I understand that some woods have an affect on certain metals & wondered how oak would be with razors?
Tony H
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I understand that some woods have an affect on certain metals & wondered how oak would be with razors?
Tony H
Oak has a high content on tannic acid, and therefor it is generally advised in woodworking not to use non-stainless-steel or iron in conjunction with oak, especially not when in humid conditions. Tannic acid is highly corrosive on iron, and the reaction causes black stains on the oak.
Of course, with razor scales, the wood is bound to be treated with a hermetic CA-coating, which would prevent a lot of what written above. Maybe moist infiltration at the pins and holes would cause trouble. I have no actual experience with making scales for a razor, so I might be exaggerating the possible trouble. Nevertheless, I 'd opt for a stainless blade and brass pins, if I had to do it.
There are other wood species that are high on tannic acid: Walnut and Mahogany among with various others.
Someone with more experience on making scales will have to chime in to tell if what I'm saying presents a real problem. I'm only talking out of regular woodworking experience.
If, on the other hand, your intentions are only to store (dry) razors in an oak box, there will be no problem whatsoever.:)
Best regards,
Bart.
Thanks for that Bart It was a box I was thinking of
I suppose if it is varnished inside it should be OK
Tony H
Varnish is really not the best thing for scales. You can use it but I don't think it does as good a job as CA or tung oil. I will use shellac as a sealer sometimes but I find varnishes a bit to brittle.
Rest asure, Tony, for a jewelers case type of box, varnish on the inside will do just fine. If it were scales you were making, I would recommend something else, but for the inside of a box, varnish will be just fine. Boiled Linseed oil and wax would be another very good alternative. Anything that seals the wood a bit is fine. Even if you left it blank, it would not pose a threat against a dry razor.
When and if you finish your box, would it be possible to post pictures?
I am contemplating to build myself a "shaving box" in the nearby future.
Always interesting to see what another guy comes up with.
Good luck,
Bart.
I rescaled a Chinese DoubleArrow with custom oak scales. Treated the wood with stain and Tung Oil only. No problem so far. It's part of my weekly rotation. :cool:
http://kn-dental-ceramics.com/2ArrowOak.jpg
The "Spanish Point" is also my work. ;)
How does the Chinese blade take a hone. I've not read anything about them. I think I've seen them on ebay, but not really sure. Where are they found?Quote:
Originally Posted by CatMan
Headdoc:shrug:
With the double Arrows it kind depends on who you ask. Seem hit or miss.
Quote:
Originally Posted by headdoc
:HJ I too like the Chinese razors. All of the ones I honed and tried have been great. I sell them with no problems. I fully guarantee them and nobody has said anything but good things. The only complaint is the scales. I've started smoothing out the edges or even redrilling them if they are really off. On all of them, I have had to finish the pins. But they are prime blades for custom scales. You can get them here if you want to work up your own.
i gotta take the other end of the spectrum here and say that i do not like those chinese double arrows. i didn't like the feel of the steel, its extremely light. i worked on honing one for days and couldn't get an edge on it that i would enjoy shaving with. yes, it would shave however it wasn't comfortable and nothing i personally would recommend after my experience with it.
thats my take on them. just my 2cents
~J
ps. that rescale job is very nice
See what I mean?
I have two of the Double Arrows; both bought from Wojtec, his Polish site. I think we all agree about the scales, but the blades are both great. I honed them up in five minutes each. Yes, they both give me very comfortable shaves. I've also been reading quite a number of reports from the other end of the spectrum. It really seems to be some kind of hit and miss. I don't understand this! :confused:
hit and miss is understandable if you realize just how delicate the edge is, and how much quality control it takes to produce a high quality razor edge consistently. it would cost much more money than they are selling them for to have consistent results.
Just buy a few and keep the one that works out.
p.s. seems strange (funny?) that Wojtec's shipping from POLAND is less than most American ebayers charge.
This has most likely to do with the very low price of postage in the sender's country. There are huge differences between countries in this respect.Quote:
Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge
I have been given an old oak fire surround lots of wood.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bart
It will have to be ripped & planed to get stock out of it.
I would like to make something along these lines.
Tony H
http://i4.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/d8/d4/dd4c_1.JPG
A nice large lockable case for lots of razors.
Neat looking case.
They had :HJ hijacked your thread good, didn't they? ;)
In some future I'm planning to build ,what I would call, a "portable shaving station": a box with a magnifying mirror in the lid, room for two razors, a brush, paddle strop (or another sort of traveling strop), a cake of shaving soap and a bottle of after shave.
I like the idea of siting at a table with the portable shaving station in front of me and having a relaxed shave. Don't get me wrong: I enjoy shaving in the bathroom very much and it's not as if I can't stand on my feet for 20 minutes. I just think that another atmosphere than the clean clinical bathroom environment could add a great dimension to the shave. I can imagine myself sitting near the woodstove in winter with the shaving station on my lap. The stove carries an old black kettle of nice hot water. The cat is purring at my feet. Maybe an old Ella Fitzgerald record in the background. And a singing razor mowing whiskers. How about that?
Don't forget to post pictures when you've finished it,
Bart.
I was watching the Antiques road show on TV a while back & some one had a Large Victorian dresser when they opened the top draw it was all there! The whole grooming kit, Brushes razors scissors bowl mirror the lot, all set into their own place & all original. looked a treat Valued a pretty penny as well.
Sorry no pictures!
Tony H
:OT Just to get WAAAYY off topic here, Charles Ponzi (the guy who they named the scheme after) would tell his potential investors (aka, "Marks") that he couldn't tell them exactly how he was making all this money, but he would hint that it had to do with the international arbitrage of postage stamps.. Of course, he was full of $h!#, he was using the money from new investors to pay himself and the earlier investors. As with all pyramid schemes, the last ones into the pot pick up the tab.Quote:
Originally Posted by CatMan
Just to get back on topic (sort of) - those are beautiful oak scales Catman. do you remember what kind of oak you used? The colors look unusual, maybe it's just my computer monitor.Quote:
Originally Posted by portal5
An odd thing - last year I forgot my axe chopped into a red oak stump. I went back a day later (18 hours?) and the thing was completely BLACK where it was buried in the stump. It didn't clean up completely even on the wire wheel. Maybe the wood has to be green and in pressured contact with the steel to have an effect?
It sure wrecked the axe blade in no time but appears to have no effect on a razor resting on it.
I just bought a small 1/4" thick piece at Home Depot for not more than $2, I believe. The label simply said "Oak". After I got it into its final shape and finished sanding, I treated it with stain "Golden Oak" and then 4-5 times with Tung Oil. Whenever it feels dry (about every 2-3 months), I add some more Tung Oil.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnny_angel
Fresh oak is extremely high on tannic acid, which is a very strong oxidizer for iron. If you ever saw a stack of fresh oak lumber resting at the lumber mill, you have probably noticed they have sprinklers on it. One of the ideas behind that is to wash the tannic acid out of the wood. In the old days they used to "water" wood like oak in a pond. It is said that oak gained extra hardness from such a treatment, but I am not entirely sure if that's a scientific truth, but out of experience with working with 200 years old oak, I can testify that is is considerably harder than new oak.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnny_angel
If seasoned oak is kept dry, the tannic acid is inactive.