POLL to help select scales materials

[Antique Hoosier]

Thinking seriously of having scales made for my beloved Heljestrand MK 31 and changing out the faux tortoise ones where the blade currently rests. I prefer traditional appearances in most things but some of the more exotic woods are things I'm warming up to. Assigned below are material choices. If it were yours, what would you select?

 

[Doc226]

Ivory or horn for me.

 

[Gamma]

I'd go for real Tortoise.

Lots of Heljes are done in Ivory - it's kinda played out.

 

[silver]

I love the classic look of ivory scales on Helje's

 

[Kentos]

If money was no object Ivory or Real Tortoise.

 

[Doc226]

Can one get real tortoise scales?

 

[ACorazza]

Can one get real tortoise scales?

I believe only if it is pre ban but that is probably very expensive. I have seen some Heljestrands with real tortoise though and they look great. Personally I would go ivory or dark brown horn, the razor is a classic and deserves some classic scales to go with it

 

[Gamma]

Greekguy has a matched set in Tortoise - they're gorgeous.
Tortoise can be found, Ivory is prob easier to get though.

 

[oakeshott]

It's a workhorse razor for you, not just a showpiece. Didn't you say you used it for 90% of your shaves? You should have some workhorse scales. That leaves out Ivory and Tortoise which are a bit showy. Same with MOP and Abalone. Aluminum is too industrial. Of the remainder, Ebony, horn and buckeye burl are, imo, the best options. Horn and ebony are more traditional.

Choose one of those.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

It is a workhorse almost daily driver so I agree with you Mark. Traditional yet durable is what I should be looking for

 

[Thomas Martin]

Nothing else than ivory for an MK series Heljestrand.

 

[Legion]

Pre-ban Tortoise? You might have a better chance of pre-ban unicorn horn.

If money is no object I would go Mammoth ivory. You can get that easily enough (for a cost), and how cool is it?

 

[Obiwan]

If money IS an object, I'd also consider bone as an alternative to ivory. I made a set for a friend and was impressed with the quality and strength of the material.

 

[Gamma]

I think bone, ivory, and shell are all pretty durable and suitable for a workhorse razor.
As for those materials being 'showy' - maybe a bit more than ebony or something. About the same as some types of horn though.

Preban Tortoise has to be 'farmed' or repurposed from vintage items.
The last few guitar picks I made came from a sheet I pulled off the back of an old hand-held mirror.
Yeah - that material is tough to find and costly. But - it's not an impossible situation.

 

[PapaFish]

Bone has such a nice feel to it. You can even watch eBay for a razor with vintage bone scales, and swap the scales to your razor. I did that for one razor, and it looked fantastic.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

I would go with ivory. I am not fond of tortoise as I have had them as pets and it just doesn't feel right.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

I like the idea of finding vintage bones scales on eBay and retrofitting them!

 

[Howl1nWolf]

I do like a nice hardwood but I would have to go with aluminum. When it comes to shave gear I like modern look of metal. plus shiny things make me giggle

 

[weizemanner]

I would go with ivory if you can get it. Bone if you can't. IDK why, but I just think MK lose something in dark scales.

If I was re-scaling mine, I would try to get a shape that accentuated the thumb grip.