Thread: Wooden Scale Advice

Originally Posted by BRGriff

One quarter inch is going to leave you with a lot of sanding. You have to drill a pilot hole to start cutting. Why not drill a few extra, especially where there are tight bends. The few seconds taken to do that will save you a tone of sanding.




You do not have to do any vacuum chamber stuff to help protect your scales. The Minwax Wood Hardener I mentioned was designed to be brushed on. Follow the can instructions and you can significantly enhance your scales against water and heat. The product is formulated to seep into the pores. And no, I do not own stock in the company. It's just a good product. I have never tried the Cactus Juice but I would like to. At present, it is just too expensive for me.

All the best with your scales. I'll watch for your post when you finish them.

Randy

Good ideas..... So I can still use a jigsaw, but just drill more pilot holes?

Parker

Hey Parker, take a look at this picture...



Look at the tail end of the scale slab (left edge) I buzzed the end off with a jigsaw very carefully and got that chipping out. Also notice how close I got to my line, which I always draw a little oversized from my pattern anyways. I cut to just less than 1/8" from my line. I profile sand the shape with a good quality 100 grit paper wrapped around a 1" dowel. These scales were cut by hand with a coping saw in under two minutes, btw.

Remember, power tools don't make better product, they just make mistakes happen faster. Working by hand often let's you fix a potential mistake before its an irreversible screw up.


-Xander

Hmmmm.. That is a lot more convincing.... I may just get a coping saw. Or see if any of my neighbors have one. That does not look good. Especially because this wood is going be be relatively thin.. How thick was that piece of wood?

Parker

Go to the local Vons and pick up a few of their wooden stir sticks at Starbucks and try an experiment with using your jig saw! try it with the blades you have! Then pick up a 'metal cutting blade package' and give it a go again! If Vons don't have the stir sticks, make your own or buy some Popsicles! I'm not saying that the metal cutting blades will work better, however you'll never know until you try!Remember what I've been telling you about 'experiments'!!



Master RAD

Hi there Cangooner, the liners are made from 2mm high impact white acrylic, i then take the wood down to around 2mm so to compensate for the overall thickness, i will leave you with a few photo's of some of my scales with liners, this will give you a slightly better idea of the finished scales.

Jamie.

Originally Posted by Cangooner

As SRP's resident late-mediaeval historian, can I just say that I'm very happy to hear the OLD Welsh tradition of working with Yew is still going strong? The longbow and the straight razor: two beautiful and potentially deadly works of art!

Edit: I forgot to say: those are beautiful scales! What did you line them with?

Just a few thoughts in reply to the 'wood isn't traditional' and 'they didn't use it back in the day (because plastic/bakelite/horn - insert your material of choice) - was better'.

Well, that ain't necessarily so...

A lot of old swedish razors I have seen have had wooden scales - particularly ebony. Why didn't wood catch on more? Simply because it was not a 'plastic' easily formed and worked material and the requisite type wasn't locally available everywhere, unlike cows, for instance - I maintain that it took more skill to use it than it did to pour something into a mould and make hundreds at a time. Horn really caught on because it was the first 'natural plastic' material that could easily be split, moulded and even impressed with intricate patterns. However, there are very old french razors that have scales made of ... pressed wood! It takes a bit of looking to tell them from pressed horn.

Things usually gain prevalence due to ease of working, cheapness, availability and other market factors - not because they are harder to work, IMO.

Just my two cents worth.

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by parkerskouson

Hmmmm.. That is a lot more convincing.... I may just get a coping saw. Or see if any of my neighbors have one. That does not look good. Especially because this wood is going be be relatively thin.. How thick was that piece of wood?

That was both scales together, roughly 1/4" total thickness.


-X

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

What were you doing with the burls? Scales?

yes scales

To Neil's point. It was all about mass production, assembly lines and quality control. In 1918, $5,000,000 worth of razors were made and sold in the US, Germandy and England. That's a lot of scales and to product that many, manufacturers couldn't rely on natural elements in the production because of the fickle nature of those products. If you are going you make 500 razors this month, you needed to know that all the supplies needed would be consistant.

In the 1920's the industry trades publications actually hailed the switch to assembly line methods in the Sheffield factories as the American mass production methods were consisted more more efficent and more humane to the workers.

Here's one Glen did for me a couple of years ago. It's still holding up great.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...-re-scale.html