Thread: does anybody sell scale blanks?

This just occurred to me while responding to another thread. Is there any place to go to buy scale blanks?

By "scale blanks" I mean wood/celluloid/bone/etc that has been cut down to the approximate size and shape needed for scales, but is rough and oversized so it can be carved down to the exact shape you want.

The reason is that I've got a nice little razor with lot's of potential, and I'm considering either restoring it myself, or having it done.

I'm all set for the metal restoration/alteration (except for razor hones which I'll be buying soon anyway), and I have everything I could possible need to carve/shape/polish a set of scales except I don't have the shop equipment to get me from a block-o-wood down to something that I could carve the rest of the way.

I know you can get off the shelf scales for many razors, and I may just go that route, but it would be fun to do a bit of hand carving, and a set of replacement scales wouldn't have enough material there to do any real carving on.

You might want to look in the classifieds,,,there are a few nice scale sets up for sale there now,,,,CHEAP....

That's not a bad tip, but it's less about cost, and more about doing it myself.

If I get finished scales, the aren't going to have enough material left to do anything more than superficial carving.

If you have a woodcraft store near you you can buy 1/8" wood in many varieties. All you need then is a coping saw (~$5.00) and a couple clamps (~$2.00) and some rubber cement and you can make your own scale blanks. It's really easy.
If you're not near a woodcraft, you can order from them or other retailers online.

You can find blanks on eBay. You just need to ask the supplier to reduce the width to 1/8" or so.

Here is my link from another post to save myself some typing.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/360451-post5.html

Hope that helps!

Dave

That's the ticket. I"ll just have to be sure I ask for 3/16 or 5/32 instead of 1/8".

All this talk about restoring/customizing straights has be envisioning some more intricate carving. I haven't done any wood carving in a few years, and it would be a great project.