Thread: Quick Favour - Scale Patterns

Lots of the really nice restorations seen on this site have scales with a "non-standard" shape to them. I'm limited to tracing around an old scale to produce my blanks due to the fact that my free hand sucks.

Anyone got some patterns laying around that they'd be happy to share with me?

Cheers,
Rossco

Originally Posted by rossco

Lots of the really nice restorations seen on this site have scales with a "non-standard" shape to them. I'm limited to tracing around an old scale to produce my blanks due to the fact that my free hand sucks.

Anyone got some patterns laying around that they'd be happy to share with me?

None of mine come from patterns. I doubt most guys have scale templates either. I do what you do but my freehand is great. It's all got to do with artistic taste. You have to make it your own based on your own preferences.

Patterns!!!! we don't need no stinking patterns

Actually just use the old scales to get the correct curves from, then you only freehand the wedge and pivot ends.... then expand from there.....

I trace the outline of the blade onto a piece of cardboard (complete with pin hole), then I freehand the scale shape around it & cut it out.

I like to trace the blade on paper then use tracing paper and French curves to draw the shape. I freehand the shape of the ends.

Charlie

I sometimes make a template if it's something I'm likely to see again, so far I have most DD's, a few henckels, pumas, W&B's, Dovos and TI's. These are all wooden hardcopies, however, and I'm not really willing to part with them. Also, they are nothing you can't trace on your own from the originals.

I kinda thought I might be out of luck on this one.... Thanks for the pointers none the less though. My neighbour is a graphic designer so maybe I can poach some free assistance from her.

Congrats to those who can free hand some of the more impressive patterns though. Unless I stick with tracing the original scales I end up with something vaguely similar to the art in my daughters kindergarten class.

I could always say that I believe in maintaining a "classic" look to excuse my lack of creativity. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by rossco

I could always say that I believe in maintaining a "classic" look to excuse my lack of creativity. Any thoughts?

No shame in that!

Originally Posted by Philadelph

No shame in that!

Aye.

Even the classic scales underwent some serious designing before production.

On a positive note. What I did was to draw around an old scale on cardboard and the experiment from there. When I was happy with a couple I then cut out hardboard and test fitted using the pin holes from old scales as makers

On from there you could find pictures of raxors/scales from sites copy to your pc. Print out in b&w - reducing the size to suit then do as above.

Scissors/cardboard and some ingenuity - you can get loads of variations

Beauty doing a prototype is that you can see what it looks like and do not waste wood

For a complete amateur like me this is important