It's beginning and here is where I will document what I do.


Here's what I got to start with:






It's a 5/8 W&B Barbers Notch wedge. Ideas on the scale material? I really don't know.

I was going to try to remove the scales and throw the thing in the tumbler with corncob I just bought, but it seems my hand saw has disappeared. On top of that, there is no space between the scales and the blade, so I couldn't fit a saw in there anyway.

So I'm looking for two answers to start:
1. What kind of material do you think the scales are? If you need more info from me to figure it out, I'm happy to oblige.

2. If the scales are worth saving, how do I get them off with the least damage? If they're not worth saving, just give me the say so, and I'll have a blade sans scales in minutes.