Thread: bone scales preventing rust ?

Hi guys. This might seem odd and could be just coincidence but I have been looking for cheep tatty razors to do up on eBay for the past few months to feed my RAD and have noticed something a bit odd.

Almost all the razors I have seen with bone scales have very little rust or patina below where the blades go into the scales. I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this or if there is a reason for it. My first thought is that maybe the bone absorbs any moisture that happens to be aground the blade (within reason ofc). Here is an example of what I seem to keep seeing Vintage Cut Throat Razor | eBay

Has anyone got any thoughts on this ?

I would think correlation, not causation, but I think Jimmy may have once been mistaken about being mistaken.

I would think if that were true there would be none in the area around the pivot. I have to agree that the formation or lack of is curious in this case. There are so many factors that it is a tough one to try to figure out. We are talking about the life of this razor spanning quite a few years. It does fit the bill for what you are looking for though.

Interesting,bone do's contain collogen and has an oil content,for how long I have no clue.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

I would think if that were true there would be none in the area around the pivot. I have to agree that the formation or lack of is curious in this case. There are so many factors that it is a tough one to try to figure out. We are talking about the life of this razor spanning quite a few years. It does fit the bill for what you are looking for though.

Lol your right it does fit the bill but I'm trying to curb my buying a bit, I seem to have acquired 28 razors in that past 3 months. All of them need work to some extent.

I've decided I better be a bit more selective and have a goal rather than just buy anything that is cheep and could have potential. I'm going for a 7 day set of military wedges which I'm going to scale in rimu wood (acquired from my brother whose house in NZ had lots of it, the house was old and damaged in the earthquake so they tore it down but saved the rimu). I'm rambling about on now.

Back on topic, I agree you would expect the pivot are not to havfve rusted/patina if it was true. Its just I keep seeing the same pattern on allot of the bone scale razors

I guess the breakdown of plastics could cause more rust but looks like rust on the edge of that one

Bone is porous and will absorb liquids. Never put a drop of oil on the pivot of a razor with bone scales, it will suck the oil into the bone and discolor it. It could also be that the folks that had bone scaled razors simply took better care of them.

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

Bone is porous and will absorb liquids. Never put a drop of oil on the pivot of a razor with bone scales, it will suck the oil into the bone and discolor it. It could also be that the folks that had bone scaled razors simply took better care of them.

If repinning without bone scales, am I supposed to use any oil on the pivot? Say perhaps with wood or micarta scales and stainless steel microfasteners? Thanks in advance for any advice as I've never attempted new scales to date.

I have taken a lot of bone scales off razors - in all sorts of condition - and I must say that I have not spotted any less rusting. Maybe you are just having a run of well looked after razors or something else has contributed.

If the pivot area was lightly oiled, then the bone would soak-up some of the oil - I have seen them stained with oil for about 2/3rds of their length, the sure sign of a repeat offender! If only lightly oiled - before any rusting has taken place - then perhaps the bone scales have helped by soaking it up and re-administering it - who knows?!

I do know that the bone was prepared before use in the old days. It was soaked in some sort of solvent that took away any fats and oils, as these would leach out of it in time if this step was not taken. It was not bleached as we know the process now - this has an adverse effect on bones, making the texture woolly. There is some evidence that the bone was softened with a weak acid sometimes (vinegar) but it is a bit inconclusive.

The trouble with bone is that the nerves and so on are conducted throughout the bone in a series of channels. After death and defleshing and preparation, these small channels or 'pores' are still filled with organic tissue. They effectively close the pores for a while, but over time they shrink back leaving the pores open, and all sorts of muck and grime fill the ends, looking like dark spots, giving bone scales their characteristic appearance.

The presence of pins and washers does not help - clean these with a metal cleaner or fine abrasive and you produce a black paste. If your scales are pristine and new and white, the sudden appearance of a lot of black dots can barely be tolerated - by me, anyway! Taping over the fasteners and cutting a small hole helps by keeping the associated muck off the bone, but proper sealing would be best - presuming that the bone is sufficiently aged.

I have bought a more or less watery sealant (cant remember the name - was for wood, 'cactus juice' or something similar) but I got very ill a while back and have not used it - can't even remember where it is, to be honest.

Glenn (Gssixgun) would know a lot about sealing things - he has experimented a lot with this technique, so asking him would be best, IMO.

Regards,
Neil

Whatever you do, DO NOT soak your bone scales in house bleach over night. I ruined a set of old bone scales by doing this. It does make them very white again but it also makes them very very soft and brittle when they dry out