Thread: First major project and some lessons learned...

Picked up a rough Wade & Butcher "Full Concave" with broke scales (held on with snare wire) at a local antique store for $5.00. Sanded the blade (progressing from 80 grit up to crocus cloth), breadboarded it, beveled it, honed it. Whittled a pair of scales from some 1/8" rosewood scraps. Used 1/8" brass rod for pivot pins (had to enlarge the pivot hole in the blade a hair to fit), made interference fit collars for the pivot pins with some brass using a 1/8" drill bit (1/8" drill bit was 0.125" diameter, rod was 0.127"). Finished the scales with black milk paint to look similar to original black hard rubber handles, followed by oil, followed by liquid wax.

Lessons learned: made scales slightly too big for optimal aesthetic/ergonomic balance with blade. Next time make smaller, with less protrusion past the pivot point which obscures the tang. Next time I will try harder to find 1/16" rod for the pivot pins, but interference fit idea works great!. Unsure of durability of finish, would like to try epoxy or polyester resin (fibreglass repair kit?). Perhaps could just mix up some epoxy glue and brush on? If so, I would want to thin it a bit, wonder what to use? Overall, a reasonable first success/rescue at basically no cost (Shaves nicely, which is bonus). Looking forward to trying again!