Thread: Joseph Rodgers and Son -- Wedge

As sqzbxr mentioned they are in fact horn scales. They are also in very good shape for their age. A little cleaning and soaking and they will be amazing. If you use a pin vice and a spit point bit to remove the pins there is a high likelihood of being able to reuse the original collar when you put it back together.

Originally Posted by RezDog

As sqzbxr mentioned they are in fact horn scales. They are also in very good shape for their age. A little cleaning and soaking and they will be amazing. If you use a pin vice and a spit point bit to remove the pins there is a high likelihood of being able to reuse the original collar when you put it back together.

I am not quite ready just yet to un-pin and re-pin scales. This will be a skill to learn down the road. For now I will restore this razor with the scales attached. Glad to hear you feel they are in good shape. The pins are tight and there are no cracks or breaks in the scales. I have to pick up some Neatsfoot Oil this weekend.

You will do no harm by dropping the whole shebang into a ziplock with a little neatsfoot oil.

Originally Posted by Whizbang

Regarding taping the spine (when I get to that point)...how many layers of tape is appropriate?

Originally Posted by sqzbxr

I would use at least 2 layers to start with, and replace the outer frequently as it wears.

Yup i'd put at least two layers, maybe start with three when you're getting the bevel started. Then drop it to two and continue setting the bevel.

I have a wedge im still trying to get into shape, 3 layers of tape has got me a nice small bevel and better edge but still not a smooth shaver so back to the stones for me. Thats a gorgeous razor though can not wait to see the end result.

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Two more questions...first, regarding the finish on the blade. In its original state would a blade like this have a buff/satin finish or a near mirror finish?
Second, would you recondition the scales before you work on the blade or after? When I restore newer SRs I generally do my blade restoration work first, then work on my scales last. This is my oldest restoration project... And I have not worked with horn scales before...I want to make sure I do it right.

Likely a glaze finish, which is kind of like a mirror finish but a little different. More burnished to a high sheen than polished if that makes any sense. There are a few threads that you could research to figure out what it looks like. Most of the time it is more about what the blade can get to. There are a few guys that do some really nice regrind work and can get just about any honed out, rusty beater to finish up pretty pretty. For the most part is is about how much metal you are willing to remove and still be able to hold the fine lines, and then looking at hat kind of a finish the razor will attain. If you have a blade with a fair bit of pits, you may want to consider a satin finish, but a blade that is easily taken to perfect flat and smooth will be a good candidate for a gloss or near mirror finish.

Its Sunday evening and I am about to pack it in for the day. I thought I would post some progress pictures. Still have some polishing and cleaning to do...I might get to it again one evening this week.

I cleaned the scales with warm soapy water and Q-Tips. And then soaked them in a zip-lock bag with Neatsfoot oil. Then buffed with a clean cloth. The blade was cleaned with steel wool, 800 grit, 1000 grit and then 2000 grit wet-dry sandpaper. Then polished with Mothers Mag and Aluminium polish. There is some deep pitting on the blade...and I didn't want to take off too much metal to achieve a perfect finish. For a blade that is 100+ years old I think it is in fairly good condition. I still have to clean up the edge and hone this chunk of metal. Here are the after pictures:

Nice progress. I think clean and in service is just fine. Especially in the beginning. Later on as your skill set changes if you decide you could do more then you can always go back to it. I have done that a few times. It is progress and in going that route you are much less likely to do something you cannot take back.

Originally Posted by RezDog

Nice progress. I think clean and in service is just fine. Especially in the beginning. Later on as your skill set changes if you decide you could do more then you can always go back to it. I have done that a few times. It is progress and in going that route you are much less likely to do something you cannot take back.

So true...