Centering a blade in scales
I was sooo looking forward to my black DOVO plastic(?) scales arriving from Classic Shaving. My resoration project was near completion, and I just needed to put the scales on and hone. Well.............
The scales arrived today and I dry fitted the blade in the scales. My razor wouldn't close. BUMMER! The edge was catching the right scale at the toe.
To test the blade, I did the following:
- Putting the blade on a flat surface and pushing the right side of the tang against the surface, I noticed that the spine from the heel to the toe was slightly, but evenly, off the surface.
- Pushing the left side of the tang against the surface, I noticed that the spine at the toe was further from the surface than at the heel.
This would mean that the spine, in relation to the tang, is off-center. The direction of mis-alignment is to the right while looking at the spine. This would account for the inability of the razor to close.
In searching the forums for offset blades in scales, the prevailing discussion has been centered around the pivot hole in the blade, off-center pivot holes in the scales, or even off-center wedges. None of the forums discussed that posibility of the blade being off-center.
Has anyone tried to 'align', or 'adjust', the spine in relation to the tang?
I was thinking of maybe sandwiching the blade between two flat pieces of wood, putting this 'sandwich' between the jaws of a vise, and cranking the jaws together until I felt that the blade alignment was corrected. Any thoughts on this?
Bob
BTW: After 220, 320, 400, 600, and now 1000 grit hand-sanding, the blade looks totally awesome (especially after a MAAS treatment). However, I will probably hand sand with 2000 grit before putting the blade in the scales.