Thread: Are These Scales Worth Saving?

So I picked up this sweet Jos Allen and Sons shorty a week or two ago. Love the blade, but man, the scales are ROUGH. Multiple bug bites. But they are horn, and I assume they are the original scales that were refitted when the blade was made a shorty.

I am debating on just putting new scales on it, or trying to sand down the ones on there now.

Considering how many bug bites are on it, and how deep a couple are, should I give it a try? Or is it not worth the effort?

Note, I have never made scales before, so likely I would send it out to be re-scaled if I go the "new" route.

Thanks!

If there is enough meat to still protect the blade (& yourself) if you reshape it should be fine.
If not you may need to thin the wedge a touch
No harm in trying
Or just smooth of the sharp,edges and use as is

I would just smooth out the edges at most. I like the character that the scales add to the razor like it is, but it is your blade. I have a few that I did nothing to besides clean them up for that very reason.

Whoever made it a shorty did a nice job with the spine/point. If the bug bites aren't too deep I would just smooth the sharp edges and keep them. I think some vintage razors look nice with worn/used looking scales when the blade doesn't look brand new. It gives a look that lets you know that the razor has survived this long because it was well made and will continue to survive and function as it was intended.

you could also fill the bites with epoxy and smooth it all out...

It has already been modified so any changes you try aren't going to hurt it's value. I like to think of the history of objects like this. Whatever happened to it the owner made due with whatever he had and his skills to keep it useful. Back in the day I wonder if the "average" person would even bother to shorten the scales if the blade needed to be shortened. With that in mind is it a modern repair to make it look better? How much of the blade would be needed to be removed to change the position of the etching the way it is? Not that much.... Maybe they are not the original scales. If they were there might/should be the old holes for the pins showing. I am just typing as I think!

I would touch it up as much as necessary and take it for what it is.

Originally Posted by TwistedOak

you could also fill the bites with epoxy and smooth it all out...

I have done this also and it works well mix a bit of the horn dust in it to help blend the colour

Thanks, gents... some food for thought.

I am the kind of guy who likes his shavers to look nice, even if they are unrestored. So I had never thought about smoothing them out and just leaving the bites there, or even using epoxy to fill in the blanks, so to speak. But I may go with the former, and see how I like it. Smooth, shave, and then see how I adjust.

Yes, the conversion was a damn fine one. Not your typical cut and go... whoever did it wanted to make it look like it was born a shorty, and indeed, it does, except the etching gives it away. The pseudo oblique point, and bevel at the spine just make it all look quite natural.

My guess was that the blade was 3" before transition. The cutting edge is now just short of 2.5"... so assuming ~ half an inch was removed.

Thanks, gents!

I bought a Red Imp on Ebay that had the pivot pin hole egg-shaped to near the tip's edge. The pin was bent to 90*.
I filled the holes with epoxy and reshaped, drilled and re-pinned. Looks great and the classic red scales saved. The same can be done with the notches on your scales.
Another Ebay razor had someones initials carved into the scale. Those were sanded out to where I can't tell which side was carved. A lot of other scratches were worked out too.