Thread: First set of scales

This is my work in progress first set of scales.

It's either Bubinga or rosewood, I don't recall which as the two wood stocks I had looked very similar.

I wanted to post them to see if anyone had suggestions or comments before I pin it together. I would like to do a little more hand sanding, and still haven't decided how I am going to finish it so I welcome any suggestions.
Thanks for looking.

Those look really nice. How about waxing them. It would give it a nice feel and complement the mirror finish of the blade.

I sand it down to 320 grit, coat with sanding sealer, sand with 400 then use clear Rustoleum. I am a woodworker and was loathe to use spray paint, but it gave a durable, glistening finish. This, after trying poly, epoxy and CA glue.

The one finish I haven't tried that I still want is boiled linseed oil. I have had great results with it on woodworking projects, but you have to be very patient letting the coats completely dry before reapplying.

Goog

I was thinking of using BLO or tung oil to bring out the grain.
If I go that route, do I still need the sanding sealer? And can I use Minwax wipe on poly over the top of the BLO/tung oil?

All I can do is ask some questions, because pics can often times fool ya because of angles...

How thick are they???
Are they thin enough that you get a little flex if you apply pressure???
How does the balance feel to you, especially open straight out as it is when stropping...???
Speaking of stropping how does it feel as it rolls in the hand??? you can find many design flaws by stropping...



I like the design and the fit BTW...

I hope those questions help some, these are some things I ask myself when I am building scales..

Thanks Glen all great questions I didn't even think about.

Russell already suggested to me that I should try to thin the scales down a bit, and it's coming along albeit slowly.
But as they are they do flex visibly when opening and closing the razor.

Call it dumb luck but the razor does but it does balance near the the pivot. it's a little heavy on the blade side but only by 3/8th of an inch or so. Maybe I will do an epoxy finish after all to get it to balance right at the pivot.

Feels fine when stropping so the moby dick design seems to be ok.

Originally Posted by superbleu

I was thinking of using BLO or tung oil to bring out the grain.
If I go that route, do I still need the sanding sealer? And can I use Minwax wipe on poly over the top of the BLO/tung oil?

No sealer. If you do, the oil will not be able to permeate the wood grain. Both of these oils will soak in, then harden with drying time. Once hard, you reapply to build up a finish, then buff to a shine. They will be slow to fill in the wood grain, BTW, so we are talking SEVERAL coats. You could put poly on top for durability.

Goog

Regarding thinning out the scales, rounding over the edges to more of a taper will also give the appearance of thin-ness. I agree, they should be thinner by a pinch, but round them over more (opinion here).

Goog

Originally Posted by greatgoogamooga

No sealer. If you do, the oil will not be able to permeate the wood grain. Both of these oils will soak in, then harden with drying time. Once hard, you reapply to build up a finish, then buff to a shine. They will be slow to fill in the wood grain, BTW, so we are talking SEVERAL coats. You could put poly on top for durability.

Goog

I did a test with the ace brand BLO, Fromby's Tung oil finish(which after some reading found this was actually just a wiping varnish), and Minwax fast dry Poly. I thought the oils would bring out more of the grain, but the Poly alone seems to do a good job, so I will probably just go with a few light coats of Poly.

I have thinned the scales and it does look better.

The Wipe on Poly is a fantastic finish for razors, I use it quite often, a hint though...

You can do a primer wash coat with it too, using Mineral Spirits..
You might be wondering I keep mentioning this first coat of a thinned down version???
It helps to penetrate the wood much deeper than a full strength wipe down does on the first/second coat...
The deeper that gets into the wood the more waterproof you are going to be...

PS: you don't even really have to mix it up...
Soak a spot of your rag with Mineral Spirits, wipe down the scales, immediately follow that by soaking the same spot on the rag with the Wipe on Poly and re-wipe the scales this gets you pretty darn close to a 50/50 mix without all the hassle... Let that dry then do your between coats sanding/wiping/wool whatever you are going to use, then start with the following coats for effect...