Thread: Maher and Groshe 6/8 Notched

Take a look Gents. This is a Maher and Groshe 6/8 notched point made in Toledo Ohio. I picked it up at a Flea Market in Savannah, GA and had to rescue it. There were deep pits and stains. But, after working with some sand paper (up to 800 Grit) and a Norton 4K/8K, here she is. The scale blanks and spacer were provided by Floppy SHoes and the finish is Minwx though it needs one more coat. I have some of the blade pics alone though I need to take before and after. Take a look ans I hope to get some comments as I pursue to be a great restorer.
Thanks,
Trey

Your toe pin is not tight enough. This could be either because you did the pivot first, then the toe, or because it's just not tight enough.

Second, I gotta say your shaping and finishing needs work. I would read up on furniture finishing how-to's, almost everything in that domain translates to small parts and you can pretty much figure out what doesn't. Always finish over a clean, flat, smooth surface unless you're going for a rustic look.

Good scales are made with a healthy balance of artistic design, sculture, woodworking, finishing and metalwork (pinning).

I won't add to what your mentor said (I have a hard time with scales also), But I do like the blade. Unlike some/many, the blade does not have to reflect the sun to look great. I think you preserved the etching well and made the blede look good. As for the scales, see above.

Trey– don't be afraid to contour the edges more rather than leaving them so 'squared' looking. Just be mindful of the very edge of the scales and you should be fine, but making mistakes is your biggest asset to learn something new. As for the finish- using the minwax try applying coats until the wood takes in as much as it can, then sand down to a smooth surface. At this point you can start applying more coats and it should turn out smoother.

Originally Posted by treydampier

and the finish is Minwx though it needs one more coat.

Great advice from Dan and Alex already, but I just re-read this part and gotta ask, Did you put the razor together, and then do the finish????

I have no advice as i bring nothing to the table lol

You have heard from some of the masters of the resto world here already...



But that is a SWEET blade !

I'll not add to the contructive advice on the scales & pinning takes some practise. I will say, aim to keep the scratch pattern uniform with a satin finish blade. Wheels are available for this, or careful work with the wet & dry does the job. Sometimes it's more work removing the marks from the last grit paper than it would have been just using the finer grit to do the work! Lovely blade & the inscription is well preserved, so keep at it. A great start!

TO answer the questions,
I to finished the scales BEFORE I pined it, but when I pinned the razor the urethane bubbled on me and I had to sand. WHat I am going to do, since the blade is honed and in about as good a shape as I can put it and keep the inscription, I willl unpinn the razor and sand the scales and start over. I made a mistake that was made out of haste in that I put the heel pin on after the pivot pin. I know better, but I got in a hurry. I am going to unpin it and sand off the urethane. I thnk I may attempt to contour the scales more. I am just a little gun shy of over contouring and ruining a decent set of scales which I paid for. And as a side note, this week I hope to put up a lot of my projects on the forum. THe reason they are coming sudden is for most of the past months I have been refinishing blades and honing and now I am beggining to do the scales adn pinning which for me doesnt take near as long as sanding and especially honing. So, I ask everyone who looks to please make criticism as I am trying to become a professional at this within a few years.
THanks again for the comments and also, I want to know what the best finishing and protective product to finish with because I would prefer these scales to be less shiny so that the woods natural beauty comes out.

Trey

You've got a good attitude! You could use a satin varnish of some sort, or maybe an oil finish. There are loads of threads with finish info, so you shouldn't have any problems finding one that works for you. Have fun at it!

I bought some Watco Danish Oil in a natural finish. My question for all is this. Will this finish allow the natural look of the wood and will it protect the scales enough so that they dont warp with use in future years. I sell a lot of my restorations because I have 7 that I prefer for my personal use and I want the ones I sell to last well beyond just a few years. I want anything I do to last a lifetime so that when someone buys one of these form me, they have something they can pass on and consider a quality item. PLease let me know your opinions because I am about to finish a Paduke set of scales for a small Robeson blade and would like to make sure it will work and look professional.
THanks