Thread: Scale materials

My razor aquisition disorder has seen me purchase a dozen or so old razors from various people. I'm going to be sending out two or three of them to one of the restorer guru's from SRP. The other ones are going to be used by me for honing and restoration practice.

Right now I am researching materials for scales and decided that I will be using wood. My question is how long do you expect wooden scales to last on a razor that is used a couple times a week. I only have three razors now, and intend to get 7 or 8 in my rotation. I've read through the faq's and decided that I would be using tung oil to finish them.

Cheers!

Wood will last a really long time as long as they are submerged in water for long periods. Since you are going to be using tung oil and the fact that the scales really shouldn't be getting that wet and unless they break or crack I don't see why they should out last you. You might have to put a couple coats of tung oil on in the future, but they should last a long time IMHO.

Originally Posted by Scookum

My razor aquisition disorder has seen me purchase a dozen or so old razors from various people. I'm going to be sending out two or three of them to one of the restorer guru's from SRP. The other ones are going to be used by me for honing and restoration practice.

Right now I am researching materials for scales and decided that I will be using wood. My question is how long do you expect wooden scales to last on a razor that is used a couple times a week. I only have three razors now, and intend to get 7 or 8 in my rotation. I've read through the faq's and decided that I would be using tung oil to finish them.

Cheers!

If taken care of and properly sealed, wood scales can last indefinitely.

The reality of scales and water is,They should never get wet.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

The reality of scales and water is,They should never get wet.

I'm obviously a sloppy shaver cause mine do get wet lol. I always wipe them dry after shaving tho.

Ive been on a rescale crusade as of late. Using all wood & all tung oiled. If you dry them right after shaving, and give them a tung oil treatment now & again, you'll have no problems. Although I would try to keep them from getting soaked.
Happy carving!!!

Well its not like I go scuba diving with my razors. lol. I'm not that bad...

That kinda depends on the wood,,,

Without knowing what wood you are putting the Tung oil on the answer is pretty much a moot point


Properly applied to the correct woods you should be good past your lifetime, even Scuba Diving

Originally Posted by gssixgun

That kinda depends on the wood,,,

Without knowing what wood you are putting the Tung oil on the answer is pretty much a moot point


Properly applied to the correct woods you should be good past your lifetime, even Scuba Diving

Glen --
A buddy of mine over on Saginaw Bay (MI) made some scales out of black walnut a few years ago. Well, he sold them some time ago, so I'm wondering how you think that particular wood may hold up over time.

Black Walnut is one of the most used woods for Rifle Stocks and is very good in weather, seals very well also.. It accepts many different finishes, easy to work, easy to finish, what more do you want..

I did a set in Turkish Walnut some time back have to look for pics