Thread: new guy questions

I just bought a vintage straight razor this weekend, and was wanting to do a restore on it.
I'll post a few pics tomorrow, but after reading a bit on the wiki, I was wondering if metal scales are common.
I was wanting to make some nickle scales for this razor, but I haven't seen any examples of razors with metal scales.
The second question is, will I need a small gap when pinning the piviot, or do I just need to be careful when setting the pin so as to not firmly rivit the scales to the tang??

thanks for the help

John

These are not very common, but back in the day before the advent of disposable razors in the medical field, straight razors with metal (usually stainless steel) scales were used to shave a patient in preparation for surgery… they were easy to disinfect by boiling.
One popular straight with metal scales is the Wapiencia razor or Wapi… you can do a search for info on the forums but here is one link for example:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/newbi...ca-razors.html

They are excellent razors however some folks complain about the “im-balance” because the metal scales are much heavier than plastic or other material. If you think this may be a problem for you then you may want to drill or punch a few decorative holes in the nickel scales (like a butterfly knife) or use aluminum.

I am not sure what you mean by small gap between the scales… but with metal scales it is quite possible to tighten the scales too much and the razor be “stiff” to open, but you don’t have to tighten to so much… just enough so it does not flop open on it’s own when held upside down.
Also, usually there are two brass “disks” or bearings between the scales and the blade (one on each side) you put them on before pinning the scales to the blade.

They are excellent razors however some folks complain about the “im-balance” because the metal scales are much heavier than plastic or other material. If you think this may be a problem for you then you may want to drill or punch a few decorative holes in the nickel scales (like a butterfly knife) or use aluminum.

I was wondering about the weight issues, but doing some pierced work on the scales would definately solve most of that issue. I'm attaching a shot of a small pendant that I did for my daughter. This is the type of design or something close, that I would like to use on the scales.



I am not sure what you mean by small gap between the scales… but with metal scales it is quite possible to tighten the scales too much and the razor be “stiff” to open, but you don’t have to tighten to so much… just enough so it does not flop open on it’s own when held upside down.
Also, usually there are two brass “disks” or bearings between the scales and the blade (one on each side) you put them on before pinning the scales to the blade.[/QUOTE]

That makes a lot more sense, thanks!

John

Nobody will hold you back making or using metal based scales.

Personally I think they should sue companies using them. They completely unbalance the weight of the razor when shaving which can very dangerous especially for the beginner shaver and the risk of nicking your strop is extremely high.

The Wapi and even TI use one of those metal scales. Dovo has a razor model with a huge horn handle that is so heavy it makes shaving and stropping uncomfortable.

There's a reason why you don't see any of the restorers use metal based handles. But again, if it rocks your boat it's feasible.

IMO shaving should be done in total harmony with a perfect or at least close to balanced razor as you should be concentrating on your shave and not on keeping the razor in balance.

IMO shaving should be done in total harmony with a perfect or at least close to balanced razor as you should be concentrating on your shave and not on keeping the razor in balance.[/QUOTE]


Ah, now I have a challenge
Thanks Maximilian!

btw, here is the razor that I picked up this weekend to be my first victim.

Originally Posted by shutterbug

They are excellent razors however some folks complain about the “im-balance” because the metal scales are much heavier than plastic or other material. If you think this may be a problem for you then you may want to drill or punch a few decorative holes in the nickel scales (like a butterfly knife) or use aluminum.

I was wondering about the weight issues, but doing some pierced work on the scales would definately solve most of that issue. I'm attaching a shot of a small pendant that I did for my daughter. This is the type of design or something close, that I would like to use on the scales.



I am not sure what you mean by small gap between the scales… but with metal scales it is quite possible to tighten the scales too much and the razor be “stiff” to open, but you don’t have to tighten to so much… just enough so it does not flop open on it’s own when held upside down.
Also, usually there are two brass “disks” or bearings between the scales and the blade (one on each side) you put them on before pinning the scales to the blade

That makes a lot more sense, thanks!

John

Gosh man... that thing is beautiful... your daughter should be proud.

In keeping with the razors "total harmony", have you considered doing the same in other materials for the scales such as wood, bone, horn or... cough!... plastic?

Aluminum scales were pretty commonly used back in the day. They worked well.

Originally Posted by smythe

Gosh man... that thing is beautiful... your daughter should be proud.

In keeping with the razors "total harmony", have you considered doing the same in other materials for the scales such as wood, bone, horn or... cough!... plastic?

I hadn't really thought about doing different media types.
I was thinking more along the lines of laying out a set of nickle scales and then doing the piercework to lighten them up to where it needed to be, and then engraving the details.
I might have to try it with bone or horn. I'm not too sure about wood, I've always been afraid of trying to cut across the grain, and splintering a delicate pattern. Maybe if I could find the right type of wood.

I'm also on the B&B forum, and the guys over there have more or less talked me out of disassembling *this* razor, in favor of finding one that already had cracked scales that needed replacing.
They made the case that this razor was just a quick polish and a trip to a honemeister away from being a very good razor.

Since you obviously have a great talent there...

Perhaps you can make inlays in Nickle Silver and solve the weight issue that way...

Just another thought...

Anyone of us that has Shaved with, Honed or Stropped those unbalanced razors knows the problems..
TI makes one with SS scales that is a total joke to work with, in fact I personally think that one is downright dangerous...

Also the scales should not touch the razor tang most Vintage and New razors and also most restorers use brass bearing washers in there..

Check out the sticky at the beginning of the Workshop forum and the Wiki for more info

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

[QUOTE=gssixgun;461067]Since you obviously have a great talent there...

Perhaps you can make inlays in Nickle Silver and solve the weight issue that way...

Just another thought...

Anyone of us that has Shaved with, Honed or Stropped those unbalanced razors knows the problems..
TI makes one with SS scales that is a total joke to work with, in fact I personally think that one is downright dangerous...

Also the scales should not touch the razor tang most Vintage and New razors and also most restorers use brass bearing washers in there..

Check out the sticky at the beginning of the Workshop forum and the Wiki for more info




I'm not sure about a grea talent, however I try to have fun.
I've been reading up on the stickys, and am hoping to get my hands dirty fairly soon.
Thanks for the post Glen, from what I've already read, you've got huge amount of knowedge and experience and have been very kind in freely sharing it.
Thanks to everyone, the help and tips are greatly appreciated!

John