Thread: Bench Tips on Scales 1.2

Ok some more cool tips for making and fixing scales....

This is one heading out to Switzerland but before it goes here are a few tricks about fit and function

Take a close look at the wedge, this is a trick I learned from some of the vintage makers....
If you cut or sand the fat end of the wedge from top of the scales to the bottom at a slant it actually serves two purposes... One it puts more material there so it strenghens the scales, and two it creates a safety of sorts as the blade can never come through the bottom of the scales.. The wedge would stop it... Neat trick huh???

Now also on fitting the scales to the razor, for better function, and persoanlly I just thinks it looks more finished, but that is JMHO..

If you look, the pivot end of the scales, flows into the tang of the razor they are the same size (thickness) so when your stropping you have a smooth feel... I know things you don't think of until they are not right...
These are just tricks I keep finding by tearing down the old vintage stuff...

Hope they help you too...

ps: The razor is a Fontenille

This is for the "Build em on the Bench" razors....

Many times restorers end up with many "Parts" razors sitting on the bench, Like this little FA Thomas Hollow grind...

Being as this is a rather short razor, fitting it to scales can be a problem.. Many time you see these being sold on e-bay where the blade is just way to short for the scales.. Now let's say you don't have a set of scales to fit this razor you could just slap it in any old set and have a huge gap in there which of course would look rather amaturistic... You could however take a few minutes with those oversize scales and fit them to the shorter razor...

I put these on the sander and brought them down to the old pivot hole then rounded and smoothed up the pivot end drilled a new hole and re-pinned it a voilà' a nice little razor with scales that fit... I named this one the "Keyfob" since it is nice and small

Now many times people actually try and sell these "Bench Razors" but they really are just shavers, as the collector value was destroyed by popping the pins and losing or breaking the original scales, remember just because they are clean and shiny it doesn't make them NOS again... So this one is heading out to a Newb to use as a first shaver ...

Remember never toss away all those extra razor parts, you never know when you can take a croaker of a razor, and make into a nice little give away....