Thread: Resin scales

I bought a WB of da Bay. I was disappointed when it arrived. The blade was loose around the pin. I had the idea I would fix it up. I found a post saying a pop rivet would fill the pivot hole. It does so nicely.
The scales were warped so I poured hot water to soften them up. That's where things went awry. They turned chalky and smelled like pine tar. I thought I'd clamp them up and see if I could polish them later.
They straightened some. The wedge it too thin, imo, for the thick blade. I ordered a blond horn scales and some Dovo pins today. I thought I'd give pinning a go while I waited. I'm torn now. It it had arrived like this, I'd have sharpened it up and had a shave.
A bit of Maas and some mineral oil. Most of the chalky residue came off.
Now I'm wondering if a soak in mineral oil would allow it to be straightened.
Another question? Should I rescale.

Sounds like you are looking for an excuse to rescale! Lol
If you have never tried it before that seems like a good blade to start with- I say go for it.

Lol, very tempted. I do like vintage though. Fancy carved vintage vs beautiful horn? Hmm, if it would close properly I'd stick with vintage.

Don't use boiling water, that's what caused the discolouration. The exact temp I can't tell you, but I'd guess its somewhere between 60-80 deg C. Place spacers in between the scales to prevent them pulling together, bend the scales past the central point and then cool. You need to bend past the central point to allow for the memory of the plastic. Always cool from the side you want the scales to move. You will probably need to do it more than once.

When your done rescaling send those scales my way. I'll take some of the rescaled razors I did, swap them out and put those on.

Hmm, cool from the side you want to move? I assume that is like heating the end you want... longer??
If I could get the wedge end to move 1/8 in or 2 to 5mm for the metric folks, I'd be happy.
Think dry heat would work? Or sauce pan with a thermometer?
I may have to make a jig to bend it and hold it.

I'm grooving on those scales too. I would be sure to hang onto those if they were mine. If they don't seem to fit that razor well, find one that they do fit.

I wonder if there is a way of cutting the wedge out and replacing it. It seems to be glued.

Many scales had the wedge formed into the scales.

Originally Posted by Clayglen

Hmm, cool from the side you want to move? I assume that is like heating the end you want... longer??
If I could get the wedge end to move 1/8 in or 2 to 5mm for the metric folks, I'd be happy.
Think dry heat would work? Or sauce pan with a thermometer?
I may have to make a jig to bend it and hold it.

If you heat the scales uniformly, bend and hold them, then run cold water onto the same side as you want the scales to curl, this will cause it to contract faster than the other side, hopefully causing it to curl the same way. You could use a thermometer to check the temp for future reference, but I don't know what that temp is. I keep increasing the temp until I can only hold my finger in there for a second or two. It may be somewhere between 60-80 deg C. You shouldn't need a jig, just bend it with your fingers and cool. Good luck