My Sort of restoration/customization

I'm not sure where this fits in here. I'd like to pretend I'm like you guys, restoring razors, but truth be told, I don't have all the toys or the shop to do it (and I'm not even sure if I have the skills!). But anyway, I have been practicing sanding down blades, and have a number of 'custom scale' designs kicking around my head. But till then.......

This weekend, I decided to do the next best thing...work with what I have. SO, ventruing into my ol' tackle box of miscellanious razors parts and such, I dug out a nice Wade & Butcher with cracked celluloid scales, an old set of horn scales (blade long gone, most likely junked) that were all cracked, split and chipped, and my dremel, ball peen hammer, some brass rods, nails, washer's and sand paper.

My goal was to add my design (I guess it sort of has a modern punk studded look), but in a manner that looks consistent with the age of the razor (i.e. make sure the hardware looks original!)

This is what I came up with: (I know it does not look like I did anything but...)
What I did:
1. Gun Blue/black the tang-spine (hard to tell, but it polishes to a dark tinted mirrored Black)
2. Old Horn (faux tortise) scales were super glued (to reinforce the cracks, splits and chips) and sanded to glass finish (from what looked like remains of what one of my cat's spit up. You could originally see the fibers running through the horn like a corn husk!).
3. Fashion spike studs and peen them into the horn scales so that the inside is flush with the horn, and away from the blade.
4. Add third pin with silver/metal spacer.
5. Pin pivote and bottom with double washer and peen/flatten so style matches the age of the scales/razor (this was very tricky since the original pewter washer was very thin, and the 'bow' that the scales needed to pin the bottom and pivote was difficult. MUCH tap,tap, tap, sand, sand, tap to peen those ends tight).

Not a complete overhaul since I had scales (did not need to fashion them out of wood) and the blade was in great shape to start with. All in all a $30 razor as I'd like it to look :) Now I just need to finish honing it.......

Next is my sanding of blades....still working on that.
AND, making scales from scratch (JUST bought the coping saw and some wood, and still waiting for some materials to roll in....)

All in all this was a pain in the ass, and took me forever!
BUT, I'm happy with it :)

C utz

And the pictures........
(they are not that great since it is hard to scan a mirror surface...)
:)

Chris,

It always starts off slow and frustrating. I think you did very well. You should be pleased.

My very first "restoration" attempt was on an e-bay 5/8 wedge with silver plated brass scales. It was a lot less ambitious or successful than your project. I was cleaning the razor and pressed a bit too hard on the scales. They bent together shut. When I tried to open them up with a kitchen knife they opened very wide with a nice crease. At this point I got so pissed at my incompetence I crushed the scales into a pretzel and threw the razor in the trash. :gth

Once in a while I look back at how dumb that was and wonder what I could have done with that blade today. The next few attempts were not much better. I chipped a blade while polishing by catching the edge with the buffing wheel and ground another blade to dust with a dremel grind stone because the sandpaper wasn't working fast enough for me. :roflmao

Like I said, you should be pleased with the results. They look good. Not to mention that it is one fine blade you have there.

Chris...you did good!:) I have made a few more mistakes than Vlad mentioned so consider yourself doing well.

Good work Chris. I wish my efforts were as successful. Had a setback today.. Used too much glue and they're stuck together so I had to cut another set of blanks lol.

Thanks guys!

One quick question...
How do you guys make the end spacer? What thickness do you make it, and how do you cut it to size?

I just checked the 'delivery confirmation' and it looks like I'll have some supplies to work with when I get home today! Perhaps I'll be with you guys, making the scale from scratch!

Vlad, it sounds like you have what we call in our family 'the Utzat Anger'. When something goes wrong, the "smash it" response kicks in! While I seem to be the least effected in my familey, I have done my share of "fixing" things that do not work ;)

ONe thing that is also a little tedious with this stuff is, I don't have a work bench! I had to sit on a stepping stool and work on the top of a book shelf infront of my computer desk (my ass and back are still killing me from sitting crouched like that on a small wooden stool!).

C utz

Chris, the wedge is a way to show your creativity, but I'll give you a pointer or two. You can either cut it from a 1/8" sheet of hardwood and sand it down to about 1.5mm on the butt end and 2.5mm on the front end or cut it from a small block of wood. This second option makes your job easier because you can cut it to the 2.5x1.5mm profile (well a bit thicker, so you can sand it smooth). I'm gonna try this with maple. Once you cut the little wedge, you use the scale blanks as a template.

Thanks for the thickness info, that'll help. I have noticed in most of the restorations that are posted here, the end spacer is less of a wedge, and more of a squared/uniform size spacer.

What about metal spacer's (brass, steel, etc...), and suggestions? What to avoid? How to work with it?

Is this info in Bill's 'new' restoration CD? I own the CD, but have yet to look over the new one.....

C utz

That's a fine job. It holds together design-wise. Form and function is what it's all about.

Chris, It should really be anything you can shape into a wedge and keep that shape. Your next consideration should be how it would look with the scales. Metal would be more difficult to work with. I'd probably use a 0.1" thick strip of brass angled on the belt sander until it reached the right shape.

Chris,

I use brass wedges because I like the look but it is more of a pain to taper and shape than wood or plastic.

I use 3/32" x 1" x 24" brass strip. I sand it on my belt sander by press it down with a piece of wood to keep it flat. Dunk in water to cool it off. Mind you I did not get any metal sanding belts and resort to a 50 ro 80 grit wood belts. So a propper belt may work better.

Afterwards I rough cut the profile on a metal bandsaw and further rough shape on a grinder. The final tweaking is done with a file by hand. Sand and polish to a shine.

One thing to watch out for is the weight which is considerable. It also sits all the way out on the furthest point from the pivot pin. A good thing if the wood is light but may make the scales a bit heavy with denser woods for lighter blades.

I will often use carpet tape on my fingers to hold small parts for shaping them on a belt-type sander. If you are not careful, though, you lose flesh in the process. It eventually grows back... :D

You could use the carpet tape on the end of a stick as Vlad suggested, as well. No burned fingers that way. A smarter way to do it, that's for sure.

It's got sort of a bulldog collar/studded leather S&M bra thing goin' on...I like it. :roflmao

Outstanding job!!!!!!! Im curious though how did you get the cone shape by pinning the scales?

The 'cone' is actually a 1/16" x 1" brass nail with a round head. I put the nail in the Dremel and use it as a lathe to file the dome to a spike using a metal file. Then I add some #0 washer's to the nail and sand them until uniform with the spike-head (all on the dremel/lathe). Drill holes in the scales, clip down the nail to size, add a dab of glue to the hole. Pass the spike into the scale, and on the opposite side (inside of the scales) peen and file flush with the scales. The peen does not need to be that wide since there is also glue holding them in place. I'd say the trickiest part is peening and sanding the inside scales so not to crack or scar/scratch up the horn......

C utz

Very nice my complements to on a job well done and thanks for the tip.:tu