My first self made scales

[Thomas Martin]

Decided that my Dorko needed new scales and since good scales for larger blades are rather hard to find and I decided to make them myself. I went for fake tortoise since it was at hand seemed easier to work on than horn or bone. I am pretty happy with the result. Hope you like it too.

 

[Doc226]

Very nice job.

Very nice faux tortoise

 

[Gamma]

Very nice - 100x better than my first scales. Great job. Love the faux tort. pattern and the simple clean lines.

I think I see something on the show-side scale, probably a fleck of the plastic or maybe something else.
At the mid-point, just about under the second 'R' in the word 'Razor' in the gold wash.

 

[Billbickman]

Those are beautiful.

 

[Capt]

Very nice!

 

[Thomas Martin]

Very nice - 100x better than my first scales. Great job. Love the faux tort. pattern and the simple clean lines.

I think I see something on the show-side scale, probably a fleck of the plastic or maybe something else.
At the mid-point, just about under the second 'R' in the word 'Razor' in the gold wash.

That's paper residues from glueing the two halves together while working on them. I didn't get that glossy translucent shine after 1000 sanding paper and polishing with my dremel ( red paste). Any tips?

 

[Pattorashu]

dremel might be a little harsh on the plastic. I'd recommend white paste, then fine cut cleaner, then a machine glaze on buffing wheels.

I found them when I first bought my set at sears for like $10-15

Attach them to a drill and roughly 2000 RPM gets me the best plastic polish.

Great work so far on the scales, they look beautiful. IMO the matte is kind of cool, but you'll make the pattern pop with a deep polish gloss.

 

[Gamma]

That's paper residues from glueing the two halves together while working on them. I didn't get that glossy translucent shine after 1000 sanding paper and polishing with my dremel ( red paste). Any tips?

I use two sided tape to stick them together, less residue to deal with.

After 1k paper, try 2k w/d, then red, then metal polish, I use Wenol. Any type should work.

 

[alpster]

That's paper residues from glueing the two halves together while working on them. I didn't get that glossy translucent shine after 1000 sanding paper and polishing with my dremel ( red paste). Any tips?

The scales look great! You can be proud of them.

If you want more shine, try some "white polishing compound" from your local auto-parts or big box store. You can use this without any power tools.

 

[Thomas Martin]

Thank you guys! I'm happy you like my scales.

 

[oakeshott]

Where did you find faux tortoise? I've been looking for some in the right length and width but with no success.

 

[Thomas Martin]

http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/page/homepage.htm

 

[oakeshott]

http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/page/homepage.htm

Thanks, Thomas. They have some nice things.

 

[CanonSterVa]

Very nice work.
Surely a joy to shave with now that you made your own scales.

 

[TheIronMantis]

Looks good. What did you use to make the wedge?

 

[Thomas Martin]

It's horn. I'm still up to trying giving these scales the translucent mirror shine I want. Going to try some buffing compounds I just ordered on the bay.

 

[pmaster]

did you try with some 1500-2000grit sanding paper and then mag polish?(MAAS, blue magic etc...). Even off 1000 grit I think I usually get good results with the mag polish.

 

[Thomas Martin]

Thanks. Problem is that all these products are not available on this side of the pond.

 

[Pattorashu]

Mirror shine is all about the wheel and compound combination. Slower speeds will help. A dremel is probably going to rotate too fast to get that sweet spot.