Today's project, Boker & horn

[pmaster]

I took the whole afternoon to make some scales and cleanup a boker I had bought for 5$ a while ago. This is my 2nd try at making scales, last time ended up being OK but it wasn't as nice as I would've liked. This time, I decided to go simple, and went with a template I had from other scales (Thier-Issard style). I very much like them, and figured it would look good in blond horn.

Here are a few pictures of the process:

Before


Scales:

 

[pmaster]

Tragedy hit...I removed the tape, and some of the scales peeled off with it
:



Finally its not TOO visible, but still, a little bit.


Otherwise happy with the end result It went much better than last time, but still, horn is not easy to work with, it seems to peel quite easily sometimes. The brown horn I had is probably the worst, even just using it for the wedge on this one, I could see a few white strikes on it. Also, those scales are probably not the best fit for a small 5/8 razor, I had a bigger blade I just bought here from the BST (Caprice) but it wouldn't fit, so I put in the boker anyway. Will hone it up tonight and try it out.

 

[ACorazza]

Pmaster, just out of curiosity what type of tools did you use to cut out the scales and thin them. Do you have powertools which are not shown or just the sandpaper and what I'm guessing is a dremel bit on the table. The reason I ask if that I would like to try my hand at making scales one day but I have no room for a setup with big equipment, such as a belt sander and a drill or sawing machine. Thanks.

BTW nice scales I like how they transition into a darker brown near the wedge.

 

[pmaster]

Hey Anthony

I only have what you see in the picture, and a coping saw. Like you I don't have much room in my appartment at the moment, and I prefer to wait at some point in the future when I'll get a home before investing in powertools!

So basically, I cut the scales roughly with the coping saw, following a template that I stick on the horn. I then take the two sides which I have cut and stick them together using double-sided tape (very important, makes the job a lot easier to have both sides stuck together). I then take the dremel and smooth the edges and follow the contours as close as possible without removing too much. I then switch to 180grit sandpaper, and work from there. I drill the holes very very carefully just using the dremel (not the best, but so far so good).

It took me pretty much ~4h to do the whole razor from start to finish, cleaning/sanding/polishing the blade, doing the scales, the wedge etc... It would go faster with more powertools, but hey, in the meantime its not so bad and I enjoyed my day

Also, when you pick the raw horn material, pick carefully... I have some brown one that I bought and to be honest, its OK but not that great...however the honey-colored ones are very nice.

 

[pmaster]

Oh and, it shaved like a dream!

Best shave I`ve had yet. Honed it on the Naniwa 3/8k, then 60laps on 1um film, then 40 laps on 1um film+paper, and finally 8laps on cr0x 0.5um and 8 laps on iron oxyde 0.3um, and then 40-60 strops on leather.

 

[rickboone1]

sweet. wanna make some scales for me?

 

[California Cajun]

Fabulous restoration job!

 

[pmaster]

Thanks
rickboone1: Maybe someday! But for now, too many projects on the go, I'd have to quit my day job!

 

[Gamma]

Nice job, Looks cool.

 

[gooser]

nice save ... looks awesome !!!

 

[ACorazza]

Hey Anthony

I only have what you see in the picture, and a coping saw. Like you I don't have much room in my appartment at the moment, and I prefer to wait at some point in the future when I'll get a home before investing in powertools!

So basically, I cut the scales roughly with the coping saw, following a template that I stick on the horn. I then take the two sides which I have cut and stick them together using double-sided tape (very important, makes the job a lot easier to have both sides stuck together). I then take the dremel and smooth the edges and follow the contours as close as possible without removing too much. I then switch to 180grit sandpaper, and work from there. I drill the holes very very carefully just using the dremel (not the best, but so far so good).

It took me pretty much ~4h to do the whole razor from start to finish, cleaning/sanding/polishing the blade, doing the scales, the wedge etc... It would go faster with more powertools, but hey, in the meantime its not so bad and I enjoyed my day

Also, when you pick the raw horn material, pick carefully... I have some brown one that I bought and to be honest, its OK but not that great...however the honey-colored ones are very nice.

Thanks I just looked up some of the materials and it turns out I can do it cheaper than I thought. I also came across this video on youtube:
Making Straight Razor Scales with a Minimum Amount of Hand Tools http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQm7YToDSpc
Does anyone know how he is drilling the holes. I have searched for this type of hand tool but all I have come up with is drill bits.

 

[Gamma]

I believe it's called a pin vice.

 

[ACorazza]

I believe it's called a pin vice.

Thanks I just looked it up and you're correct.

 

[Gamma]

Yw, thanx for the link to the video, was interesting.

 

[tomjr]

nicely done

 

[pmaster]

Thanks I just looked up some of the materials and it turns out I can do it cheaper than I thought. I also came across this video on youtube:
Making Straight Razor Scales with a Minimum Amount of Hand Tools http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQm7YToDSpc
Does anyone know how he is drilling the holes. I have searched for this type of hand tool but all I have come up with is drill bits.

Yes I watched that video several times actually when doing my first scales! It is definitely very helpful! I thought about buying a pin vice for drilling the holes, but finally since I bought a dremel, it seemed unnecessary to try and drill by hand, since I don't believe it would be any straighter.

And BTW if you choose horn, the dremel really comes in handy to shape the scales after the rough-cut with the coping saw. The horn eats through a lot of sanding paper. I think acrylic scales are possibly easier to deal with, but I have yet to try some.

 

[ACorazza]

Yes I watched that video several times actually when doing my first scales! It is definitely very helpful! I thought about buying a pin vice for drilling the holes, but finally since I bought a dremel, it seemed unnecessary to try and drill by hand, since I don't believe it would be any straighter.

And BTW if you choose horn, the dremel really comes in handy to shape the scales after the rough-cut with the coping saw. The horn eats through a lot of sanding paper. I think acrylic scales are possibly easier to deal with, but I have yet to try some.

Thanks. Ill probably end up getting a Dremel anyway since they seem very versatile but it's good to know there are options.

 

[jrward2]

I'm still trying to get some useable scales by using the method posted in the youtube link above. Let me tell you, its really hard and frustrating. Later down the road I'm going to buy some power tools to do my cutting.