Thread: Scale material

I think any one of those would be suitable. I did my first set of scales in ipe. If I did it over again I would have used just a wax to finish it instead of the pre-cat lacquer. You can go extremely thin with ipe. Your scale blanks look like the grain is nice and straight, I wouldn’t hesitate to make ipe scales at .085” or even a little less. Ipe is irritating to breath and also a carcinogenic, I would strongly encourage ppe while creating any dust that you may inhale. The wood as hard is it is lends itself well to shaping with scrapers and files, which create less fine dust than sanding. The wood itself polishes readily. I did some knife scales in ipe and took them 1000 grit then a two light coats of wiping varnish to seal and wax over that for the sheen I wanted. It looks very natural and is a really nice looking satin. The wenge I would treat similar to the ipe. As far as the Zebra wood goes, I don’t have experience with that particular species.

Here’s a link to the razor in ipe scales:
https://sharprazorpalace.com/custom-...-imperial.html

And a pic of the knife scales:



An example of honey horn with dark brown streaking:





Really, any one of your choices is well suited for that blade.