I will start by saying that this isn't a fix for all scales, but it worked quite well on these Bakelite scales, that were badly warped. Razor- Vintage Japanese Cherry Razor
These scales were so warped and twisted that the blade made contact on the front third of the blade. I got the idea that if one of our members could have his wife warp the scales with a hairdryer, then piping hot water might be a gentler way to make them soft. So I took a popsicle stick to keep the scales separated and immersed them in almost boiling water.I let the blade rest on the side of the stick , in the direction I wanted it to move.
Next, I swished the razor around in the water, while holding the blade and stick. I pulled it all out of the water and gently squeezed the scales together(one was bulging). I then rinsed under cold water. I repeated and gently twisted and turned the scales into shape, while hot, all the wile leaving the popsicle stick inside. . I do all this quickly, before it cools, then cool it in cold water. All this took about 5 minutes, not including heating the water in the microwave. The end result: The blade is almost perfectly centered, the scales aren't twisted, or bulging on one side anymore.
Two years have passed, since I've posted this fix, and I've used this method many many times since. In looking at the original post, the razor I fixed is still being used regularly, and is one of my favorites. The scales have not shifted back in the slightest.
I use hot air, but this seems to work pretty easy! Neat trick!!! Works better on bone scales than heating with air! Thx
Nice Wee Tip that One Scott..Twisted Scales Can be a Bugger for Springing Back when Cooling.. My Girl Lolly Pop.. Billy..
Haha she's "your girl" Billy?!?! Gosh. I didn't know women like that existed in Scotland. You've got her tied up in your basement haven't you???
It does work very well. I’ve used your method once And it does work very good. I used a very similar method on a set that needed repinning. Since they were separated I put them between two flat boards and clamped them together and put it in the freezer for a few hours.
You are correct, twisted scales are a bit of a "Bugger". I fixed a few of those too. There had been some horn scales i couldn't fix, too. What i do for these is to open the razor, at 90 degrees, put the popsicle stick inside the scales, and dip them in the very hot water, for 10-20 seconds. I take them out of the water and clamp them, with either my hand, or rubber bands, then cool them under cool sink water. If you do this too much, the horn scales can start to absorb too much water, and start to split. A little splitting is ok, if the scales need to be sanded anyway. As with everything, moderation. What i enjoy about doing things like this is that you !earn to repair your own things, and not rely on others. I'm a tinkerer, and would rather spend my money on tools, to repair something, rather than pay someone the same amount of money, to do that repair. Plus, I then am able to help others repair these things. This not only applies to razors, but many things I own in life.
Horn likes Oil, and becomes pliable at about 300°F using a Deep Fat Fryer or a Fondue Pot that you can adjust the temp on makes this a much easier project. I took a thread written by the late Neil Miller about how Horn scales were made back in the day for me to figure out how to fix them now although Whale Oil is no longer available hehehe hint; Any kind of Dry heat applied to scales runs a huge risk of wrecking them because of the lack of accurate temp control ie: Hair dryers, Heat Guns, Oven, or Flames
One thing that occurred to me about using "New" horn blanks while working a set of Honey Horn scales over the weekend I used to try and straighten horn BEFORE I used them, which I still do to some extent, I order in quite a bit of horn in advance and it sits in the shop under extreme pressure for a few months before I use it. I used to boil it in water first but after I used the Hot Oil system I stopped doing that, what I also stopped doing is trying to straighten the horn first.. I make the scales, thin the scales down to about .110" then I decide if I need to dip them in hot oil, many times what I thought would need straightening ends up not needing it .. Also try and use the bend to your advantage, if you build the scales with the "Bend" in the middle of the two scales actually helping the "Bow / Flex that the scales should have makes it work better Disregard all that if the scales have a "Twist"
