Thread: Gap between wedge and scales -- help!

Everyone is making some great points here.
With razors, some see things others don't. The flat, the groove, the distance of the wedge pin.
Stuff we might do, or not.
We sometimes just don't know it until someone says it.

Good Thread!

Originally Posted by Pete123

After a lot of trouble, I finally am able to get a great fit with wedges. Here are my thoughts based on what you have shared.

1. Nickel is far to hard to get a good fit. Lead works well as it is really soft. My preferred material is horn as it is flexible and is cooperative with a tight fit. The problem with a harder metal like nickel is there is no flex.

2. It looks like you may have rounded the ends of the scale when you sanded them, which is really easy to do. my secret for flatness is using a file or plate glass with sand paper on top of it. A tight fit is a function of the flatness of the scales and the flatness of the wedge.

3. I haven't looked at it lately, though I think one of the really popular articles in the library says to make the wedge 1/2 inch long and pin it at 7/16. I've measured a bunch of modern Dovo scales. They pin about halfway between 1/4 and 5/32. I've moved to doing it this way. It helps close the gap and I've had no problems with cracking or breakage.

4. I have finish on my wooden scale surfaces on either side of the wedge. I try to get the scales flat on plate glass before applying my preferred finish, which is Tru-Oil. If I miss that, I'll get them flat on plate glass and put two thin coats of CA. If needed, I could smooth the dried finish with fine sand paper, though when using a flexible material like horn, it hasn't been an issue.

5. You didn't mention using CA to force the gap closed. I'm not a fan of this as it interferes with the small amount of flexibilty which I believe to be important for scales to have a long life.

You are doing great. Don't get frustrated as making scales fit properly is harder than it would seem.

I'm guessing the the primary challenge you are facing is the hardness of the nickel.

Wow, so many great tips here! It hadn't occurred to me that using nickel itself might be the issue; I'm doing another one up right now with a brass wedge so maybe that'll be a problem there too. A few old razors that I've pulled apart had really soft wedges too, which surprised me but, given what you're saying, now makes sense. I've made a few other scale sets before, but never with a CA finish (I've otherwise preferred Tung oil), always with a wedge made of the same material as the scales so it blends (I thought I'd try going for pop this time around), and always with the wedge glued in (which of course takes away any flexibility in the set up and I've also noticed that of the 4 or 5 old razors that I've pulled apart, none have had a glued wedge, so I figured the old guys probably knew a thing or two).

One thing at a time. Best.

If you are doing the scales for yourself or a close friend, lead is a great metal to use. It's been used a lot historically. It's no secret that lead has toxicity issues, though I would use lead for myself with basic safety precautions while working with it.

To me, whether the wedge should be the same color as the scales is an artistic choice, thus there is no right or wrong answer. I like seeing some contrast. Horn comes in multiple colors. Also, I've used acrylic and found that it had to needed flexibility to get a tight fit. Here's another artistic decision for me. When working with scales made of acrylic, I'm comfortable using an acrylic wedge. The great thing about acrylic is that it comes in so many choices.

For wood, micarta, horn, bone and other similar materials, I like horn.

I agree with Sharpton on focusing on improving in one area at time.

Just like life....ya goota crawl before u stand, and walk before u can run. Just put one foot in front of the other..
We fall, so to get up and try again. Success comes from failure, and learning.

Well, disaster... I was at the point where I had decided I was pretty much finished and was really happy with how things where and in one careless the "final tweak" resulted in one of the scales splitting. Sigh. Racking it up to experience, but I feel like my dog just ran away.

Bummer! I had one crack the other day too. Its a let down but a good reason to make a new set and put your new information to use. Good luck on the new set. BTW, be sure to keep the good one. It can come in handy as a template for others down the road. Some day you should have a drawer full of half scales and sets you replaced. Its part of the fun.

Don't let this get you down. I can't tell you how many I have messed up. The important part is to keep after it and enjoy the journey. Making and fitting scales is harder than it looks.

Have done my share of that! Part of learning.
Save what you can and continue.

ppetresen,

I got a little taste of my own medicine this morning. I was doing the final polish on my buffing wheel on a gorgeous pair of Gaboon ebony scales, didn't keep a close enough eye, had the buffing wheel grab the scale, send it flying and break a nice chunk out of it.

Argh. Why can't these things happen at the beginning of the process before I put all the work in. hahahaha