British Steel, 7 day Acronym set, in progress.

Hi gents.
Working on a project now, inspired by an amazing set, and idea posted by Tom.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...-day-sets.html but on a modestly reduced scale..:chapeau
I have a pair of Wosti IXL's done up in Sapele one piece scales.
Attachment 196509
I also have 3 Joseph Allen Non XLL's that will be going in identical, or pretty closely made Sapele skins as well.
Attachment 196507
I've also got 2 more IXL's, but larger blades that don't quite fit the 5/8s theme of the set thus far.
Attachment 196508
My end goal, a seven day "XL" set in Sapele all around 5/8th, ideally all with the barbers notch set in a matching Sapele box.
My ebay search is set, but not a lot of fixer uppers out there this spring.
Will post results, if and when I get er done..
Cheers, and thanks for looking..

I do like the themed collection series. I have a box of four of these and four of those that all will wind up with something that brings them all together. The one piece matching scales is a good plan. I look forward to seeing the end result, perhaps it will motivate me to do something with some of my sets.

I've got three Joseph Allen & Sons Non-XLL that need restoration. Two are the wedge barber notch type and one is a hollow grind square point. PM me if you want to talk pics and sale/trade.

PM sent with thanks. Might shift this into a pure Jo Allen NON XLL's set, which would still be sweet.
:rock:
Just need one more Jo..

And then There were none.
Thanks to some help from some awesome gents on here I now have my base in place for my set
Attachment 198105
The NON XLL 7 day set will start to come together.
Thanks twisted oak, and jsmith1983 for the raw goods needed..:chapeau
Can't wait to get busy.
Cheers.

Not sure how I missed this thread. I too am trying to assemble a 7 day Joseph Allen set. Can't wait to see your finished project.

Is this done yet? It's been a week already!

Hahaha, I wish..
We are having a brush making GTG at my place this weekend so I was hoping to have some progress made, but to busy turning blanks and cleaning up the shop.
I did get an 8th Non XLL barber notch in the mail with a few other beat blades so will have 6 of the 7 with the notch and one without.
I'm leaning towards some mottled Ebony one piece scales and just need to get the stock still.
Don't want to rush these restores as I cant imagine I will ever have another 7 of a kind to work with and want to enjoy the trip.
;)

Cut out my scale blanks over th last few days.
Used a 32" aluminum level and a magnetic ruler as my stops on my scroll saw to slice the Ebony.
Attachment 200602
Attachment 200603
Still a lot to remove on them, but I am happy with this streaked Ebony. Super hard and dense, should polish up very well.
Cheers.

Work continues.
Blades are cleaned up now and scales continue to take shape. Sanded and profiled down to 3 mm thickness nominal and all 7 survived the steam spreading process!
Tried some scribing on the ebony to personalize the set as an actual, intentional 7 day set.
Used an old pantograph engraver and some 24k gold leaf for contrast on the wood.
Attachment 202924Attachment 202925Attachment 202926Attachment 202927
Tried to go with an antique oil finish, but after 3 coats, I did not like the results so went back to wood and started anew with CA. 5 coats later, and adhering to Glen's suggestions on CA handling I am down to my last coat before final effect sanding.
Attachment 202928Attachment 202929
Just waiting on my new washers and brass to arrive to finish these off and still need to build a box for them. Then 7 days of honing to see if I can put an edge on all of them.
But I'm having fun along the way, and so far haven't screwed anything significant enough to kybosh the project.
So keeping calm and carrying on..
Thanks for looking.:chapeau
Cheers.

The engraving on the scales looks good!

The set is looking fantastic, I can't believe you managed to engrave them, that adds to the set a lot. Is the box going to be from the same wood or something else? The gold leaf really brings the engraving out, is it then filled flat with CA?

I am in awe of your process. Looking fantastic.

Wow! I missed this! Excellent work, Mike! Sets like this with some variety and personalization are the way to go, IMO.
If you find you need another blade, PM me.
Getting close there! :tu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RezDog

The set is looking fantastic, I can't believe you managed to engrave them, that adds to the set a lot. Is the box going to be from the same wood or something else? The gold leaf really brings the engraving out, is it then filled flat with CA?

