Thread: Taylor Arrived!

The Taylor's Eye witness arrived from Tony H, together with a broken tipped Sans Souci, that will end up losing about 1/2" to the grinder and become a short Spike point. Here are the pics of the Taylor.



I like the fact that the scales are bone and in a nice shape and that the blade is a wedge grind, which is something unusual for the Taylors that I've come across in recent times. Here's what I was planning to do:
1) Remove and clean up the scales. I'll have to be careful as one of them is VERY thin near the tip. (Any tips on doing it without damaging the scales? So far I've only been removing celluloid scales so I didn't really care lol)
2) Bolster the scales with brass.
3) Protect the assembly with a few coats of CA
4) Coat the spacer with CA and brass dust.
5) Remove the worst of the pitting and minimize the appearance of hone wear by using Jason's drums instead of the flap wheels. This would be my first mirror finish project. The front side etching will most likely be completely gone.
6) Assemble (brass all the way baby).
7) Hone
8) Shave

You can get a closer look at the pics by going to my gallery or by clicking on the following links:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/image...ylorsfront.jpg
http://straightrazorpalace.com/image...aylorsback.jpg
Any warnings, tips, tricks, objections, kudos?

I am ready to start working on the scales. As one of them thins CONSIDERABLY near the tip, I'd like to bolster them with brass. With that in mind I have a few questions:
1) I have this adhesive that seems to be behaving in a similar manner as CA but has a stronger hold (been keeping the sideview mirror on my mazda that a friend smashed, together for about a year now). Would that be ok to keep the brass mated to the bone?
2) Would going over the brass surface with a bit of sandpaper help it adhere better?
3) Are there any issues with giving the whole assembly 10 coats of CA?

1) I don't know, but I don't see why not, although (and I'm not sure about this) didn't you have to use a "primer" to make it stick to the glass? I'm guessing the primer etched the glass. CA's not going to be the bees knees anyway, because although it is very strong, it has no shear strength, so any flex in the scales is likely to break it loose. 2-part epoxy (the slower cure, the less brittle...I think Bill recommends T-88, which is definitely one of the best epoxies)is a better solution, IMO.
2. Absolutely. Giving any glue a keyed (rough) surface increases both its durability and its holding power. It increases the surface area the glue has to bond to.
3. Once its glued up, going over it with CA wouldn't hurt, but bone polishes up nice anyway.

Just my $.02
Joe

Thanks Joe. Actually I didn't have to prime the glass. However I am thinking that I'll still go with epoxy to play it safe. The reason I want to put in the CA is to make sure that the scale/bolster assembly is one piece, thus adding an additional measure of structural redundancy.

Well it became a moot point as the scales shattered during removal and I was being gentle. They were just too old and thin. Therefore I'll have to make a choice... Chechen or padauk

--it happens.

All depends on the grain pattern of the pieces you have. I have a set I made from Padauk for my brother and they look bright.

Do you have the wood yet or are you planning on getting some from Lee Valley?

If it is the latter you might want to look into finding a local supplier of exotic woods where you can see the grain before you buy. Lee Valley is hit and miss affair for wood.

In Montreal we have Langevin & Forest. They have an awesome selection, including 1/8", 1/4" and 3/8" by 3" x 24" or 3"x36". You get to pick just the right plank for the occasion.

I have both. Picked'em up at Lee Valley but Jason and I actually went there so we could pick and choose. Both are nice pieces. The padauk has an unusually bright red to it. Actually thinking about it, I decided to go with chechen. The padauk will do nicely to brighten a plain looking blade. This is a cute unusually shaped little wedge, so the darker chechen will contrast nicely with it. Any thoughts on using a CA-treated maple wedge?

I decided to spot remove the worst of the pitting with the Dremel grinder attachment. It's doing a good job, especially in the non-essential areas where I don't have to worry about being even TOO much, but I did have to remove some spots close to/on the spine, which is undoubtebly creating an uneven spine. Can anyone tell me how to go about evening it up?

Edit: I Cleaned out the worst of the pitting and smoothed out the worst of the rough spots with a drum-shaped grindstone. Gonna clean it up a bit with the 120grit flap wheel and see where I stand.

The re-grind by Joe just arrived and he did a great job. Sorry for the bump but I thought he deserved the props

Thanks for sharing that Ilija. Joe definitely deserves the mention.

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