What's new

Re-scaling my favorite razor

Hello and thanks for looking. It's been a while since I've posted here, but I've been a member for a while, and have been straight razor shaving for several years now. I have tons of vintage razors, strops new and old, and I have rescaled one razor before in wood, when I first started. But this particular razor is my favorite. It's a circa 1820-1860 Frederic Wallace, which is not a brand that I have seen before. It used to say Standard no. 1 on the side, but that has mostly worn off, because this was the razor that I learned to hone a wedge with.

This isn't near my oldest or most valuable razor, but it's by far my best shaving, and it's my favorite. It is a US Civil War artifact, which I purchased out of a lot with some civil war goods maybe 8 or 9 years ago.

Anyway, finally, to the point. The scales are falling apart. They are ox horn. They are getting soft and basically peeling away. I have the scales coated in epoxy now, just to hold them together. I don't have the skill to do this razor justice. I'm looking for someone to re-scale it for me. Does any one feel they could give it a shot (not for free of course). I does not need to be honed, restored, or polished. Just rescaled.

The more I ramble here, I might be willing to try it myself, if someone could point me in the right direction. What tools and materials do I need? Again, this is my absolute favorite razor, so I don't want to ruin it. If it's too much for an amateur to do in horn, and keep it looking good, I'm willing to pay for the service. I love this razor.

20220306_222901.jpg
 
Very lovely!

FWIW - horn is not a desperately difficult material to work with. It can be brittle but not overly so, it’s relatively easy to shape, and make look nice (sand to about 2k + buffing of you want), as well as being quite easy to drill neatly.

You could do it with a hacksaw, some sandpaper, a drill, and a hammer very happily. Plus the pins and horn scale blanks.
 
Very lovely!

FWIW - horn is not a desperately difficult material to work with. It can be brittle but not overly so, it’s relatively easy to shape, and make look nice (sand to about 2k + buffing of you want), as well as being quite easy to drill neatly.

You could do it with a hacksaw, some sandpaper, a drill, and a hammer very happily. Plus the pins and horn scale blanks.

You can run into problems with the horn not wanting to stay straight or flat, I always pre-straighten the scale blanks before working but sometimes once you start removing material, internal stresses that are released cause them to shift again so I occasionally have to go back and straighten multiple times on more stubborn pieces.
 
Yup, the karlej post is one of the best on making horn scales. It is a very forgiving and inexpensive material, super easy to work with hand tools.

If you make a proper wedge they will remain flat in tension, but if not holding them under running hot water and shaping, shimming with a few popsicle stick will get them straight easily.
 
You can run into problems with the horn not wanting to stay straight or flat, I always pre-straighten the scale blanks before working but sometimes once you start removing material, internal stresses that are released cause them to shift again so I occasionally have to go back and straighten multiple times on more stubborn pieces.

Interesting... I can imagine that being something to watch out for, now that you mention.

(The reason I didn't go into too much detail on process, is that I haven't used it to make razor scales. I use for knife handles which are obviously thicker, and so less prone to warping like that.)
 
Interesting... I can imagine that being something to watch out for, now that you mention.

(The reason I didn't go into too much detail on process, is that I haven't used it to make razor scales. I use for knife handles which are obviously thicker, and so less prone to warping like that.)

Yeah the thicker slabs for knives are going to be much more stable. I buy my horn in 1/8 thick slabs and they’re usually already slightly warped some, never had a flat one. I cut the outlines of the scales out with a coping saw, sand close to final shape then use dry heat to get them flat, then re-sand the outline so they match. A lot of people use boiling water to bend and shape horn but it won’t stick in the long run, horn needs to get to quite hot temps to lose its memory of its old shape and water doesn’t get you there (needs something like 300f). There are some videos of professional horners at Abbeyhorn online and you’ll notice they use a gas burner type setup to heat the horn, actually holding the horn in the flame. Hot oil can also work in lieu of water.
 
