to keep things tight! You can let off that towards the end, though!



Keep lightly tapping. So light that if you hit the ivory (try not to!) , you are not afraid to do so. Angled taps around the pin, many. Then a few on top, flip, try to even things out as you go. You will see the pin grow to the diameter of the little collar soon. Also, the appearance of the pin will become smoother and smoother. Lighter and lighter as you go!

Now a bit of light buffer. Not too bad. I might go back and do a bit more after unbolting the top and seeing how tight things are. Probably not as I think it is very tight as-is. Bottom is pinned!



I took the opportunity as things were bolted up to hand sand the wedge flush. Not too bad! I have often said I am a hammer and screwdriver guy. If I can say I have done better, or worse, it is fine by me! Remember that nothing is perfect, certainly not this, but keep striving toward it!



A call in to my laser-etch buddy has not been returned thus far. I will pin the other one at the bottom and work on sanding the tangs a bit more over the weekend. I suppose I might go ahead and pin the blades in if he is busy. I feel he can do the numerals as scaled anyway! I will pick up on the conclusion Monday. Any critique or suggestion is valued. I have done this thread to show what I came up with in my cave. I am positive some of you have come up with better ways of doing things than my redneck ways. Please add questions and suggestions for discussion !
Thanks,
Tom

Wow tiny collars you have there. so small they disappear upon peening. Very Cool Tom. You sneaky fellow. Collared collarless peening.

Originally Posted by Tarkus

Wow tiny collars you have there. so small they disappear upon peening. Very Cool Tom. You sneaky fellow. Collared collarless peening.

Yes, but don't tell anyone!

Don't worry well keep it between us few.

The reality is,Ivory is to precious and may soon become unobtainium not to use micro washers,
They do not bother me, Great how to tom.

The razor makers of old had an unlimited supply of Ivory so no worrys.
They also had maybe one worker that did nothing but pean razors all day,he probebly got pretty good at it

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

The razor makers of old had an unlimited supply of Ivory so no worrys.
They also had maybe one worker that did nothing but pean razors all day,he probebly got pretty good at it

They also had an unlimited supply of bone,horn & plastic. I still find it odd that ivory razors were peened washerless when the others werent so often.
Just to go a little OT, I had a Winchester razor with plastic scales that was pinned washerless.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

They also had an unlimited supply of bone,horn & plastic. I still find it odd that ivory razors were peened washerless when the others werent so often.
Just to go a little OT, I had a Winchester razor with plastic scales that was pinned washerless.

Good point, Oz. I feel that back in the days of ivory scaled razors, being pinned collarless was a sign of fine workmanship.
Hand done by craftsmen. I have many old Bakelite and bone scales peened such. As later ones such as your Winchester and many Gencos, Cases, etc with plastic scales, the process was not done by hand, IMO. Cheaper and faster to do it with whatever type of machine they used. I feel it was done 'whack' on those .
Collarless peens on old ivory scales are nothing like on Gencos and the like in my eye!