Thread: making a spacer

Well i have another question about the restoration of my razor, when i got the razor it had a lead spacer(i think it was lead). Any way i don't want to reuse the lead spacer, i already have fewer brain cells then a normal person, i don't wanna risk loosing any more. SO i wonder if i could cuz a piece of wood and form it into a wedge spacer. Then i thought well how the heck do you do that, And my question is should i use wood, and what would be the best way to make this. I don't want to buy one, cuz that would ruin the fun of restoring the razor.

I like the lead spacers, reconsider keeping it, you don't put the end of your razor in your mouth do you? You should be okay then if you don't.
Well if you still want to make a wood spacer get a piece of 1/8" thick wood that's around 1"x at least 2-3 inches.
I use a belt sander to put the taper on the wood but you can just use a sanding block if you want.
Taper it down to the same "wedge" as the old one, re-pin your scales to it and then sand it down to match the shape when it is in the scales.

I presume you're over the age of 8. If so, lead won't effect your brain cells, particularly when it comes in the form of that old spacer. Honestly, don't give it a thought as a health issue. It isn't. :-)

Sure you can use wood. I would like to know what the scales are made of though. If they are horn, bakelite,ect. you may opt for acrylic wedge material instead. Look in the wiki to see how to make one. It's not very difficult. If you don't have a belt sander just do it on a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface. I use carpet tape to afix it to my index finger. Good luck.

Yes they are horn, why would that matter if i my ask. And i may keep the lead spacer but i am a little paranoid about it

I asked because typically most guy's put wood wedges on wood scales. Usually on horn you see lead, bone, or man made material. It really doesn't matter, however , if you are a purist (I'm not) it may. If there is nothing wrong with the structure of your lead wedge, personally, I'd use it. It would look good to boot. I hope this clarifies my line of thought. Don.

Don't lick the spacer and wash your hands if you fondle it for any length of time. Other than that you are fine. IMO wood probably wood'nt (!) look right unless you sandwich it between 2 thin pieces of something else like acrylic, g10 or metal.

i have to agree with everyone on here with regards to the lead, whilst it is a hazardous substance, for the small amount in the spacer you would need to be doing some pretty dumb things with it to get any lasting affects from that small amount of lead.

just use common sense if your paranoid about it being there, wash your hands after cleaning and putting the razor away after a shave to make sure theres nothing left on your hands, whilst it would be very tiny amounts.

id also argue about keeping the lead on the scales, whilst some say its about the appearance etc it may also change the way the razor handles ever so slightly as lead is a very dense metal and even a small amount like that would add weight to the scale end.

only my two cents, but its honestly not worth loosing sleep over such a small amount of lead

The lead spacer is nothing to lose sleep over. You probably have silver fillings in your mouth, most people do, and it contains mercury.

If you would like to keep a somewhat original look but not use the lead, I would suggest an aluminum wedge. It is easy to come by easy to work with and polishes up well. If you go to the workshop stickies you will find a tutorial in how to make a wedge. There are also a number of workshop posts on wedge geometry etc. I will see if I can dig a couple out for you.

Stu

Edit: A couple of links

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...og-method.html

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...-geometry.html