Yeah the thicker slabs for knives are going to be much more stable. I buy my horn in 1/8 thick slabs and they’re usually already slightly warped some, never had a flat one. I cut the outlines of the scales out with a coping saw, sand close to final shape then use dry heat to get them flat, then re-sand the outline so they match. A lot of people use boiling water to bend and shape horn but it won’t stick in the long run, horn needs to get to quite hot temps to lose its memory of its old shape and water doesn’t get you there (needs something like 300f). There are some videos of professional horners at Abbeyhorn online and you’ll notice they use a gas burner type setup to heat the horn, actually holding the horn in the flame. Hot oil can also work in lieu of water.

I must give horn razor scales a go sometime, cheers for the tips. It's something I really like working with because it's pretty easy to use, and invariably comes up looking very nice.

What type of horn do people usually use for scales btw? I tend to work with water buffalo horn for knife ferrules.
 
I recently bought good quality horn blanks from SylverSteel on Etsy, and camel bone from Griffith Shaving Goods (who also sells horn blanks). Here is a good thread by @Doc226 on how to make scales:


I use the following:

Belt sander to thin and flatten the blank
Coping saw to cut the raw shape
Belt sander to form the basic shape
$10 4-in-1 rasp, $10 cabinet scraper, and lots of wet/dry sandpaper (100, 400, 800, 1200 and 2000 grit) for the final shaping
Mothers polish to polish

There is only one truth to making scales - you can only remove material - you cannot put material back, so go at your own pace and monitor your work carefully using your eyes, your fingers to feel and possibly and digital caliper.

I am slow as molasses, but I really enjoy the whole process.

Enjoy!
 
I must give horn razor scales a go sometime, cheers for the tips. It's something I really like working with because it's pretty easy to use, and invariably comes up looking very nice.

What type of horn do people usually use for scales btw? I tend to work with water buffalo horn for knife ferrules.

I think buffalo is the standard for most which is what I use, most of it comes from India. In Europe some of the razor makers use horn that comes from cows farmed in France. I imagine they all work very similarly.
 
I think buffalo is the standard for most which is what I use, most of it comes from India. In Europe some of the razor makers use horn that comes from cows farmed in France. I imagine they all work very similarly.

The Sheffields from the 19th century used American bison buffalo horn. The horn that is sold today seems to come from Indian water buffalo which is very nice.
 
I think buffalo is the standard for most which is what I use, most of it comes from India. In Europe some of the razor makers use horn that comes from cows farmed in France. I imagine they all work very similarly.

Yeah sounds same as what I use, mostly from India and SE Asia I think. Picked up some nice blonde and marbled rolls recently:

9F701930-7704-417D-8F82-EB45910E6C1B.jpeg


IMG-5591.jpg


IMG-5589.jpg



---

Sorry to derail your thread slightly OP by talking about different types of horn. But yeah - I think you should go for it! It's very nice stuff to work with, and not too expensive, so you can always try and then send to someone else if it goes wrong :).
 
Anyway, finally, to the point. The scales are falling apart. They are ox horn. They are getting soft and basically peeling away. I have the scales coated in epoxy now, just to hold them together. I don't have the skill to do this razor justice. I'm looking for someone to re-scale it for me. Does any one feel they could give it a shot (not for free of course). I does not need to be honed, restored, or polished. Just rescaled.

The more I ramble here, I might be willing to try it myself, if someone could point me in the right direction. What tools and materials do I need? Again, this is my absolute favorite razor, so I don't want to ruin it. If it's too much for an amateur to do in horn, and keep it looking good, I'm willing to pay for the service. I love this razor.

It seems the initial choice is simple.
1. Send it out to a pro and let them do it
2. Do it yourself.

If you decide to do it yourself you have two choices
1. Pre-made scales
2. Make them yourself

Firstly don't worry about ruining it. The blade is the important part and you won't be ruining anything there.
Worst case scenario you make a mess of the scales and have to start again.

