Thread: Some questions for the experts.

A few weeks ago I purchased a couple of "Joseph Rogers" razors for my own use.
The scales were ugly and so I have been playing around at replacing them. My effort is shown in the photo below:


I won't be doing this very often and the tools I have are basically a fretsaw, a dremmel, sandpaper and a drill.
I have some questions?
When you drill the holes in the scales, do you put the scales together and drill through both scales together or do you mark and drill each scale separately?
I used a wood dye with a polyurethane varnish as a finish. The varnish is quite thick on the scale and whilst nice and mirror shiny I'm wondering if you get a more sophisticated finish with a wood oil?
I'd welcome any input or ideas for my next attempt.
Incidentally, the scales are much better than the originals and the razor shave 10/10 but I think I can do better on the scales having just gone through a steep learning curve.

I do the drilling while the scales are still rubber cemented together and before I even start doing any contour work that way they are nice and straight....
As to finish each has it's good and bad points, my advice is find one that yer comfortable with and stay with it....
Certain woods can only take certain finishes though, one that comes to mind is Cocobolo, it likes oil based finishes unless you strip the natural oils first, (thats a whole other thread)....
Nice work though from what I see in the pic

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I do the drilling while the scales are still rubber cemented together and before I even start doing any contour work that way they are nice and straight....
As to finish each has it's good and bad points, my advice is find one that yer comfortable with and stay with it....
Certain woods can only take certain finishes though, one that comes to mind is Cocobolo, it likes oil based finishes unless you strip the natural oils first, (thats a whole other thread)....
Nice work though from what I see in the pic

+1 on all this.
Nice maple. IMHO the polyurethane was a good idea, it lets you optimize the grain without the slight blurring oils can cause. I personally reserve oil for woods that are more uniform or where you want to subdue and blend the grain a little (ebony, walnut, mahogany, purpleheart etc.) I will generally use poly when the figure/grain is to be highlighted (burls, curls, spalting etc.) or when a topcoat is needed to seal in brasswork or inlay.

Keep on truckin'.

Ive got no advice for you, doesnt look like you need much. The scales are fantastic and I love those shoulderless designs.

In a couple of weeks will be looking for someone to re-scale a couple of razors for me. I would like to be into this refurbishing as I like to work with my hands, but thought I would turn this over to someone who knew what they were doing.I really don't have anybody to guide me through all these steps.Some of the razors I have really need to be re-scaled or honed. If any body would be interested in a project of this nature for monetary gain I will leave my E-mail and you could contact me and I guess we could take it from there.If interested please notify me at : [email protected] Will try to get back to you as soon as possible, I live alone and work during the day. Be in the evenings and off weekends. Thanks. Jim C.