Thread: So I'm going to start making scale kits, what EXACTLY do you want in a kit?

Starting sometime in April I will be producing scale kits and selling them in B/S/T forum.

I need some input on what exactly people want in several areas.

1) Wood
What kinds? I will be starting with aprox 5 woods. You decide what ones.

2) level of finish of scale blanks
Do you want rectangles to be cut to shape yourself? as in two peices 6 x 1 x 1/8

Do you want basic scale shape? Oversized basic scale shape?

Do you want them coated in some sort of finish?

3)wedges
Where the heck do I get a large wedge blank?
Is lead ok? I can do lead.

4)Horn
I can make horn blanks from either Bison horn or cattle horn.
The Bison is black and the cattle varies, sometime 2 or 3 colors in the same horn, ie. honey turning white, white turning black , honey turning black
Is two tone horn ok?
Is anyone interested in horn blanks?
Again, what level of finish? Bark on, sanded smooth(220), polished??

if you guys have links that would be helpful then please post them.
I have located the vast majority of what I need but more eyes are always better

my vote would be olive wood and oak.

Originally Posted by bpatton

my vote would be olive wood and oak.

yes to those... plus rosewood.

Horn and antler for sure.

In a recently acquired bucket of rust, several of the "toasted" str8s had the unmistakeable pattern of pitting and oxidation caused by the decomposition of their celluloid scales.

Obviusly the first thing to do is separate the scales from the blade and isolate the "suffering" and thusly "afflicted" scales way from all other str8s in your collection.

Is there any way to "arrest", "contain" or "cure" the scales?

Also is there any method to treat the blade so that it remains "protected" and "immunized" from the acid gases caused by the decomposing celluloid scales...

Tony

on the woods is 1/8 thick and very flat going to be ok or do I need to go find thicker?
I'm looking for thicker but sheets are hard to find and a table saw wastes almost as much as you use

I sent some of the horn to Joe C and he had trouble with it, I didn't when I used it but I'm going to have to do some work with it to make sure it doesn't warp post working.

I'm starting with raw horn so it's kind of a learning process.

Like I said, I'm sure I can provide what you need, I just need to know what that is so keep making suggestions.

I would just like some simple woods, elegant, and fine grained - I second the oak, I would like to see black walnut, maybe pecan. Maybe even some cherry or mesquite, cocobolo would be very interesting too - then my 1911 would have the same grips as my razor - Ok, that might be silly, but it is a thought.

Has anyone ever thought of Meerschaum slabs for scales? We have had a lot of talk about pipes in the general forums, why couldn't Meerschaum be used to make, carve, decorate scales? Just curious. How about soap stone? Thin enough, seems it would work well and be rather industrial for those large meat cleavers? Faux marble Corian?

Just thinking out loud here..

K

I've put together scale kits for some people who asked for them. Here's what I included.

scale blanks - 6" x 1" x 1/8" is nearly ideal. The thickness I wouldn't have less than 1/8" or greater than 5/32".
Pins - usually 4-5" of 1/16" brass rod.
collars - 6 at most are required, but i usually throw in 8 or more because they're quite easy to lose.
washers - 2 to use as inside washers, 6 more if they want bulls-eye style collars, and a few more because these are easy to loose too.
wedge - usually a extra piece of 1/8" acrylic or polycarbonate that they can fashion a wedge from. an extra piece of wood the same as the scales blanks could also be used.

That's all I can think of, don't think I'm missing anything, but I'm kind of out of it right now.

I would (and do) want completely finished scales, pins, washers, collars and the like. The big thing for me is finished and ready to peen over. I would be looking at mainly thick wood (i like the heft), purpleheart looks sweet with a high gloss finish and silver collars. Let me know when they are available i have some poor nekkid razors floating around up here in the great white north.

I like horn for scales... What will be the price for those? Blanks only...

Nenad