Thread: Straightening scales??

I have a pretty, unused and never honed, 6/8 Hudsor with tortoise scales that seem to have developed a wobble along the length--possibly due to heat??

Is there a recommended way to straighten scales--maybe a dip in boiling water or a few minutes under a hair dryer??

18 views and no replies??? don't make me beg--it's not pretty.

any ideas at all??

anyone??

Bueller?? :lol:

What you are proposing sounds fairly reasonable. But, it's way out of my league of experience. I'd hate to offer an opinion, be wrong, and you ruin a razor, and I suspect there are a few folks in agreement with me (hence 18 views, no replies )I'm sure one of the gurus will drop an opinion soon.

I have heard of using steam to straigten the scales, but haven't tried it myself.

Originally Posted by sensei_kyle

What you are proposing sounds fairly reasonable. But, it's way out of my league of experience. I'd hate to offer an opinion, be wrong, and you ruin a razor, and I suspect there are a few folks in agreement with me (hence 18 views, no replies )I'm sure one of the gurus will drop an opinion soon.

You know--they don't make guru's like they used to!!! I wonder if all the guru's are sitting in dognut shops with the cops--they're never around when you need them.... :lol:

Probably work & family stuff. I know Lynn travels with work quite a bit, and since I haven't seen anything from him in a couple of days I suspect he's on the road again.

Likewise, haven't seen anything from David Uthe in a few days.

Simple answer is heat. The question is how much and for how long. First, it's important to know if they are genuine or imitation. Most of the stuff around is imitation. Imitation will either be plastic or celluloid. Celluloid will take the least amount of heat before being turned into an ugly colored oatmeal.

If you are married, you will be divorced 2 days after boiling any kind of oranic matter like horn, shell and such in her kitchen. It is worse than your baddest fart day... and it lingers. Like limburger cheese on a car manifold.

A heat gun will work. Small hitch... you need practice first. Do it with some extra celluloid scales first. Also, the best thing to do is have the scales off of the blade. Sometimes, that may not be an option, but it's the best way. Then you need to have a splint immediatly ready for the somewhat pliable material. Use thin leather gloves for protection against heat. After cooling for a minute or so room temp, you can put it under some 75 - 85 degree water. Just make sure it's not ice cold.

After you melt them, go ahead and get some desert inronwood scales from me

Over on the Yahoo site, files section, archives is a file called the SRP index. It is a spreadsheet
with several "books" . One is for restoration of razors. The book has an index, list, of the messages that have covered a particular topic. Find the appropriate message number then retrieve the relevant messages from the archives.


Hope this helps,

Take this with a grain of salt (I don't want to be responsible if you accidentally ruin a razor !!!) but I have straightened scales in hot (boiling or almost) water before. I simply opened the razor and dipped the scale part of the razor into the hot pot of water for a little while, then using a metal ruler with a handle made of tape, slid the ruler between the scales (for a flat level surface) then let it cool that way. I don't know if that is the best way or not, but it worked for me. I think it bears mentioning too that a minimal amount of time in the hot water seems best, as I am sure it is possible to damage the scales, as well. I *may* have just been lucky.
It wasn't unlike the way you get a mouth guard ready for football, karate or whatever.
maybe this will help.
John P.

John P...
Your method works just dandy on slightly warped scales. Not sure what you mean by a metal ruler with a tape handle, though. The principle is correct in any event.

I still would not boil tortoise shell in mama's kitchen... :shock: If you do, make sure it's with one of her $350 West Bend pans. It will knock you out quicker than one of those cheap lightweight K-mart jobs when she hits you over the head with it...