Holley Manufacturing - I'm Bringing it Back!

I can't call this a restoration, because I'm not going to restore it. I'm just going to do right by it. It's an ebay find at about $60. At that price, I think it still was a steal.

7/8. Extra Hollow. Square point. Winning, Winning, Winning!!!!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.12.26.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.12.42.jpg
That's just a bit of oil still on the blade from when pinklather honed it. Thank You Sir!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.13.01.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.13.47.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.14.08.jpg

And this brings us to the reason we are here today. Quite possibly the worst mishmash of scales ever...

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.11.22.jpg
The Front. I think the wedge is pewter or maybe lead.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.11.45.jpg
The Back. Celluloid... I think.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.03.01.jpg
East Indian Rosewood at the top and Bloodwood at the bottom. Both were purchased at the local Woodcrafters at the bargain price of $7.97 out the door.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.03.24.jpg
The blanks were 1.5"x1.5"x12". I had them cut by a local cabinet maker down to 1/8" strips.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.06.32.jpg
I'm going to try rubber cement to temporarily connect the pieces back together so I can rough cut my shapes and do the initial rough sanding.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2010.09.51.jpg
A little light clamping between some granite tiles. Lowes sells the tile for about 2$ and will cut it to your specs in store. The clamps were $2 each from Harbor Freight.

I will update this thread as I progress. I have some micarta that I made that I might try for wedge material, but I don't necessarily think that it compliments the color of the wood. I might just go with a simple piece of clear plexiglass or I'll go pick up some guitar pics.

The scale on the back (black one) is probably the original. I have heard that Holley's only came in those black scales. That razor is in very nice shape and will look good in the scales you make I'm sure. Holley's are hidden treasures. I have never met one that is not a great shaver.

Have fun,

Lynn

This is my first rescale project, so I'm learning everything. I'm not a woodworker. The closest I've come is woring with alot of mdf while doing speaker enclosures... folded horn speaker enclosures... lots of them.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2012.09.18.jpg
I looked at this and thought it was on the generous side, very wide/tall relative to the face of the razor.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2012.16.07.jpg
Keeping the points while sanding is really optimistic. I ended up not keeping them. I have hollow tubing, so I am going to do a 3 pin design. I've seen others do it, and it looks slick. I might even try putting multiple pins in the wedge end.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_2...2012.26.16.jpg
Imma dumbass. Yes. I used a black marker to mark up a dark wood. Stoopid! That's part of the reason for the change in design and shape. I could barely see my marks as I was manually sawing the blanks. I saw when I traced the outline onto the material that the sizing was huge... my sanding rectumfied that and then some.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2017.39.05.jpg
My handy dandy desk vise/strop mount. I got the curve by wrapping sand paper around the small tin of Ren wax. I knew I paid extra for that for a reason. I've been reading alot on Les Paul guitars on another Juijitsu forum that I frequent. It influenced the flying axes from the 80s... or maybe too much Galaxy Express 999
http://www.enokifilmsusa.com/liblarge/cwzero.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2017.27.02.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2017.26.40.jpg
Rough sanding with 60 grit and 120 grit. The elmer's rubber cement helped, but didn't last very long. It was better than nothing though.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2019.04.03.jpg
No Flash.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2019.04.18.jpg
Flash.
*Note that that is unfinished wood. It's only been sanded by hand. It's shining as well as the razor is. That's Micromesh and a foam block. I started at 60 grit and went to 12,000.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2018.57.18.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2018.57.36.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2018.56.46.jpg

I still need to seal it with some tung oil. I read the tutorial on wedges. I need to review it again on how to determine the proper wedge angle. I haven't decided if I'm going to use some blue micarta for my wedge or cut a wedge from the bloodwood. I'm leaning towards the bloodwood. I think the bright contrast would be very nice, especially in that shape. I might see if I can find some flat brass sheet to use as an additional accent.

Gorgeous, 'phocus. I can't believe the finish is just sanding. I've got to look into that micromesh.

BTW, Kris loves the scales. Go 'phocus Go!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pinklather

Gorgeous, 'phocus. I can't believe the finish is just sanding. I've got to look into that micromesh.

BTW, Kris loves the scales. Go 'phocus Go!

---

You are too kind...

I hope I can find some light tung oil tomorrow and something non-toxic to dilute it with.

Tomorrow, I'm tackling the bloodwood. I'm aiming for more curvacious. I hope I don't ruin all of this work with my drilling and pinning attempts.

You probably will do just fine. Glen's idea about the tablespoon has kept me from trouble. How was the shave w/ the Holley?

