Scale dillema.

Here are the twin Brookes and Crookes. Obviously in need of some pin off restoration. If you look close enough there is some spine work under that rust and patina. Now I am assuming these scales are Ivory due to the collarless pinning and how thin they are. Now here in lies the problem, the one is broke, but I still have the piece. My initial plan was to clean them up and dress them in matching design mother of pearl on one and black pearl on the other... when ever I was able to. Now seeing as how I think they may be ivory, should I just try to rejoin the broken piece. And if so, how and with what? Superglue? And while pinned to get the form and fit more easily proper, or in pinned and separated? What's your opinion on what should be done? All input valued and considered.

There are a lot of options.
You can glue it in place with super glue and cross your fingers and pin them back together, which really costs and risks nothing.
You can go with a very thin G-10 liner.
You can do your own G-10 liner with crazy light fibreglass cloth and epoxy.
You can glue it and repin it using eyelet style collars.
I am sure others will have other ideas.
:-)

Just polished the less rusty spine btw, just to see how it's going to come out, and this one and part looks great, brand new. I know there'll b some pitting when I get to that rust tho... but I think it won't be terrible over all. And what you think rez? Should I try to salvage that scale or just scrap it and make a new? I dunno how well I'll do at the repair. Have never attempted it, and it's pretty darn thin to not be brittle after.

Make new is not that easy, simply because it is ivory. I would try to glue it and repin it using CA, it that fails, I would line the pair of them with some nice G-10,mostly because I like the look of it. outback Mike did a set with the supremfine sheet liner that I did, and there have been a few other threads with lined scales in them. I have also lined bone with G-10. Outback has ready access to materials that are not quite as easy for me to come up with and as a result, he has done some really cool stuff. Look it up and see and plan for what you would do if it does not hold up to gluing and pinning. As close to original is always my preferred route, and vary where you need to after that.

I can see that one of the is broken at the wedge is that the one that shows a hair line crack at the wedge end also. If so I would do as RezDog suggest and line it. Then re pin . once cleaned up and repaired you should have a nice set of razors. If your not comfortable doing this you could try to shop it out to one of the restorers here at the place.

Just send them to me. I would really like some ivory scales, even if their broken. :)

Hopefully you can repair them an adhesive. No experience working with ivory scales so I'm not going to make any suggestions that might cause you trouble.

Oh man... if it's ivory.... glue.

G10 can be had in many colors at .030"

This is a repair exactly like what Shaun/Rez is talking about..

These scales were cracked much like yours, I used White Epoxy to fix them and attach them to the G10, that made the cracks nearly invisible after they were sanded and shaped.. When pressed the epoxy squeezes up through the cracks :)

Attachment 276738

Is the razor with the cracked scale the other razor or the one with the broken scale?
If it is the other one I would get them both lined by a professional. Ivory isn't getting any cheaper and a having a professional take care of them will save you a lot of frustration and potential disappointment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rhensley

I can see that one of the is broken at the wedge is that the one that shows a hair line crack at the wedge end also. If so I would do as RezDog suggest and line it. Then re pin . once cleaned up and repaired you should have a nice set of razors. If your not comfortable doing this you could try to shop it out to one of the restorers here at the place.

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No unfortunately it's the other scale that has a slight split at the bottom pin. And I think I may have to see of some one here re-pinning and lining/repairing them. I tried drilling out a set of pins yesterday to save the scales un damaged, and it was a bit harder than it would seem. Not major damage as a washer will still cover the bit of damage, but it's hard to dril it perfect without it sliding just the slightest and damaging the scale material. And seeing how these are collarless, I'm assuming even harder to leave the scales un damaged.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

G10 can be had in many colors at .030"

This is a repair exactly like what Shaun/Rez is talking about..

These scales were cracked much like yours, I used White Epoxy to fix them and attach them to the G10, that made the cracks nearly invisible after they were sanded and shaped.. When pressed the epoxy squeezes up through the cracks :)

Attachment 276738

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Looks good my friend. And seeing as how I want to properly restore rather than change and create, I'm thinking i'll send them out. My skill level isn't there yet. And don't want to destroy them practicing... they're a nice little set to me. I'd be devastated and never forgive my self. Thanks for all the advice guys. I truly didn't really consider lining and or sending them out which I think is the outcome, so I do thank you all for your input getting me to that conclusion..lol I probably would have done a terrible job of just glueing it myself, and it probably wouldn't have held up anyways.lol

Here's the box damage Rez.

Sorry they're upside down. Didn't realize while taking them.

Here they are after an initial polishing to get them ready to send them out. Tried to get a picture of the spine etching but it's hard to get it to show up, and it's pretty well gone from the one that was more rusty #II. I know what you guys mean by the "devils spit" would get it looking like it was gone and nice and shiny, than within a couple minutes it would begin to show through again.

If you are still thinking about doing it yourself (or for next time), superglue (CA or cyanoacrylate) bonds incredibly well to ivory. This is a lucky type of break because it's at the wedge end so there's less stress on it. The best options are to simply glue the joint, line it with something thin (even a very thin piece of ivory), or to do a more complicated repair such as this, which can be done to ensure that one piece of continuous ivory surrounds the drilled hole:

Attachment 277024