So I got an old Sheffield Wedge from the auction site for a decent price. I'm not sure if the scales can be saved. The blade is in nice shape. So two questions, can someone help with the approximate dating and can anyone comment on if these scales can be saved? They are warped and they look like they're delaminating a bit.
Think these scales can be saved?
- Thread starter Bird_Flu
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Absolutely, can be made to look like new.
Unpin, sand with 220 up to 2000 then buff.
Unpin, sand with 220 up to 2000 then buff.
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- #3
Thanks Doc! Is the delaminating an issue? There's one spot that looks pretty bad I'll try and take a better picture of it.
It depends. I have epoxied some together and held them with a clamp while drying then sanding.
They look as if it would be worth the effor to try. You'll find it well worth the effort if you succeed.
I restored Tortise scales from an old W&B and they are beautiful.
I restored Tortise scales from an old W&B and they are beautiful.
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- #6
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- #7
Also through a bit of research I found a thread on the other forum that dates my razor from 1887-1891. Someone on there bought a very similar razor to this one.
Doc, do you find neatsfoot oil helpful in restoring old horn scales?
Not much, I have left them in a long soak and do not find much of an improvement.
Sanding the surface crap off and a good buffing does much better
Rehydrating horn and bone scales is a pretty common maintenance and restoration practice.
Over time the cells in the horn can dehydrate - actually they will dehydrate and that causes them to shrink/split.
Oil soaks, application of hoof dressing, and coats of ren wax afterwards are the 'norm'.
I use oil on horn all the time, esp when I'm restoring dried out old scales - I definitely see a difference and I can also feel the difference.
Over time the cells in the horn can dehydrate - actually they will dehydrate and that causes them to shrink/split.
Oil soaks, application of hoof dressing, and coats of ren wax afterwards are the 'norm'.
I use oil on horn all the time, esp when I'm restoring dried out old scales - I definitely see a difference and I can also feel the difference.
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- #11
So based on the feedback should I soak these guys in oil? If so what's an acceptable can find at a store oil I should look for? I think I can fix the delaminating issue in that last picture. Now for the warp that's causing the razor to close off center, once I have it unpinned should I steam these or should I just put it under a heavy book to flatten them out?
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- #12
I started a restoration thread. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...estore-My-first-restore?p=5441565#post5441565
I won't repost too much but everywhere you see really light coloring is horn dust that got caught where it was splitting and delaminating. Should I grab some clear epoxy and try to fill these areas? Also here's the warp that I don't know what to do with. I want to thank everyone for their input thus far about these scales, it's been really helpful, and I hope the info here can help others in the future.
I won't repost too much but everywhere you see really light coloring is horn dust that got caught where it was splitting and delaminating. Should I grab some clear epoxy and try to fill these areas? Also here's the warp that I don't know what to do with. I want to thank everyone for their input thus far about these scales, it's been really helpful, and I hope the info here can help others in the future.
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I haven't found much difference. How long do you soak, I soaked mine for about 24 hours. I remember mycarver did an experiment where he soaked horn scales and did not find much difference.
You can steam them straight, hold over the steam for about 30 seconds and bend them the way you want them to go, run over cold water to "Set" repeat as needed
I don't soak - I wipe them down with light coats.
Somewhere on the net, there's a before/after set of pix photo of a horn knife handle that shows the shrink from drying, you can see the pins sticking out and the ends pulled away from the bolster and end cap. then after the soak you see the pins are flush and the fit is good again.
The drier the horn, the more pronounced the effect. There's a marked difference in how it sands and polishes too. It's way less brittle and a bit more flexible. If nothing else, it stops the horn from shrinking, peeling, and splitting.
Ren wax after helps seal the horn, so it doesn't dry out as fast.
Somewhere on the net, there's a before/after set of pix photo of a horn knife handle that shows the shrink from drying, you can see the pins sticking out and the ends pulled away from the bolster and end cap. then after the soak you see the pins are flush and the fit is good again.
The drier the horn, the more pronounced the effect. There's a marked difference in how it sands and polishes too. It's way less brittle and a bit more flexible. If nothing else, it stops the horn from shrinking, peeling, and splitting.
