Proportion for scales

Howdy folks,

So I was setting down and sanding out some new scales and as I am sure many people have done I determined I didn’t like the proportion of the end of the scales (the length of the extra hanging past the pivot point). I figure most everyone just kind of eyeballs how they see fit but I was thinking back to some design classes I took in college recalling how generally certain proportions are more aesthetically pleasing than others. That being said, I was wondering what others thought about specific proportions for say wedge length amount, how long a section should be after the pivot point, etc. Does anyone use any specific proportion? I am sure we all have our own likes/dislikes and styles but always interested how others create.

Dennis

I'm with you Dennis. I go past the tang about 1/8" when the blade (trial fitting) is vertical and the scales are horizontal. Works pretty good for me. You need to be at least the same amount of material as you have on top and bottom of the pivot when the scales are horizontal. Good thing is you can always take away...

Makes me wonder how long the length on the scales I have sitting at home. Its amazing how such a minor length change can alter the appearance of a razor.

Most of the time, when I'm making scales, I at least partially base my design off a vintage set. It's worked for me so far.

I also find that drawing the full scale out on the material with marks for the pins seems to help.

I'm not sure there is a hard and fast overhang proportion, though I am sure data could be collected to find stats on the most common ratios for various classes of razor, for example. I am also sure there are rules of thumb you could take from design and apply to this problem, but I'm no expert so perhaps there aren't.

Personally, just from eyeballing my various razors, it seems to me the scales should mirror the blade with perhaps 10% extra coverage? To be honest, I am not sure how useful a proportion is over simply drawing it out like holli says.

I wonder what a razor and scale combination that follows the golden ratio would look like? :)

James.

It varies with the tail of the razor :) your finger should be able to settle into the tail pocket to assist in opening the razor... To much and it feels off, too little and you have a weak pivot point, also watch the height of the pivot end, when the razor is open fully ie: for stropping, the tang height and the pivot height should match also it should be a flush extention of the scales and razor..

Honest I don't make this stuff up, I look at old razors, and before I ever did my first restore I took apart quite a few vintage razors and measured with a Mic and looked at how those old farts did things, and figured out why, they did things the way they did..
Things like flex, 3rd pins, wedge size, wedge angle, all these things evolved from the oldie moldies back in the late 1700's to the Brandy new Dovo's and TI's...

Go look, Go measure don't take anyone's word including mine, for how things "Should be" or "Can be" look at how things have been done over the years and why they were done that way :p

Have you ever heard about the golden ratio? 1.618...

Golden ratio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You can use it when designing you scales or pretty much anything and it adds a more pleasant and natural look to it.

Hope this helps