Best re-handling yet

OK, so I'm still a rank amateur when it comes to restoration, but this is my best job yet. The fit still isn't perfect. I think it's because I sanded the butt end with a 1/16" pin holding everything together, then I changed my mind & decided to drill it for a 3/16" tube like I've been using to rivet my kydex sheaths, just to try something a little different. I think you have to sand it using whatever contraption you plan to use for the final assembly & not change horses mid-stream.

Anyway, this is still my best job yet, which is because of attention to a few minor but important details:

1. Sand the scales immediately before staining. The stain seems to seep into the wood & highlight the grain better, rather than sitting on the surface of the wood.

2. Use steel wool after staining, and after each coat of polyurethane. This really brings out the luster of the wood.

3. The only way to get the spacer to fit right is to sand the entire butt end of the razor with the spacer in place. I glued the spacer to one of the scales to hold it in place, then temporarily assembled it with #0 screws for sanding. Final assembly was done with 1/16" rod and #0 washers at the top, and 3/16" round rod at the butt.

This whole project was pretty ghetto. The only power tool used was a drill. I ripped the scale stock from an oak tree branch by hand using a Japanese saw, and stained it with pickled oak stain. Spacer is made from a scrap piece of plastic bar fished out of the trash where I used to work. All in all I think it doesn't look bad.

Any advice on getting the butt to fit together perfectly is welcome! Thanks for viewing.

I REALLY like the rivet. It's an anti-pin!

Getting the 'butt' or wedge to fit perfectly is one of the reasons I don't do a lot of wood scales. Maybe there is a trick out there, but I don't know it. You've got the right idea, put the wedge in place, and then sand to fit. This works really well with acrylics/micarta/g-10 where you don't have to worry about the finish on the wood.