Ren wax after helps seal the horn, so it doesn't dry out as fast.
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- #15
Thanks for the advice. I have various oils here I can give it a shot and see how it works. I take it any food oil will work? I'll also give them a good steaming today and see how that works.
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- #16
I bought two kinds of glue, one looks like CA the other two part epoxy. The two part epoxy is translucent yellow, no clear, does this sound right? Both are LocTite brand. Which one should I use?
I've been using food grade mineral oil from the pharmacy section in the drugstore. My favorite part of the label is where it describes itself as an "intestinal lubricant".
I walk around the house yelling out "Has anyone seen my intestinal lubricant?"
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- #18
That's hysterical! Thanks for the tip Mark.- Thread starter
- #19
Here's the scales and blade sanded to 2500 grit. The progression was 220-400-600-800-1000-1500-2000-2500. I'm not sure these can be saved. Now that they're cleaned up, they're splitting along both sides on both scales plus chipping in several places. It's a shame they were once really nice scales. This blade however will get a new set of horn scales. I'll be in contact with a member here to arrange for new scales. Let me know what you gentlemen think based on the pictures. Think I can put some CA or epoxy on these and re-sand them or is the fact they're splitting along the sides the nail in the coffin? Thanks again gentlemen for all the help.
Attachments
Well - I think they can be saved.
This is the outside pivot-end of the scale without the numbers cut into it.
This is after a very basic sanding. There's more to do but the de-lam on the top and edges (which was more severe than imagined) is sealed and
the glaring distraction on the outside has been nearly obliterated.
With more sanding - it'll only get better. You can see the bead of hornoxy on the edge and topside that still need to be sanded down
This was the section I was really worried about. The inside of the scale in the lower portion of the pic.
Mainly - the inside near the pivot of that same scale.
It was a mess - here you can see it needs further sanding but it's built up a bit more flush now, and it's stable.
A little elbow grease will go a long way here, best to wait until the epoxy cures another day and the horn swells back up from oiling though.
All of this work still looks pretty rough, but after a good sanding session with 220x w/d it'll be nice and flat and smooth.
I only had time to do about 15-20 minutes on both scales tonight - with more time it'll all smooth out a lot more.
This stuff takes time and patience. No way around that.
The other scale, with the tape on it - has a delam near the pivot that needs to be sealed and stabilized. It'll cure tonight and then I'll sand it down a bit tomorrow.
there was a large chip on the inside around the pivot pin hole, and that's been sealed too. The hole will have to be redrilled though. No big deal.
After a bit more work - they'll be going back to the OP. With a decent amount of elbow grease effort from this point forward, I think the scales will look pretty good.
Not perfect - not showroom quality. But - in their own way, pretty damn cool.
This is the outside pivot-end of the scale without the numbers cut into it.
This is after a very basic sanding. There's more to do but the de-lam on the top and edges (which was more severe than imagined) is sealed and
the glaring distraction on the outside has been nearly obliterated.
With more sanding - it'll only get better. You can see the bead of hornoxy on the edge and topside that still need to be sanded down
This was the section I was really worried about. The inside of the scale in the lower portion of the pic.
Mainly - the inside near the pivot of that same scale.
It was a mess - here you can see it needs further sanding but it's built up a bit more flush now, and it's stable.
A little elbow grease will go a long way here, best to wait until the epoxy cures another day and the horn swells back up from oiling though.
All of this work still looks pretty rough, but after a good sanding session with 220x w/d it'll be nice and flat and smooth.
I only had time to do about 15-20 minutes on both scales tonight - with more time it'll all smooth out a lot more.
This stuff takes time and patience. No way around that.
The other scale, with the tape on it - has a delam near the pivot that needs to be sealed and stabilized. It'll cure tonight and then I'll sand it down a bit tomorrow.
there was a large chip on the inside around the pivot pin hole, and that's been sealed too. The hole will have to be redrilled though. No big deal.
After a bit more work - they'll be going back to the OP. With a decent amount of elbow grease effort from this point forward, I think the scales will look pretty good.
Not perfect - not showroom quality. But - in their own way, pretty damn cool.
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