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I found an Ern razor in an antique shop. The scales are tortoise, but cracked at the wedge pin (which is odd, but whatever) and the surface of the scales are cracking, like aged plastic. I really like the look of the razor, and would like to make new scales to be as close to original as I can get.
Where can I find some tortoise shell material to make new scales? My local Rockler doesn't seem to have anything but pen blanks and I don't think those will work very well.
J.
shoot a tortoise?
Or just use Faux Tortoise :w
I hear the Galapagos have tortises. :w
You could use faux no one would really know. I mean they would, but so what tortises are cool.
Might be an idea to 'invest' in a few 'pet' tortises
That is correct. It is illegal to use it in current production. Perhaps you can find some pre-ban material ? I recently acquired a genuine tortoise scaled razor and googled it to find out if I could be sure it was genuine.Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL
I read that the material is so thin that it had to be heated and then laminated. So if you look at it with an eye loupe you can see on the edges some deterioration from age the laminations of the material. At least on my specimen.
Thanks for the replies, everyone, but I'd be perfectly happy with faux tortoise shell. I have no interest in the real stuff, only the appearance. Searching for faux tortoise shell on google gives me a lot of results for stuff made from or containing it, and not anything I can use.
Faux tortoise shell scale blanks or material- any ideas?
Thanks.
J.
Try this place... they have the fake stuff it's a knifemaker's supply type place
It seems they only offer 5" pieces.We would need 5 1/2 to 6".Anyone know if they will cut it longer or know of another vendor that offers faux tortoise in a 6" length?
True.. you could cut it on the diagonal, but it would be a big waste... try this place for the bigger 4x12x1/8 sheets (i bet they'd send you a picture if you asked)
Pearl materials used in knife making, real and man made, and their sources
...And then just wait 150 years for them to die of natural causes!Quote:
Originally Posted by ndw76
Why shoot a tortoise? Where I grew up in south GA you can walk in the woods near river beds and find some where the tortoise has been dead a while or you can find one hit by a car. Probably not the easiest way to get the real thing, but at least its not like you killed it for a razor.
Sorry, the biologist in me likes to keep the rare animals safe. I have no problem with hunting or fishing, but I don't like the idea of killing rare creatures so I can brag about what I shave with.
I just bought faux tortoise from Texas Knife Supply, but they are bad about returning emails if you have questions.
Good Luck!
Your thinking about common turtles. Tortoise is a bit different.Quote:
Originally Posted by treydampier
Either way, people were just joking about shooting them to make a set of scales. You shouldn't take this site so serious. Most everyone is here to have a good time and joke a bit. :tu
The tortoise is a bit different but there actually are tortoises in GA. In fact, the gopher tortoise is the state reptile of GA. I've never understood why any legislative body ever took the time to pick the state anything, but they all do.Quote:
Originally Posted by dkapp
I know nobody here would kill anything for a razor so I didn't mean to appear like an activist. The people are too good hearted on this site to kill anything I would think. I should thank Utopian for his comment, because he is correct as usual. I know you have no way of knowing, but I studied biology and biochemistry in college so I know a little Herpetology ( I mean a very little!). Where I grew up, there was a river about 100 yards from a river and there are many Gopher tortoises there. We folks down south can't remember specifics like tortoise so we always called them "Gophers". The are also alligator turtles, snapping turtles, red-eared pond sliders, and one other type that is highly prevalent. Three years ago I would have named genus and species from memory, but my career choices have moved me away from Herpetology. The tortoise is easier to recognize and they live in these big holes that you have to watch because Rattlesnakes move in when the tortoises are not around. My mom used to get upset because two of them happened to love her Petunias.
I am sorry for the story and random comments, I just love animals . I also happened to buy the faux stuff on texas knife supply and I hope I didn't mess up, because I now have no clue how to cut it.
Best Wishes!
would turtles work just as well though? because I hear turtle soup is actually pretty good. :)
Red
Well,the best turtles for soup are the softshell turtle,so they probably wouldn't be any good for scales.:)
Traveller (Gary) can make (or has some in stock) fake tortise shell out of the plastic jobbies that he does. I PMed him a while back asking about it.
Mark
Correct me if I'm wrong but I was under the impression that items made from "tortoise" actually came from the shells of sea turtles. I imagine land turtles with their more domed shapes wouldn't work as well.
You are correct. There is a lot of interplay between the use of the words tortoise and turtle.
Regarding turtle soup, one of my earliest childhood memories involves the cutting open of a turtle from the river that passed through our farm. That turtle had a string of eggs that just seemed to go on forever. It's an odd memory to retain. I suppose it holds great psychological importance, or not.
I too have memories of turtle soup. While hunting down on the Old Man River [Mississippi] I captured a rather large turtle and cut its head off and through it into my trunk. I continued hunting and two hours later at home cleaned it and the heart was still beating. A testament to its survival instincts. I should have saved the shell.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
bj
Turtle soup is very tasty.
Online resouces (history and working technique).