Thread: Repairing scales

Here is one of my recient finds, a Cosmo MFG razor with next to no wear on it, even the scales are next to scratch free... short of the broken tip...

Has anyone ever repaired / added material to the end of the scales to make them usefull?

That broken scale is really such a shame, but perhaps that is the reason there is so little wear on the razor.

Regarding a potential repair of that scale. I guess you could try a filled epoxy repair, but it is going to be anybody's guess if it will hold. This is especially so since the scale broke right at the rear pinning hole and when you repin the razor following any repair it will apply strain right there at the join.

So I have the following suggestions:

First off, go for filled epoxy. You will have to hunt around to find a filler/pigment that will match not only the intensity of the color of the scale, but doesn't significantly degrade the strength of the epoxy. You will need to run some tests to establish proper color, etc.

Second of all, some reinforcement of the expoxy is definitely recommended. I would suggest some thin, tightly woven silk (or silk substitute) on the inside of the scale, extending from ahead of the join back into the new epoxy add-on. This could be added afterwards with some super glue.

There is yet a last trick you could try, but it calls for a lot of patience and finicky care. This would be to carefully rout or file out a groove and fit in a little reinforcement strip of brass to bridge the join, this on the inside of the scale where it will not be visible. The brass should be wide enough and so placed that you will need to drill through for the pinning hole. Naturally, it should be glued into the body of the original scale before you apply the epoxy add-on. In this way, the epoxy would have a better bond to that strip. To promote a better bond, the brass should be sanded with coarse sandpaper.

If that seems too fussy, you might also go with a slight variation of that method, embedding two short lengths of thin, brass wire (runnning on either side of the pinning hole) , again to bridge the join from solid scale into the epoxy repair.

Even after all of this, you will need to carefully sand, smooth and buff the epoxy work to bring it to a convincing and effective finish.

This is not scale repair so much as dentist's work.

Good luck!

- Ignatz

All of the above &/or slap your pink epoxy on some metal liners then shape the tip.
I've had success with horn scales & a marine grade epoxy but haven't tried with plastic.
Buena suerte.

Haven't tried it, but you could use a coping saw to make and even cut through both sides of the scales. Then make an end cap from wood or other material, then epoxy it together. I don't know what would match those pink scales though. Maybe something like a mother of pearl end. There is a lot of stress on that hinge pin end.

I once epoxied a celluloid scale that had broken in the center of the back side. It held for awhile but eventually broke again while I was stropping.

I was going to send it out for a rescale but figured I would try one more time. So I took some contact cement and applied it to both ends of the cracked pieces and put it together.

The contact cement sort of melted and fused the celluloid and so far it has held while stropping, shaving and what have you. That is the only experience I have with repairing scales. If you try that use it sparingly as it will melt the material to an extent.

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

Haven't tried it, but you could use a coping saw to make and even cut through both sides of the scales. Then make an end cap from wood or other material, then epoxy it together. I don't know what would match those pink scales though. Maybe something like a mother of pearl end. There is a lot of stress on that hinge pin end.

Great minds think alike I was thinking the same thing but with a liner and you could even pin the scales and new pieces to the liner sorta like a covered Tang.....
I was thinking the cut would go along the outer circle of the lower design...

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

Haven't tried it, but you could use a coping saw to make and even cut through both sides of the scales. Then make an end cap from wood or other material, then epoxy it together. I don't know what would match those pink scales though. Maybe something like a mother of pearl end. There is a lot of stress on that hinge pin end.

That sounds very interesting indeed... Going to play around with that idea a bit...