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Thanks very much gents!

My original intent was same ebony wood for box Shawn but I will settle for the same shade now. I do have enough ebony for a matching brush however I hope.
Had to buy a fresh new 0.02" tip for the engraver and practiced on 7 paint stir sticks, rough shaped to size, till I was happy with the depth and cleanliness of cuts. Hard to get the size reduction I wanted and ended up on the other side of a 7:1 reduction. Any greater delta lost definition inside the A and the dash between non and xll. And engraving on curved surfaces,,, PITA!! Try to figure a depth curve for even depth on a non specific declining angle,, was almost more trouble than it was worth. But happy I persevered.
After 5 coats of CA the finish has filled flat happy to report. Test cut and polished one to see if the gold shine came back and it did!
Still waiting for my doming block from china and a few other items to complete these.
Tom, truly appreciate the offer of an extra XLL. Unless Newton's laws kick me in the arse I should be good though.
I ended up grinding my first barbers notch toe on one of the blades so all 7 would match. Will leave it till the finished shots and let you eagle eyes tell me which day I converted, hehe.
All told, I'm taking it slow, by my standards, and putting in the little details that won't even be apparent till the final finish. And all of this work could still be shadow box material if I cannot get a good shave with the finished work. Again, still to be determined.
My homebuilt sander made short work of the scale profiling and it would seem that most of the odds and sods I have packed away over the years in my shop have all been dusted off for a cameo on this build.
Starting to see why these cost so much to buy premade. Making one stand alone razor seems easy in comparison. But try to keep 7 matched through the entire process, awesome challenge.. ;)
Cheers.

That's a helluva bar your setting, sir. Those are looking great. Can't wait to see your box.

Cannot wait to see these up close and personal some time . . . they were hanging in your shop just a short time ago. EXCELLENT craftsmanship.

Very nice indeed and looks like some great work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MikeB52

Work continues.
Blades are cleaned up now and scales continue to take shape. Sanded and profiled down to 3 mm thickness nominal and all 7 survived the steam spreading process!
Tried some scribing on the ebony to personalize the set as an actual, intentional 7 day set.
Used an old pantograph engraver and some 24k gold leaf for contrast on the wood.
Attachment 202924Attachment 202925Attachment 202926Attachment 202927
Tried to go with an antique oil finish, but after 3 coats, I did not like the results so went back to wood and started anew with CA. 5 coats later, and adhering to Glen's suggestions on CA handling I am down to my last coat before final effect sanding.
Attachment 202928Attachment 202929
Just waiting on my new washers and brass to arrive to finish these off and still need to build a box for them. Then 7 days of honing to see if I can put an edge on all of them.
But I'm having fun along the way, and so far haven't screwed anything significant enough to kybosh the project.
So keeping calm and carrying on..
Thanks for looking.:chapeau
Cheers.

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aaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh, they are all out of order :)

nice work though mike.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

aaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh, they are all out of order :)

nice work though mike.

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lol, truth told, the obsessive in me almost retook the photo when I noticed my days were out of synch Ed.:beer1:
Hope I get it right when I go to put them in the final box or I don't know what I'll do,, ;)

Holy Cow Mike those look fantastical!!!! Like Orville said, I saw them all on the magnet in your shop just a short time ago. You've done some great work here. Your a man of many talents, I'm starting to learn that. Can't wait to see these at the next meet Mike!

Thanks all.
Appreciate the feedback. Couldn't/wouldn't be able, or even interested in doing these new projects without the support of my hirsute brothers I've met through this forum. The eye candy you all post of either your builds, acquisitions, restores, or creations from scratch have inspired me to take on this project.
All the wiki data and learnings from the originators of this site are just awesome.
I have two favourite web forums now, and neither one are porn!
How the times they are a changin...
Salute!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MikeB52

Thanks all.
Appreciate the feedback. Couldn't/wouldn't be able, or even interested in doing these new projects without the support of my hirsute brothers I've met through this forum. The eye candy you all post of either your builds, acquisitions, restores, or creations from scratch have inspired me to take on this project.
All the wiki data and learnings from the originators of this site are just awesome.
I have two favourite web forums now, and neither one are porn!
How the times they are a changin...
Salute!

