My latest two experiments

Well, my latest two projects are done. With each I decided to experiment with something I have done yet.

Both of the actual blades went through a fairly thorough sanding from 400 grit upwards, except the faces. I wanted to preserve some of the etching that were on the faces, so sanding on this started lightly at 800 or so.

Anyway, without further adieu...

Purpleheart Filarmonica
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This one was rather simple. The method I experimented with on this one was some simple wood inlay. The wood inlayed in the purpleheart scales is just a simple slice of yellowheart. Wasn't all that hard, but I don't think I can handle any intricate designs.... yet ;)

All I did for the inlay was trace out the piece and then carve out the wood with an x-acto knife. I only had one type of blade at the time so it was tricky. The inlay goes no more than 1/8" of an inch into the scale; so, I doubt the integrity of the scales are comprimised much at all. Either than that, drilled in some 3/32" bushings for the pins, wood sanded to 2000grit and then 10 or so coats of CA applied, sanded and polished out.

Padauk Wostenholm Conquerer
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bushings & grain

This one took quite a while, probably because I did a few steps in the wrong, or at least, inconvenient order.

The wood is padauk and is rather soft. When I was making the scales I had the form/shape pretty much finished and sanded, but, then they felt a little light and weak, so, I figured I'd try and make some brass liners for them. Wewf, I won't go into detail, but seeing as I don't have the most elaborate tools, it was abit of a pain in the ass. Of course once I had the brass cut, they weren't perfect and the scales needed to be slightly reshaped and then completely resanded. Well, I don't know if the resanding was neccessary, but I liked to be thorough. After that, I epoxied on the brass liners and then drilled and fitted 3/32" bushings for all the pins.

I was holding the scales in my hand getting ready to apply the first coat of CA for the finished when I realized the wood was a little plain. The wood has these clearly visible pores in it which I wanted to do something about. I set them aside to see if any good ideas came, and came one did. While I was grinding some brass, little bits of brass dust kept getting everywhere. It looked quite nice so I figured I'd fill the pores with it. I whipped out the dremel and some scrap brass sheet and started grinding off this brass dust. I manually and exhaustively cleared out the pores with my good ole x-acto knife and then used an eraser to pack/brush the dust into the pores. The bushings pic of the razor displays the brass filled grain the best, I took it about half way through polishing, so I had a pic while the razor wasn't it. Now the 10 or so coats of CA for the finish. Of course I managed to get it on the brass liners, so that had to be sanded/scraped off. Then sanding and polishing of the scales and liners, and then on to pinning everything in.

Of course, out of all my hard work, I think I managed to cut the spacer like 1/64" of an inch too short. It doesn't by any means ruin it's action, just it's not at that flawlessness I was hoping for after all the work. That and the razor has the nearest clearence to the wedge, I think it actually brushes up and snuggles against it :) I don't know if that's a bad thing, but I guess I'll find out in time.

Anyway, let me know what you guys think.
The filly I'm keeping (at least until I find a better one); and, the wostenholm I might put up for sale or auction, if anyones interested.
Next up after this is some simple scales I'm experimenting with tung oil on :)

I really like the brass fill. Good thinking. I use a black or red epoxy to accomplish the same effect. I'm sure your razor even looks better if you are holding it. I like both, but the second one the best. Good job.

A small suggestion would be that you not sand any inside edges near the butt spacer so gaps do not show. When you are ready, super glue this joint and clamp before pinning it. Once the glue sets, re-drill the hole for alignment, and then pin as tightly as you dare. sand the spacer to the edges of the scales and re-apply any missing CA finish to the area. After that is all done, then pin the blade in place.

That's some beautiful work! Well done.

Great work Jason and great advice Bill. I am getting more and more inclined to just build the scales for the Genco as I will be doing the same with the W&B anyways.

A great job on both razors there - I'm particularly impressed by the brass effect. Puts me in mind of a sprinkling of fairy dust from one of those old Disney films. Thanks also for the exhaustive descriptions - I'm always grateful that no-one round here is too concerned about industrial espionage.

Nice job on the scales, especially the inlay material. similar fills are available using "inlace". It's a two part epoxy that is available in all types of colors, but the clear drys like glass, and can be mixed with any number of metal powders, recon-rock (turquoise etc.), dyes and more. Very useful and pretty easy to work with.

Those are beautiful. I love the CA finishes. They seem so deep and flawless.

Thanks for the advice and praise guys. It always helps make it worth while :)

I had a honing session a few nights ago with a bunch of my razors. Brough both the conquerer and filly up to shavability. So far I've only used the conquerer, and, it shaves quite nicely. It doesn't have the feedback of some of my other razors, so I was doubting it, but, when all was said and done, I was left with a very close and smooth shave with very little irritation.

Bill:
Thanks for the advice on constructing and installing the wedges. So far I've only used the place, pin and then sand method on my plexiscales. I was thinking of doing it with my wood scaled razors, but, as I've been using CA as a finish, it almost always seems to come to a rounded edge anyway. So I just just made the wedge seperately and all the pinning was done at once at the very end. I know it doesn't produce the cleanest results, but if I'm careful, it comes close.

I usually do it this way because I don't want to risk having the razor half pinned together and then having something screw up. Also, is it really neccessary to superglue the wedge? I've just been using the pressure from pinning to keep it from rotating. So far I haven't had any problems with a wedge rotating at all either.

Matt:
That inlace epoxy sounds really slick. Know where I can find out more about it? Or a supplier in Canada I can get some from?

One of my razors did have rotating wedge issues, so yes this can become a problem. The scales snapped in any case (fatigued celluloid), so it's getting a set of Nenad's plexies, as soon as I get around to sanding them to a satin finish and the wedge to 1.5---->2.5.

Edit: I will be glueing the wedge.

Ilija, it might me smarter if you don't glue the wedge, and/or reuse the existing one, so you don't have to make new one...

Nenad

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Also, is it really neccessary to superglue the wedge? I've just been using the pressure from pinning to keep it from rotating.

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No... not absolutely. And I don't glue Nenad's scales, either. You get a cleaner look without it on his slick scales.

But for other wedges I use the glue as a back-up to the pin. There can be a fair amount of tension on the spot and the glue just helps hold things together. I don't do it just to keep the wedge from rotating.

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Originally Posted by superfly

Ilija, it might me smarter if you don't glue the wedge, and/or reuse the existing one, so you don't have to make new one...

Nenad

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The existing one is an ugly white plastic thing that wouldn't go with the new scale look. Since you were already kind enough to provide me with a set of pre-cut wedges, I might as well put in the effort and do a bit of sanding.

I order my inlace from Texas knife supply, but I order from them fairly frequently so it's not any trouble for me. I don't know of any local suppliers, but google may turn something up. I've lost my favorites list (new computer) and the webiste is something odd like www.turtledovefeathers...blah blah blah. com so I don't remember it. I do see it on ebay from time to time though. They provide a number of colors but I find the clear to be the most versatile since they have so many types of materials available for coloration/texture. They provide 4-5 metal powders, similar to the brass that you've used. If I find a retailer or info, I'll let you know.