Thread: Brass Straight Razor Handles.

Hey everyone!

I just got into straight razor shaving and i bought a Dovo best quality 5/8 for my first razor. i liked the very simple but VERY sharp blade. it was recommended to me as a good starter razor and i am not disappointed.

it has the plain black acrylic scales. they do the job, but i would like to put on something a little nicer. i wanted something that would be unique and cool, but not all that flashy.

i have seen on classic shaving .com some stainless steel DOVO scales advertised and i was thinking about those...and i had this idea: i have a brass zippo lighter, why not get scales to match.

kind of thought about it and brass scales would look awesome on the razor, could be engraved, and would be very durable. i see a lot of brass DE's, so why not a str8?

so i guess what i am asking for is: does anyone know where i could get some brass str8 scales? is this even a good idea? how about this-would anyone on this forum be interested in making some for me?
thanks everybody and happy shaving!
mikey

mikey,

I have never seen a str8 razor with brass scales, but that does not mean that they can't be created. You would need somebody with metal-working experience.

You may want to post your question in the "Workshop" forum. There may be some expert razor restorers who can answer your question.

Brass and steel are rather heavy and may throw the balance of your razor off, but if brass is what you want...go for it. As far as some "ready made" ones, good luck...I don't know of any off-hand.

I would echo what the others in this thread have said- and am going to move this to the Workshop where it will get more expert responses.

Brass is definately doable, however, there will be a bit more up keep to keep them nice and shiney.
Standard metal scales will more than likely have to be lightened up by removing some of the internal material of the scale. You can do this by piercing out (cutting out) patterns in the scales themselves. Just remember the primary rule of metal scales....
"Thy scales should not weigh more than thy razor"
and you should be fine.

if you have any other questions or need help drop me a pm.

brass scales sound nice
keep us posted

In order to save the weight and preserve the balance, what about laminating thin sheet brass to a nice wood substrate and then chamferring the edges slightly for some contrast?

David

In order to keep weight down I would propose You use Spring brass. You can get it in thin sheets like 0,3mm 0,5mm. Combined with a correctly tapered wedge I would think You could make scales like some of the makers do in stainless.
Amund.

I have some scales that are about 1/3 brass. Way too heavy. Brass looks nice but is very heavy. i ended up junking the scales because of that.

Chris

Watch out for dissimilar metal corrosion when you
select your materials. Some impact can be eliminated
by plating etc....
Galvanic corrosion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is true that many pocket knives have brass liners
so a decorative removal of brass to lighten and
increase air flow (drying) could work well.