Stone Scales? Let's (I'll) find out...

So here it is- the age old (not really) question... Can scales be made successfully and functionally from stone?

I am going to try- kind of. I am not using just any 'stone' that you can get; I am using reconstituted stone (Imperial Jade to be exact). It is "produced from approximately 85% natural stone ore. The ore is pigmented, compressed into blocks and impregnated with approximately 15% acrylic gem resin." I have already cut the scale shapes out roughly. The material creates a lot of dust. It is maybe not as heavy as a real piece of Jade would be, but I'm not sure. The slabs I had were 1/4" thick, so I'll have to sand them down a lot.

One thing that is apparent is that I can snap a piece in two with a little force. Now I don't think this is out of the ordinary though since you could easily do the same with acrylic, bone, ivory, horn and even wood. I'm just used to using near unbreakable materials that will flex a lot before snapping (if you could even snap them by hand), so I'll have to see how it turns out. I may use a liner on the scales. I'll keep you posted in this thread. Here are a couple of progress pics so far.

Alex,

I have used reconstituted stone (turquoise) for wedges before, but never for full scales. It seems to be pretty brittle at 1/8" so don't put too much pressure on them and be careful when pinning.

Good luck, That stone looks really cool.

I'll be interested to see what your take is on this. I have a bunch of those recon stones. Can't bend them or they snap. My only worry, even if you succeeded to make a set which I think you can, is that dropping the razor would brake the scales (or at least put a crack in them if using a liner).

I've tried it before. Didn't work out for me. Too brittle. Because of the way a razor is made, the scales flex a bit when it's opened. I suppose you could always angle the interior around the pivot. Good luck.

I hope they work out, because that is some very nice looking stone...

with a blade for leverage, theyll definitly break if they are dropped, however, those will make a great display piece!
:gl:

Maybe try a flexible wedge and pin setup so that the scales would not have to flex.

Easier said than done, but what the hay, I am a backseat scale builder.


Charlie

Edit: I thought a little more, maybe some black rtv silicone for the wedge. Maybe it would be adhesive enough not to need a pin.

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Originally Posted by spazola

Edit: I thought a little more, maybe some black rtv silicone for the wedge. Maybe it would be adhesive enough not to need a pin.

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Unless you created some serious undercuts and cast the RTV in to the scales, I think you'd have to reinforce it with a pin. The RTV I've used is too brittle though. It deteriorates pretty badly after a few years.

Interesting thought though.

I've thought about those reconstituted stones. Glad you're trying it and not me. I was going to back em with silver thinking the flex might actually be a good thing. After more thought I settled on Aluminum backing and the stone as an insert only. This was all theory, of course as I quickly moved on to other projects.

Look forward to your results

That would be super if you could work that magic! I work with tile and stone and think how nice a real marble scaled razor would look!

Alex, How did you ever make out with the gemstone scales? If you posted a finished piece somewhere, I must have missed it.

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Originally Posted by ChrisMeyer

Alex, How did you ever make out with the gemstone scales? If you posted a finished piece somewhere, I must have missed it.

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Hey Chris- sorry, they kind of got put on the back burner for the time being. Honestly, I think it's possible but not really worth it for a fragile set of scales. If I do happen to finish them, I'll post it here.

Although such a material may be controversial, I say go for it ! Shock resistant would only mean a carpeted area while shaving in the event of it slipping from the hand. I would never shave over a sink with that one. Good Luck :)

Hey, those would look AWESOME, but something caught my attention while looking at the pivoting of my razors.
My blades are all little thinner at the tang, this makes the scales bend outwards when you close the razor.
When you will use this material, it'll probably break when you close the razor.
If you can find a blade that does not have a thinner tang it might be possible, and it could be the most awesome scales we have ever seen :D

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Originally Posted by Proraso Man

nice idea- I always though that obsidian needed to be a part of straight razors- either the blade or the scales!

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It used to be, if you were an Aztec.

Just wondering how the stone scales turned out, I'm an underground miner, and have access to 'Alot' of raw minerals, and have had a similar idea...

Shannon

How about taking some thin plywood and gluing a veneer of the stone onto it? You could stain the wood so that the colour matches the stone as closely as possible?

Would this give more strength to the scales and hopefully make them less fragile?

Will the finished item be a nicely balanced shaver, or something ungainly that Fred Flinstone would have used?

From what I am seeing, there is another "Re-con" stone out there that is a 50/50 mix, that one of the guys is trying out with some success... So the solution might just be a slightly different product...

I haven't even held the product yet so I don't know about balance...