Le Grelot celluloid scales: keep or not?

[carlosj]

I’m restoring an old Le Grelot P. Hospital with beautiful scales that turned out to be celluloid. Light sanding to clean them and got greet by a strong camphor smell.

Should I discard them to avoid cell rot or try to keep the original look?

Any thoughts on this are appreciated.

 

[carlosj]

An option I'm considering is to clone the original scales in transparent acqua plexiglass. But I'm not into all that sanding by hand though.

 

[carlosj]

I have cleaned and polished the blade nicely. It shaves very well. But revisited the seller pics and there was a suspicious stain:

 

[psfred]

One of them is cracked as well. I'd replace, I don't trust century old celluloid....

 

[DrStrange]

I don't put up with outgassing celluloid.

The best thing to do,
and I know some of the restoration folks around here have done it,
is to remove the escutcheon, and recycle it onto new scales.

 

[carlosj]

Thank you folks.

Never done scales before but will follow the guides in the sticky thread. Will start disassembling the original to make a copy.
I have ordered an acrylic sheet…

 

[Legion]

That crack would seal the deal for me. I'd replace.

 

[Steve56]

Replace. If you want something similar, try to find some root beer Kirinite.

 

[carlosj]

Thanks for the advice. Will update on the progress here.

 

[carlosj]

So, I do not think this is something I want to invest my time on. Seems like a lot of sanding. Here’s the plexiglass stock:

Maybe a laser cut or cnc router is easier but not worth the cost.

The crack, I have fixed, reinforced with internal PET washers, and sanded smooth.

I’ll put back the original scales and let fortune decide the fate of this beater.

 

[psfred]

Lol, this is one reason I have a band saw....

A disk sander would make short work of that, so will a belt sander. But hand sanding would be a winter project I think.

 

[Legion]

Lol, this is one reason I have a band saw....

A disk sander would make short work of that, so will a belt sander. But hand sanding would be a winter project I think.

I usually cut mine out on the band saw, then refine the shape with a sanding drum on a Dremel. Then you just need to hand sand away the scratches.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I wouldn't mind having a band saw but I don't have one at the moment. I cut scales to rough shape with a coping saw, then use a scraper to bevel the edges and get the final shape. Quick hand sand after that.

It's not near as fast as power tools but it's usually just an afternoon project. Acrylics are really easy to scrape smooth with a card scraper or even a utility knife.

 

[carlosj]

Thank you guys for the replies. I do not want to buy more tools, and do not have a workshop to keep them either.

But I have a set of pre-made buffalo horn scales that are almost the same size and about .75mm to thick. Shaping horn to my liking might be an easier job. Also get to use those scales that are just lying around in a drawer:

 

[Legion]

Thank you guys for the replies. I do not want to buy more tools, and do not have a workshop to keep them either.

But I have a set of pre-made buffalo horn scales that are almost the same size and about .75mm to thick. Shaping horn to my liking might be an easier job. Also get to use those scales that are just lying around in a drawer:

View attachment 1876090

Sure, get those things made up. They could look really good.

FWIW, for the guys who do not have a workshop, or the space for one. A Dremel tool is super versatile, and there are accessories that can do everything needed to make scales. And it will all fit in a box.

Just don't get carried away using it on blades unless you really know what you are about.

 

[carlosj]

Yes, that’s a good idea. Will get into one. I have a battery operated one with scotchbrite radial brushes for cleaning. Maybe I get a more powerful one with a good set of bits.

 

[Legion]

Yes, that’s a good idea. Will get into one. I have a battery operated one with scotchbrite radial brushes for cleaning. Maybe I get a more powerful one with a good set of bits.

Yep. A variable speed, corded one is the business.

I have a couple, but one I suspend from various places in the workshop, and use it with the flex shaft accessory. Super handy.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Horn is very easy to shape with hand tools, files and sandpaper, scrapes very well and you can almost finish with just a scraper. I can scrape a pair of scales to near finish with a scraper and razor blades easily and quickly.

Google (How to make a traditional set of horn scales ... the way I do it) for an excellent tutorial.

Horn can be sanded to 1k and polished to high gloss with any good metal polish.

Note, if you Google, it will take you to a Wiki and the first part of the post.

There are 3 parts to the tutorial and parts 2 and 3 are more about shaping (scraping) and finishing, will likely be more beneficial for you. There is a link to the full tutorial in the Wiki post.

It is an excellent tutorial and KarlJ does some great restoration work.

 

[carlosj]

Thank you. I found the tutorial going over it now. I finished shaping the horn earlier today. I did a progression with w/d paper of 100, 220, 400, 800, 1500 and spread some mink oil. It is already looking great. Probably does not need the luster of a fine polisher.

Indeed is was easier to handle than plexiglass.

Now I'm facing blade alignment issues. I think the wedge is not of the right angle or the holes were not equidistant. Troubleshooting this at the moment...

 

[carlosj]

The holes aren't the problem. The scales were taped with double-sided carpet tape through the shaping and drilling process. I have rechecked and they are perfect.