How to make a traditional set of horn scales ... the way I do it.

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

What do you make your scraper from?

Cabinet scrapers are not that expensive, but I have had good luck just filing straight the end of a putty knife and rolling a burr on one edge, you don’t need much. Putty knives are not that hard but will hold and edge long enough to scrape a pair of horn scales smooth.

You can even file to a curved shape and roll a burr, but not really needed, sandpaper will smooth out transitions easily. Nice tip, great post.

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I found that an old hand saw works very well to make scrapers, will hold an edge much longer then a putty knife and you can make any shape you want.
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What thickness horn scale did you start with (and where did they come from???)? I have a couple of blades to play with and would like to try my hand at making some scales.

Ferd

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Originally Posted by Ferd

What thickness horn scale did you start with (and where did they come from???)? I have a couple of blades to play with and would like to try my hand at making some scales.

Ferd

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I think the scale blanks started out life at about 3/16". I have used 1/4" which is unnecessarily thick and you'll spend more time on the belt sander. Masecraft Supply has blanks that they advertise as 1/8" but the thickness varies some.