If you decide to do it yourself you'll need

Peening
Rod or nail pinning stock to pin the razor
A flush cutters pliers to cut the rods
A file to smooth the cuts you make (and remove original scales)
A ball peen hammer with the ball polished to impart it's mirror finish to the pin
An anvil of some sort (some use another hammer)

1646910970396.png


Scale material - You can get blond ox horn to keep it original
As you have the original scales so you can make an exact copy by tracing it to the replacement blank.
I don't know what tools you have to work the scales but here shows nothing other than a coping saw and sandpaper.
If you have a belt sander it would speed things up considerably but as others have said take your time and you'll make fewer mistakes. (If using power tools on horn you really do need a respirator as you don't want to inhale the dust)
 
Yeah sounds same as what I use, mostly from India and SE Asia I think. Picked up some nice blonde and marbled rolls recently:

View attachment 1421260

View attachment 1421256

View attachment 1421255


---

Sorry to derail your thread slightly OP by talking about different types of horn. But yeah - I think you should go for it! It's very nice stuff to work with, and not too expensive, so you can always try and then send to someone else if it goes wrong :).
I think that's what I'll do. Beautiful knives, by the way. I'm going to give it a shot. I've made wood scales before. It wasn't that hard. It's been a while though. That was pre-toddler.
 
It seems the initial choice is simple.
1. Send it out to a pro and let them do it
2. Do it yourself.

If you decide to do it yourself you have two choices
1. Pre-made scales
2. Make them yourself

Firstly don't worry about ruining it. The blade is the important part and you won't be ruining anything there.
Worst case scenario you make a mess of the scales and have to start again.

If you decide to do it yourself you'll need

Peening
Rod or nail pinning stock to pin the razor
A flush cutters pliers to cut the rods
A file to smooth the cuts you make (and remove original scales)
A ball peen hammer with the ball polished to impart it's mirror finish to the pin
An anvil of some sort (some use another hammer)

View attachment 1421778

Scale material - You can get blond ox horn to keep it original
As you have the original scales so you can make an exact copy by tracing it to the replacement blank.
I don't know what tools you have to work the scales but here shows nothing other than a coping saw and sandpaper.
If you have a belt sander it would speed things up considerably but as others have said take your time and you'll make fewer mistakes. (If using power tools on horn you really do need a respirator as you don't want to inhale the dust)
Thanks. I'll give it a go. I don't have a belt sander but I have a Dremel I think that might work, no? A belt sander is something not in my arsenal. I'll use an n95 mask, like i use when sanding paint (a real one).
 
I think that's what I'll do. Beautiful knives, by the way. I'm going to give it a shot. I've made wood scales before. It wasn't that hard. It's been a while though. That was pre-toddler.
I’ve done both. Wood is a little easier than horn. The main difference is that as some have mentioned it can be a challenge to keep the horn flat while wood blanks are more likely to come flat and stay flat. For sure, if you can make wood scales, you can make horn scales. But wood and horn both sand, cut and drill about the same. An advantage of horn is that you don’t need to finish the surface. Just sand up to super fine grits (10k+) or use polish - the shine you can get is amazing!
 
I think that's what I'll do. Beautiful knives, by the way. I'm going to give it a shot. I've made wood scales before. It wasn't that hard. It's been a while though. That was pre-toddler.

Look forward to seeing the outcome! If you've made wood scales before then I'm sure you'll be grand with horn - I really like working with it, and it's at least as easy to shape as wood. (Though I didn't know about the potential warping on thin strips of it).

I'd be hesitant about using a dremel on it though. Horn is easier to burn than wood, and even on the slowest settings dremels run quite a lot quicker than belt sanders. If you do, then maybe try it out on a piece before to make sure you know what attachments are going to work alright.

And - cheers! I make a lot of custom knife handles for other people, but that one was for me :). It's nice when you have very lovely bits of wood and horn just to keep things simple, and not faff around with fancy spacers and resin fills and stuff, which is what most people ask for!
 
Top Bottom