Thread: Cracked Ivory Scales

If you use that CA method like you did on the PH then you can drop in the inlay just take you time and be careful

I used that CA method then after it was done I droped this inlay on with this razor...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...w-us-pics.html

Originally Posted by Str8Raz0r

Shooter, I had the same thought but horn is tricky to find here in Australia. I have got some nice pieces of timber but still haven't decided yet. Just finished a set in Purple Heart for a Gotta with Glen's CA method.

Is getting horn an issue due to customs? If it's just finding it or getting someone to ship it to you, drop me a PM and I'm sure we can get you whatever you wish that's available to me...

I love working with the exotic timbers/wood. Can't go too wrong there either...as long as you wear a mask when sanding some of it...

Originally Posted by Str8Raz0r

The pivot is slightly loose just as you lift it out of the scales, but then as you open the blade it gets tighter. I would say almost too tight, which might have been the reason it cracked to begin with. This fact gives me the feeling that a little bit of glue will not hold for long.

Might give a dab of glue on it, if that doesn't work, off to the archives for some inlay removal and reinstatement tips.

Stu

I started writing this before the crunch came in Post 6, and will continue on that basis, as others might be in the same situation.

As you lift the blade out of the scales? That suggests to me that there is enough movement in the crack and/or the scale to collar joint, to get a little superglue in there by capillary action. It is about the only glue that I think will do that (if you use the cheapo, non-gel grade). It is true, it will stick to some plastics but not to others. Still, I think it would at least reduce the appearance of the crack.

It is a pity that we use the word "celluloid" loosely nowadays, when it is properly applied only to a plastic made primarily from cellulose nitrate, which is very little used nowadays. It is quite easily glued (as in film splicing), or attacked by numerous solvents whether you want it to be or not. IF this was true celluloid, I would consider dismantling the razor, coating all the exterior areas of the scale with tape, and introducing acetone or (perhaps better) amyl acetate or ethyl acetate) into the crack from the side which would normally be concealed. If they get on exposed surfaces, there would probably be frosting to be polished away. Thinned clear nail varnish might be even better. I have an idea most nail varnish removers, although primarily acetone, may include an oily substance to reduce embrittlement of the nails.

I would be very reluctant to replace these scales if I could get out of it. I agree they don't look like ivory (though it is always a pity to give someone an unwelcome opinion), but they are attractive, original to this razor, and hard to reproduce with the original transfer or inlay. I'm guessing about how the logo was applied, but it may have been aluminium held inside a mould into which the plastic was injected. Or it could be metal-impregnated plastic, and likely to disintegrate under any kind of treatment that will get it out and in somewhere else. If it is on the surface rather than inlaid, I think it is as likely to be paint as a transfer.

I would also have considered drilling a tiny hole or two into the end of the scale, through the crack, and inserting pins made from thin piano wire. Ace Hardware made an off-white epoxy (and an equivalent must be available elsewhere, for bathroom fittings) to fill in the ends of the holes.

The other side of the scale breaking is not entirely a negative development. If you are resolved to replacing the scales, nothing you try first is going to lose them for you. You can clean away any traces of oil which had got into the crack, and you can use any kind of glue you like. You can use the hidden surface where the broken-off piece used to contact the blade, to test tiny globules on a pin-point, and see if they adhere. Between cyanoacrylate, acetone, plastic model-making cement and epoxy, there is a good chance something will do. You can also see whether that lovely warm hue is applied by staining (which would necessitate very careful polishing afterwards), or all the way through the scale.

Are there thin friction washers between the scale and the blade? Even if there aren't, one made and glued to the scale would strengthen any joint. Tattoo machine shim washers (e.g. 100 Brass washers to shim your tattoo coils 10 sizes | eBay ) look promising, but I would probably paint one on a piece of single-edged safety razor blade or industrial package strapping strip, and etch it out with acid.

Here is a link to some horn I have just received via eBay. The seller seems very reliable, and his other horn and bone bears looking into. http://cgi.ebay.com/Large-Flat-Dark-...item2561b0ee82 My first purchase from him involved the export of camel bone to Saudi Arabia, which must be something of a commercial milestone. So Australia ought to be pretty run-or-the-mill to him. I am pretty sure the buffalo are domestic, which unlike ivory places them outside CITES controls.

Originally Posted by Caledonian

I started writing this before the crunch came in Post 6, and will continue on that basis, as others might be in the same situation.

As you lift the blade out of the scales? That suggests to me that there is enough movement in the crack and/or the scale to collar joint, to get a little superglue in there by capillary action. It is about the only glue that I think will do that (if you use the cheapo, non-gel grade). It is true, it will stick to some plastics but not to others. Still, I think it would at least reduce the appearance of the crack.

