Wade & Butcher 7/8th. Extra Hollow Ground. I Bought this for the blade only, and looking at the original scales, that was a good call. The Horn Scales are warped and dried out. I might save them, and restore them for another razor. After I sand it down and get to the good material, and straighten them out, I will make that call. Now, on to the blade. It has some rust issues, that I have been working on, but the edge looks fantastic. I've sanded and buffed out as much of the pitting, without changing the dimensions. Before: After the sanding, polishing, and removal of the scales. It is highly polished, and I am debating on whether to tone it down some, and add a little sheen. The dark spots are only shadows. It has a mirror shine to it. Next issue. The pivot pin hole is worn out, and too large. Simple fix, in the works. I took some 5 minute Epoxy, and filled the hole in. This will sit for a day or two, until it is rock hard. Then, I will re-drill the hole, to the correct size. I need to start thinking about scales. Should I make an entirely new set, out of Honey Horn. Re-use the original? Or, use a premade set or horn, that is semi transparent, to black?? ..
I sanded the scales, and there was much warping. I did get that straightened kut, but there is also some splitting of layers, that sanding will not fix. But, several layers of CA will fill it in, and hid it all, it will also strengthen the scales, and leave them less prone to warpage and splitting, in the future. After the CA, it would need a lot of sanding. This isn't a problem, and the scales would look OK, but I'm shooting for better. These scales are semi transparent and ruddy. Not befitting of this blade. So, i will be working with a blank of very transparent Honey Horn. Next question is the shape. Should it be more towards thin and original, or thicker and more square. Or, perhaps an angled look. I split the Honey Horn in two, with a hacksaw. Holy crap, thats some tough stuff.
I personally think thicker scales look better on wider blades. That one is beautiful and unique, so I'd steer away from standard thickness, standard shaped scales. Just my opinion... unless you are sending me the finished razor for Christmas... in which case, definitely go with the thicker!
I sketched out some designs. Not real fancy, but a little more that original. I also need to think about the wedge. There are 5 . The top one is what originally came with the razor. Thre is also the Blank scales taped together. They are tough as nails to cut. Opinions?? I need feedback.
I don’t think you can go wrong, but if you’re asking for Christmas, I would go with number three. Although 4 does match up a bit better with the roundness of the blade, and might be a better call.
I spent 10 minutes with the Dremel, and sanding drum attachment, and I have the shape. Much easier than I thought. It was only after that I realized I was covered, Head to Waist, with Horn Dust. Funny thing was, the dog thought I was a big treat. Kept jumping on me and licking, as I made my way from the garage to the house. Silly Dog. You can see the transparency, with this photo.
I dont know, yet. Being that this is my first scale build, from scratch, I'm taking it slow. Any suggestions are welcome.
You're on your way! One thing I found helpful in scales assembly and integrity is having the proper thickness to yield good resistance and strength, but still maintain enough flex when pinning to keep the tension up. SRs are obviously not pocket knives and have an intended bow (flex) in the assembled scale shape. I try to shoot for a even scale thickness of .115-.120" for the majority of razor rescales. Too thin, too weak. Too thick, no flex at all. If calipers are unavailable, one can 'eyeball' the thickness just under 1/8" thickness (using a ruler). On the wedge, I shoot for .065" (1/16") on the thick end. Much thicker than that and your scale angle (splay) will be too wide; too thin, not enough tension (flex). Belt & hand-sanding ( a slow process) Through steps 1 & 2, hard edges and deep scratches are carefully removed, moving from 120 grit > 240 grit > 320 grit on the upright belt sander. In steps 3 & 4, we're moving into higher grits and hand-sanding: 400>600>800>1000>1200grit.
The scales are finished. Lots of sanding today. . They might get a final polishing when all put together. I put them on top of an Arko box, to show the transparency . Next comes the wedge.
Scott, I know you are probably finished with the wedge by now , but if you wanted something like this turquoise let me know, I could get a piece to you. Comes through decently. But not quite traditional. Your scales are looking great. Tom
That would be fantastic. I haven't started with the wedge yet. To be honest, I didn't think I would get this far, this fast. Anything would help. I'll send my info.
The project is on hold, for the moment, because I am awaiting a package from @TestDepth . He is generously donating some material for the wedge.