descaling

[Hunter Bock]

Having just completed my final send-out-for-scaling adventure I'm now motivated to go it alone.

I have noticed that some lower end razors have decent scales price competitive with ordering scales separately. Any reason not to harvest such scales? The issue of course is separating the scales from the cheap blade.

I'd like to mine forum wisdom for tips & tricks on removing scales intact. Thanks everyone.

 

[Hunter Bock]

Having just completed my final send-out-for-scaling adventure I'm now motivated to go it alone.

I have noticed that some lower end razors have decent scales price competitive with ordering scales separately. Any reason not to harvest such scales? The issue of course is separating the scales from the cheap blade.

I'd like to mine forum wisdom for tips & tricks on removing scales intact. Thanks everyone.

note: mycarver's thread is excellent but I don't have access to a drill press.

 

[Slash McCoy]

note: mycarver's thread is excellent but I don't have access to a drill press.

There are small stand assemblies that you can use as sort of a drill press with an ordinary hand drill. Kludgy but it works, and for many, makes it possible to drill a much cleaner hole than drilling freehand. They are not expensive and don't take up much storage. For drilling scales and wedges, a cheap Harbor Freight benchtop drill press is adequate and won't break the bank.

With practice and diligent effort, you can train yourself to drill a pretty good vertical hole with a hand drill. I hate cordless tools for obvious reasons but for learning to drill a true hole, not having the cord might be a plus.

Sure, you can harvest the scales from another razor, but it isn't that hard to make scales. For your first pair, try plain ordinary colored acrylic. Scraps from a sign shop work. Look for 1/8" thick. TAP Plastics has good quality cast acrylic sheet in a variety of colors. I think minimum order is $10 and that much gives you enough material for about a dozen razors I think. Acrylic is not particularly durable but it is very easy to work using hand tools. G-10, Micarta, these are a pretty good class of materials for further rescaling fun. Bone, horn, wood, these can be slightly more difficult to work with, especially horn, but the results can be very easy on the eyes.

 

[Hunter Bock]

Thanks Slash. I ordered a small desk vise that should work for me. I only have hand tools & dremel available. Otherwise I would jump into making my own scales. First off would be bog oak and kauri.

 

[Hunter Bock]

. . . unless there's a way to craft scales by hand without a mounted jig saw.

 

[Doc226]

. . . unless there's a way to craft scales by hand without a mounted jig saw.

 

[Hunter Bock]

Excellent! Thanks Doc.