Warped, inlaid celluloid. Thoughts on fixing?
So I got this lovely in the mail the other day.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/...9dc02b8f_z.jpg
Wm. Elliot MOP by Zak Jarvis, on Flickr
The blade's in decent shape -- some tarnish and scratching, a bit of rust around the pivot -- but the scales have an unpleasant warp.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3232/...24ea9de4_z.jpg
Wm. Elliot Scale Warp 2 by Zak Jarvis, on Flickr
It's pretty slight, but enough to rub against the blade.
I read Glen's excellent writeup on correcting scale warp, but I'm wondering if that method's appropriate here, due to the inlay and MOP. Some things I'm willing to just leap in and try (frex: this unremarkable blade has a slight bend in the cutting edge, I wonder if putting it in a vise will fix it? YES!), but this is not one of those things. I would prefer, here, to do everything in my power to keep that inlay safe.
Currently my best plan involves some sort of compression plates (wood, metal, plastic -- dunno, it'll partially depend on what I can find) and maybe a piece of PVC pipe that I can run hot water through so as to heat the scales slowly, controllably, without immersing them.
I'm pretty much assuming I'll have to unpin here. But really, so few of the razors I've gotten even have original pins this just doesn't seem like a huge deal to me, and I've done enough practice with pinning that I've got some confidence that I can do it well.