Thread: How wide the rear of a wedge should be?

Been wanting to make one of those Gizzys,

I just double stick tape the wedge to then end of a wooden paint stir stick and touch it to the belt sander to remove the bulk.

On a sheet of 220, on a flat counter, work it down to the final wedge shape.

The paint stir stick saves your fingers and you can apply some pressure to make the wedge shape if needed. I use foam double stick tape from the dollar stone, come pre-cut in ½ inch squares, on a roll. I use the Scotch double stick tape like Karlj to stick the scales together. I buy both at the dollar store.

The foam has more glue for small area applications, a single edge razor blade cut off the foam and WD40 removes the glue.

Either way on the belt sander or sandpaper, it just takes a few minutes.

Originally Posted by Gasman

Measured the wedge i made to put in the scales im working on. .06 and .08, guess i got some work to do still. Not much of a wedge at this point. Damn this is small and thin. Hard to work with. I'll get it just going to have to do some more sanding.
Thanks all for the help in figuring out the differances and for some measurments to shoot for.

Okay one more "Rule of Thumb"

Put the scales on the razor at the tang, they will follow the Angle of the Tang", they have to, look at that angle, measure it if you must, but honestly it only has to be close...

See how far apart the wedge end of the razor scales are when following the Tang angle ???? Reverse it and make it happen for the wedge side this is the easiest and fastest way to understand that the Wedge angle needs to match the Tang angle...

I will try and get you some pics when I take my lazy butt out the the shop

Gasman, in case you have not seen it, here is Karl’s post on making scales. It is based on Horn, but applies to most materials.

It is chocked full of great information and detailed photos. There is some good information on making wedges, with measurements as well.

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

BTW, thank Karl, for posting that, it is a lot of work to document the process in photos and writing, then post it, so that it all flows and all the pics are in order and working… Just saying.

Thanks Karl

You can see the differences in tang angles

Here

Same scale same set up all different tangs and sizes

That gives you the idea of the "Angles"











Just a few loose wedges I have on the bench, I Mic'd the ends of the largest ones, on the outside end the thickest I can find today is .055"
The inside of the wedge which is what determines the angle vary but all are quite thin as you can see..



I have just a few more I could measure, but I just don't have the time...




The spread of the scales when they are attached to the tang gives you the correct angle to use, get it close to that and the scales will function correctly if you did your job correctly on the scales themselves..

The entire build is a functioning tool...

Ill read and reply after im off work. I think i undestand but need to read this a couple more times when my mind is clear of weights and gallons.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Gasman, in case you have not seen it, here is Karl’s post on making scales. It is based on Horn, but applies to most materials.

It is chocked full of great information and detailed photos. There is some good information on making wedges, with measurements as well.

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

BTW, thank Karl, for posting that, it is a lot of work to document the process in photos and writing, then post it, so that it all flows and all the pics are in order and working… Just saying.

Thanks Karl

Thanks Karl. I will try to take some notes from this. It looks very thought out.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Okay one more "Rule of Thumb"

Put the scales on the razor at the tang, they will follow the Angle of the Tang", they have to, look at that angle, measure it if you must, but honestly it only has to be close...

See how far apart the wedge end of the razor scales are when following the Tang angle ???? Reverse it and make it happen for the wedge side this is the easiest and fastest way to understand that the Wedge angle needs to match the Tang angle...

I will try and get you some pics when I take my lazy butt out the the shop

I see. Yes, this makes sense. Its the canoe thing again. Thanks for all this great info.

BTW, some of the pics show not much or no angle with different razors. I dont have this going on but... what if you run across no angle with scales attached to pivot? A flat tang i guess?

I have never seen a Vintage razor or a Custom made by an experienced Razorsmith without some tang angle,, I have seen some Customs built by Knife guys like that.

The older Stubies and True Framebacks sometimes have a flat or almost flat tang, but they still made the wedges as wedges just a real shallow angle.. It really is all about Fit and Function and once you do a couple you will see why this isn't discussed much..

In the time it took to type all this and take the pics I could have free-handed 20 wedges

Free-handed 20 wedges? But your the man! I'm just an old kid learning. ha.
I mocked up the razor I'm working on on the scales at the pivot only and I got about 1/2" of spread and the tang is .312 inches (well that would make the wedge too damn thick in the front)... Well this will make it a bit easier. I now know a starting point. Thanks for all this info. Its the little things that I haven't read about when people talk about building scales and wedges. Its the fine points, rules of thumb but its what I was looking for. Thanks again!

You'll get it,, You can always adjust it as you go, ie: as you can see from the pics the mock up bolts make everything easier