Assuming I can get the wedge done, I'll be shaving with it tonight!!!

Thanks for the look at what you are doing. Very nice.


R

Saying that the wedge was a bugger is a bit of an understatement. I think that next time I will be a bit less ambitious and go with a simple spacer.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2019.49.10.jpg
That's 60 grit dry sandpaper on my handy dandy granite tiles.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2020.19.01.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2020.22.52.jpg
Way too thick. I sanded down alot after this. I was really surprised by how thin I needed to go with the wedge, and also by how little angle you need in the wedge.... and also by how difficult it is keeping the wedge sides flat and even relative to each other.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.26.56.jpg
Test fit, with brass bolts and nuts providing temporary assembly duty. Thank you SRP wiki... at least 1 guy read it :deal:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.40.30.jpg
I didn't think I had enough things to go wrong, so I figured what the heck, lets throw another pin in there! When I went to pin it, I couldn't find the hollow rod that I had bought... back to microfasteners again. Hopefully, their shipping will still be ridiculous :soapbox:

Why yes, that's me at midnight, using a large kitchen spoon to pin scales. It shouldn't take long, there's only 5 pins and 30 washers... and I can't seem to locate my flush cut pliers, so I ended up doing a fair bit of manual filing... oh well, live and learn.

She is sanded to 12,000 grit using micromesh and a foam block. I thought that stuff would be overkill, but it really brings out the natural grain and leaves a very worn in feel to the surface. The satin finish isn't too bad and the texture and grain stand very well on their own.

My pinning sucks. I don't know what you can see in the pics, but in person it's not even remotely up to snuff. Fortunately I have plenty of rods and spacers.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_2...2023.54.49.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2023.55.08.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2023.56.30.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2023.55.43.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2023.55.24.jpg

My next set of scales will be much better and incorporate the lessons learned. I'm thinking less destroyer and more cresting waters. I might have to save the water theme for my Genco Fluid Steel. The next scales will definitely be much less beef and more curvy and lithe.

I will be tearing these back down to put a proper spacer bar in the resting pin and to sand the inside of the scales to hopefully correct some closing geometry issues. I made the mistake of leaving them rough cut from the saw and the scales are closing to one side. I put a thicker washer on the tight side and a hammered washer on the gaping side and that helped a bit, but I still think the issue is that the surface it's rotating against is rough and unsquare.

I also need to coat it in tung oil. That being said, I still intend to shave with it tonight, as is.

You're doing a great job for your first attempt!
My only advice: don't abandon the wedge. The angle is your friend.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

You're doing a great job for your first attempt!
My only advice: don't abandon the wedge. The angle is your friend.

---

What's your reasoning for keeping the wedge?

What advantages does it offer over a simple spacer?

What's your take on the proper amount of angle in the wedge? I'm thinking the spacer needs to be perfectly square in all dimensions relative to itself and then a few passes on coarse sandpaper to give it the wedge. I'm thinking that the angle isn't drastic at all, not more than 5 or 10 degrees at most.

I'm thinking about finishing in CA glue based on the recommendation of my betters. Basically, tung oil would have to be reapplied annually.

I did rub a bit of baby oil into the finish to see what it did. It seemed to darken it a bit.

Better pics without the background clutter. Also, a pretty good book:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.06.48.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.06.09.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.04.07.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.07.54.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.10.00.jpg
I apologize for the flash. The top is a Karl Pecker 6/8ths, another beauty. The bottom is my next project. It's a W&B faux frameback.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.11.44.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2...2021.11.25.jpg
I'm going with a hollow girder type look. Something along the lines of Orange County Choppers Web themed bikes. I want each of the pins to be at the center of of each web, including the ones used in the wedge. I also want to put hollows into the wedge. I'm going to use a densely grained oak for the scales. Hopefully they won't fall to pieces when I hollow them out.

I really like what you've done so far.

My only suggestion is to make the tang end of the scales narrower, so that it matches the width of the tang when the razor is opened 180 degrees (basically make a smooth transition from the tang to the scales). That makes stropping and honing easier.

Thank you. I've actually thought about thinning the scales out alot more. They are pretty close to the original 1/8ths thickness and they feel very beefy. I also still need to smooth out the inside of the scales. I'm considering making them more of an almost oval shape and tapering both the inside and outside edges of the scales.

I also drilled two different size peens in my desktop anvil. Surprisingly it completely smoothed out my peens and well rounded them and the triple washer stack. They feel right now. Peening them on the same flat anvil left the surface of the peen smooth, but the edges were rough, snaggy.

Thanks again for the feedback.