Thread: Broken/cracked Scale - Advice sought

Hi guys,
I had purchased this Frederick Reynolds for a gift and sent it to be honed by Maestro Lynn. When I got it back (yesterday), I noticed that the scales had broken (near the toe - see picture below). The crack is clean...no small pieces to worry about.

I want to be clear here: This is in no way Lynn or anyone at SRD's fault. This probably happened in transit by USPS (priority ship)

It is one of those hazards and risks of shipping and happens once in awhile and we have to live with it. So, it happened to me .

My theory (which could be total BS):
This is a wedge and lacks a third pin (near the tang), leading to no support...the only point of support is when the spine comes to rest on the opening of the scale near the toe. During transit, the handling of the package made the spine push down on the scale (with no support of 3rd pin), thus cracking the scale.

The scales, as I understand it, were made by Traveller (aka, Gary Alfonso on SRP) and I believe they are celluloid (not sure though).

Question:
1. What can be done?
2. Is this a simple fix (for someone who's never taken one of these apart)?
3. Would crazy glue fix this or some sort of epoxy 9details would be appreciated on the "dos and don'ts"
4. Should I send it to someone on SRP to fix/salvage it an dhave peace of mind that it's done right?
5. Should I think about a rescale? it would be too bad if this was the only viable option since these happen to be nice scales.

Options and thoughts and advice would be appreciated.

you have nothing to lose by trying super glue this is the kind of repair that super glue works best on. that being said i would be looking to rescale. i have never liked the plastic look and on a vintage blade it hurts my eyes.

I thought they where a plastic material if I remember right. He made alot if crazy patterns

Sorry I'm also of the classic school But they should be glueable, than keep an eye out for a replacement.

+1 on the previous advice.

Personally, I would look into the possibility of getting that vintage razor of yours rescaled--with a third pin. You can send it to an expert restorer, such as Max. He ought to have the material to make a set of sclaes for that Reynolds that would look real nice.

Another option would be to get some custom Robert Williams scales from SRD and do a rescale of the razor yourself.

Why don't you just PM Gary, or contact him through his site? He'll know what glue , if any, to use, or may be able to repair them himself.

I seem to remember reading at Welcome to Coticule.be - home of the famous Belgian Coticule Whetstone that baking soda was an effective hardening agent when used with cyanoacrylate glues (super-glues) for scale repairs.
Worth a search there for more info.



ed

IIRC Gary used acrylic resin to pour his scales.. Looking at the last pic that looks like some type of glue holding the wedge

If by chance you opt for the CA/Super glue easy way MAKE SURE you test the glue on the inside of those scales (one tiny drop), the glue must be Non-Blooming or your repair will show ...

I would try getting hold of Gary through his website...

That is funny JHenry...my wife said the same thing: " if this thing is a vintage, why not get a scale that will make it look good". I, myself, was seriously contemplating a rescale too...and Max was the guy I was thinking. I already have 2 vintage razors with him since early April (I guess another 2-3 month wait). I will talk with him again about this prospect once he is finished moving by mid June and see how long it will take and what kind of scales would be befitting this nice Frederick Reynolds . Maybe a nice set of Burgundy Linen Micarta?

The only downside with the rescale option is time: This was going to be a gift (July Birthday), but if I do rescale, I may have to make it an IOUkind of gift.

For now, I guess crazy glue will do until it's sent to Max .


PS: How hard is it to do a rescale if I were to get a Robert Williams (as you suggested)? Does RW have a website? Remember: I have never done a rescale and don't know what's really involved. Is it as easy as 1, 2, 3 or "wax on, wax off"? Or would I need to have working knowledge about rescale?

Originally Posted by jhenry

+1 on the previous advice.

Personally, I would look into the possibility of getting that vintage razor of yours rescaled--with a third pin. You can send it to an expert restorer, such as Max. He ought to have the material to make a set of sclaes for that Reynolds that would look real nice.

Another option would be to get some custom Robert Williams scales from SRD and do a rescale of the razor yourself.

Hi Ben,
I did PM him, but nothing yet...I tried going to his website and found this very razor (forum, I guess - RC 864 F Reynolds 7/8 Custom scales reworked 1/4 hollow) too and got his email, but the message bounced back.

He may be incognito

-Robert

Originally Posted by ben.mid

Why don't you just PM Gary, or contact him through his site? He'll know what glue , if any, to use, or may be able to repair them himself.

Hi Glen
Thanks for the info. What do you mean by "non-blooming" glue? Also, would the glue be strong enough not to buckle under the pushes and pulls of shaving?

Regarding contacting Gary: I did (PM and email, but email bounced and no PM response yet)...I even found his website (which I think is more a forum) and found my razor there.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

IIRC Gary used acrylic resin to pour his scales.. Looking at the last pic that looks like some type of glue holding the wedge

If by chance you opt for the CA/Super glue easy way MAKE SURE you test the glue on the inside of those scales (one tiny drop), the glue must be Non-Blooming or your repair will show ...

I would try getting hold of Gary through his website...