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Very inspiring! Beautiful job and thanks for sharing...just makes me want to shave 3 X a day....:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phrank

just makes me want to shave 3 X a day....:D

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;) +1 to that sir..
Thanks.

These are looking great!

G'day gents.
Spent some time on the weekend finishing this project. Used CA for my finish, with brass pins and washers on the outside and thin nylon washers on the inside. I opted for nylon instead of brass on the few rebuilds I have completed because while they are a little thicker, they have good blade grip at the pivot, and allow better tissue wiping after razor usage. One less dissimilar metal to aid in corrosion as well. Some might find my scales slightly thicker at the pivot because of this but I am OK with the results. I like the way the razor stays at all positions and won't fall or become floppy in their scales.
Attachment 205405Attachment 205406
And here's the seven with the matching silvertip brush I turned.
Attachment 205407
And some shots in the basswood box I made all stained and set.
Attachment 205408Attachment 205409Attachment 205410Attachment 205411
So a few months of part time effort, help from friends on here with blade procurement, as well as tips and technical support has come together in a set I look forward to using. Been honing them up and am up to Wednesday now. Going to try a different finisher on each day of the week for some comparisons and while two of the blades were quite battle worn, they are all taking an edge thus far.
May clean them up one more time but basically, that's all she wrote.
Thanks for watching along the journey. And the support along the way. I learned more things I would do differently on this project, for the next one, but had a lot of fun and relaxation in my shop while working.

That turned out great, looks like the ultimate working mans set. The plaque inside is a really nice touch.

The set as a whole is pretty nice, I do like how the razors lay at and angle in the box. Nice job!

Gorgeous - love the box as well.

My historical mind imagines, 100-200 years from now...imagine seeing that on whatever eBay exists, or being found and someone in the future thinking how fantastic it is that these has been found - maybe even deciding to try them out? Maybe your ancestors down the road. Very cool, really like how you put the century of the razors origina and then when they were restored - thank-you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phrank

Gorgeous - love the box as well.

My historical mind imagines, 100-200 years from now...imagine seeing that on whatever eBay exists, or being found and someone in the future thinking how fantastic it is that these has been found - maybe even deciding to try them out? Maybe your ancestors down the road. Very cool, really like how you put the century of the razors origina and then when they were restored - thank-you!

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+1 ... Really nice work Mike. Well done...:tu

Just frickin awesome Mike !

Amazing blades, and the boxes and etching turned out perfectly:)

That turned out just dandy, Mike! The razors, box, matching brush. I also like the info on the restoration marked inside the box.
Full Monty, first class, top shelf! Thanks for sharing! :bow

That is a wonderful set . . . just gorgeous workmanship. The box really completes the entire package.
The problem now becomes . . . what do you do with all your other razors?

Absolutely first rate! My hearts aflutter.

Thanks gents. Couple of them have some pits still I opted to leave for the sake of I was afraid to ruin the blade if I went as deep as I needed.
The idea to add the dates inside was a nod to the mfgr's and as phrank said, imagining 1-200 years or so ahead some great great grand child o mine may pick up the old ways and put down his 12 bladed laser razor or whatever they will be selling then.
Orv, you are right, I am now awash in surplus razors,, lol. What's a gent to do??? :)
Have a few old blades in a box begging for some attention as well so on to the next. Once these are honed up they will be SOTD posts..
Tuesday in particular honed up very nice, and was the one I added a notch to for the first time. Lots of firsts on this project for me. Doubt I will have another 7 of a kind any time soon but you never know.
Thanks again gentlemen. Appreciate all the feedback.

Outstanding work Mike ! Wonderful heirloom project you have created ! Kudos:chapeau

AWESOME job, Mike! :beer1:
Hard work and outstanding craftsmanship too!
You got yourself a great heirloom to pass down to the next generation of straight razor shavers in your family.

:chapeau

This whole thread is phenomenal...Fantastic work Mike !!!

Congratulations on building an exceptional 7 day set !!

Enjoy in the very best of health my friend.


Cheers,
Rob

Very nice. That is just stunning.