It is a pity that we use the word "celluloid" loosely nowadays, when it is properly applied only to a plastic made primarily from cellulose nitrate, which is very little used nowadays. It is quite easily glued (as in film splicing), or attacked by numerous solvents whether you want it to be or not. IF this was true celluloid, I would consider dismantling the razor, coating all the exterior areas of the scale with tape, and introducing acetone or (perhaps better) amyl acetate or ethyl acetate) into the crack from the side which would normally be concealed. If they get on exposed surfaces, there would probably be frosting to be polished away. Thinned clear nail varnish might be even better. I have an idea most nail varnish removers, although primarily acetone, may include an oily substance to reduce embrittlement of the nails.

I would be very reluctant to replace these scales if I could get out of it. I agree they don't look like ivory (though it is always a pity to give someone an unwelcome opinion), but they are attractive, original to this razor, and hard to reproduce with the original transfer or inlay. I'm guessing about how the logo was applied, but it may have been aluminium held inside a mould into which the plastic was injected. Or it could be metal-impregnated plastic, and likely to disintegrate under any kind of treatment that will get it out and in somewhere else. If it is on the surface rather than inlaid, I think it is as likely to be paint as a transfer.

I would also have considered drilling a tiny hole or two into the end of the scale, through the crack, and inserting pins made from thin piano wire. Ace Hardware made an off-white epoxy (and an equivalent must be available elsewhere, for bathroom fittings) to fill in the ends of the holes.

The other side of the scale breaking is not entirely a negative development. If you are resolved to replacing the scales, nothing you try first is going to lose them for you. You can clean away any traces of oil which had got into the crack, and you can use any kind of glue you like. You can use the hidden surface where the broken-off piece used to contact the blade, to test tiny globules on a pin-point, and see if they adhere. Between cyanoacrylate, acetone, plastic model-making cement and epoxy, there is a good chance something will do. You can also see whether that lovely warm hue is applied by staining (which would necessitate very careful polishing afterwards), or all the way through the scale.

Are there thin friction washers between the scale and the blade? Even if there aren't, one made and glued to the scale would strengthen any joint. Tattoo machine shim washers (e.g. 100 Brass washers to shim your tattoo coils 10 sizes | eBay ) look promising, but I would probably paint one on a piece of single-edged safety razor blade or industrial package strapping strip, and etch it out with acid.

Here is a link to some horn I have just received via eBay. The seller seems very reliable, and his other horn and bone bears looking into. Large Flat Dark Horn Blank Plate 160 x 60 x 5 mm | eBay My first purchase from him involved the export of camel bone to Saudi Arabia, which must be something of a commercial milestone. So Australia ought to be pretty run-or-the-mill to him. I am pretty sure the buffalo are domestic, which unlike ivory places them outside CITES controls.

Thanks Caledonian, much appreciated. Thankyou for the amount of effort that you have put into the reply.No it does not have any friction washers, which may have avoided some of the stress on the scales had they been there from the start. I have some washers from microfasteners on the way, I might try some of those. Thanks also for the heads up on the horn and lots of other great potential scale materials. I will certainly be given them a try shortly.

Thanks again for your huge response to my problem.

Stu

Originally Posted by Str8Raz0r

Thanks Caledonian, much appreciated. Thankyou for the amount of effort that you have put into the reply.No it does not have any friction washers, which may have avoided some of the stress on the scales had they been there from the start. I have some washers from microfasteners on the way, I might try some of those. Thanks also for the heads up on the horn and lots of other great potential scale materials. I will certainly be given them a try shortly.

Thanks again for your huge response to my problem.

Stu

Thank you for those kind remarks. Thinking on the problem still, it might be useful to silver solder a piece of tubing (to line the hole) to that internal washer. You can start with a disc and drill through the tube afterwards.

About as useful a tool as many expensive jewellers' setups, is a little hand torch which you fill up from an aerosol-style can of lighter gas, and light by its own friction igniter. Only the solder has to be the variety used for jewellery, which melts at around 1300 degrees fahrenheit or more. "Silver-bearing" solders, with a few percent silver, are just slightly superior soft solders. A tub of proprietary flux can be expensive, but borax powder isn't, and like all these things, is plentiful on eBay. The tubing is mostly made by K&S.

If the plastic is an easily melted one, you could touch the washer with a soldering iron, and see if it will melt its way into the plastic. I'd try to turn my disc to shape with a file, while holding the over-length tubular part in my Dremel tool. With any luck that will produce a slight lip on the edge of the disc, which will grip the plastic more securely.

Yikes, this is getting tricky. My sister is a jeweller, I might see what she has in the way of silver solder, and if see can do it for me. I am an ex-boilermaker, all this small stuff is a bit new for me, I didn't even know hammers existed less than 12 ounces before joining SRP

I already have some of the K&S tubing, 1/16 internal (used it sleeve a flogged out pivot).

Thanks again for the assistance, will keep you 'posted' on the results.

Stu