Thread: Where are they?

I have finally got back into resto work and it seems resin, at least different than black or ivory, blanks and scales are hard to find. Maggards seem to be completely out and the superior shave is high in price and minimal artistic choices. Thanks in advance!!
Ryan Brown

Do you have equipment so you can purchase a rectangular blank and cut it to the shape you want into the shape you want?

If so, there are many sources.

Kirinite.com
USA Knife
Masecraft

Above are a few. Search of knife scale blanks and you'll find many more.

One caution: A standard sized razor requires a blank that is 5 1/2 inches long. Better if you can get a 6" one as it provides a little wiggle room. Knife scales are often shorter than that, so you want to make sure of the length.

Finally, prices may have increased since you were last doing this. Superior Shave has fair pricing in my opinion. Most of the scales they sell are Dovo scales.

I'll echo that caution from Pete - can't tell you how many 5 and 5.5 inch scale materials I've bought without remembering I need at least 6" for SR scales. Though you CAN section pieces if you have the inclination. Lots of work but they come out beautiful sometimes. Good luck with the hunt!

Edit: Another option if you have a table saw is to simply rip your own scale material (it's what I do now). You'll want to buy a thin saw blade from a woodworking store. What most saws come with is too thick and takes a lot of material as sawdust because of a thick kerf. Don't use your fingers to push the block of wood through - that thin and those slices will go flying sometimes. They'll also get all kinds of stuff on the blade so clean it often. Rip at an eighth of an inch and leave lots of room side to side as well as in length, you'll appreciate that. It's easier to match grain and other textures if you have a lot of related cuts from which to choose.

I too have ripped many blanks on a table saw. Yes, you loose a lot of wood to sawdust but when you figure out what the blanks would have cost buying just blanks, its worth the loss. Now if you have a good band saw you can save a lot of wood.

And i like to buy material that is 12" as ripping longer pieces is much easier and safer. This can be dont with lots of materials, not just wood. Just be careful as with all power tools.

You can also mount a cheap jigsaw upside down in a vice and use it like a bandsaw (more accurately like a fret saw).

thanks for the reply Gents!!