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Wooden scale finish

During the lock down I have been making scales from old hardwood decking. I have no experience in doing this or any wood work. The wood is Jarrah (eucalyptus) and is exceptionally hard. I have been dressing the wood with Teak oil (suitable for hard woods, plus I had it hand) between sands, so the oil really soaks into the old dry wood. So far the scales look nice, quite dark and matt.

I'm waiting for the brass washers and rods to arrive so I can peen the scales. While I wait I'm thinking about the final finish. Teak oil is nourishing the wood, but I want something more protective and water proof. I'm thinking of using bee's wax (never used it) or a clear urethane. I wonder if urethane will look to glassy or like plastic and be slippery when wet.

Also while waiting, I'm making 3 other sets of Jarrah scales and will opt for different finishes so they all don't look identical. When sanded the wood has a light golden colour. What can I do to keep the wood looking pale (urethane)?

What do people usually finish wooden scales with?
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Personally I just use a good floor wax on my wooden scales. Keeps them matt finish, protects the wood and provides a good "grip" when rarely needed. Mind you, I'm working with Madagascan Mahogany, not Jarrah - a beautiful timber.
 
Personally I like CA to finish wood scales.

It protect them and given them a glass shine while keeping and enhancing the pattern.
 
I've been using KUNOS "Livos" natural oil sealer. They have a more durable version for bathroom finishes and both versions are low in odour. With a good rubbing after the third coat it can take on a good polish but I've left a few matt. Really oily woods like Ebony have taken an extra few days to dry.

Wood Scales.jpg
 
If you decide to go Urethane or Polyurethane I would go Polyurethane being the most durable of hand finishes and very good at water protection.
If you want to keep a matt finish that is no problem, even if you use a high gloss product. Actually there are more additives in the satin finishes.
I really like Minwax wipe-on Poly. Get the high gloss. Simply wipe on, keep it wet for a bit then wipe it off.
Do at least 3 -4 coats. More will not hurt.
When finished let the finish cure for a few days to a week so its good and hard.
#0000 steel wool will turn the finish matt for you with little effort. Hand rub with a hard furniture wax and you are done and they will look great. You can even use the steel wool to scoop a bit of the hard wax and use them together.

Another tip if you are using wood that has an open pore is to apply your oil like before but use 1000 grit w/d and sand it when wet. It fills the pores with a perfect color match and will not affect anything afterwards.
 

duke762

Rose to the occasion
Dang Doc, simply amazing. Are you talking about CA adhesive or a special CA wood finish?
 
Dang Doc, simply amazing. Are you talking about CA adhesive or a special CA wood finish?
It is the adhesive.

You need to put on 3-4 THIN coats, allowing each coat to fully dry. Sand lightly and repeat another 4-6 coats. Sand again starting at 600-when you sand you will see the low spots appear shinny. Key is to sand until there are no shinny spots. Once that is done wet sand to 1500 and buff.

Pain to do, but lovely

Gives a great shine and depth to the wood

 
ajduplessis, I have another set of scales I'm working on and they are light like the one in your photo (salmon coloured jarrah). I'm thinking of using Bee's wax on them so they don't go dark.

The scales that are almost ready have been oiled as I refined the shape, so as to let the oil penetrate the very dry wood. They look great but are considerably darker from the Teak oil I used.

I want both set to be different colours, I'd rather not have multiple razors looking so similar (5/8 full hollow grind with dutch points.) So I thank you all for the advice, I'll use the polyurethane on the oiled scales and bee's wax on the oil free set (salmon coloured jarrah).
 
So I finished the razor restoration today and went for the wax finish on a Teak oil coating.
Comoy Side.jpg


It was a cheap Comoy razor that originally had cheap plastic scales (no washers) which had bowed.
Original Comoy razor.jpg
The razor would 'catch' on the right side when closing if you weren't careful. Of course today I noticed that it was still catching on the new Jarrah scales, so I put it on my drafting table and saw that it indeed wasn't flat!! What do you expect from a cheap razor? It shaves beautifully so I do like it none the less.

While my 'craftmanship' isn't up to your standards I feel ok because this is the first wood work type project I have ever done and had some genuine rubbish tools to use. In fact, the wood is old pool decking which was thick and has sat around for the last 15 years waiting to be burnt. I used the middle piece in the photo, once I pried the wood apart.
Raw wood.jpg


If the peening is 'meh' I can always re-do. I did a test peen on another set I'm making and it work perfectly. I think I had an issue as the rod was a mm or two too long. I assumed the excess would simply mushroom, but it seemed the rod actually deformed in the scales! Live and learn.
Comoy open right.jpg

I might re-sand the scales now it's in one solid piece and re-finish.
 
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If you decide to go Urethane or Polyurethane I would go Polyurethane being the most durable of hand finishes and very good at water protection.
If you want to keep a matt finish that is no problem, even if you use a high gloss product. Actually there are more additives in the satin finishes.
I really like Minwax wipe-on Poly. Get the high gloss. Simply wipe on, keep it wet for a bit then wipe it off.
Do at least 3 -4 coats. More will not hurt.
When finished let the finish cure for a few days to a week so its good and hard.
#0000 steel wool will turn the finish matt for you with little effort. Hand rub with a hard furniture wax and you are done and they will look great. You can even use the steel wool to scoop a bit of the hard wax and use them together.

Another tip if you are using wood that has an open pore is to apply your oil like before but use 1000 grit w/d and sand it when wet. It fills the pores with a perfect color match and will not affect anything afterwards.

^^^^^^This
big fan of spray poly in matte/satin finished.

ive used them quite successfully on handles I make for GEM razors.

20200507_165431.jpg


camo
 
So I finished the razor restoration today and went for the wax finish on a Teak oil coating.View attachment 1109364

It was a cheap Comoy razor that originally had cheap plastic scales (no washers) which had bowed.
View attachment 1109369The razor would 'catch' on the right side when closing if you weren't careful. Of course today I noticed that it was still catching on the new Jarrah scales, so I put it on my drafting table and saw that it indeed wasn't flat!! What do you expect from a cheap razor? It shaves beautifully so I do like it none the less.

While my 'craftmanship' isn't up to your standards I feel ok because this is the first wood work type project I have ever done and had some genuine rubbish tools to use. In fact, the wood is old pool decking which was thick and has sat around for the last 15 years waiting to be burnt. I used the middle piece in the photo, once I pried the wood apart.
View attachment 1109370

If the peening is 'meh' I can always re-do. I did a test peen on another set I'm making and it work perfectly. I think I had an issue as the rod was a mm or two too long. I assumed the excess would simply mushroom, but it seemed the rod actually deformed in the scales! Live and learn.
View attachment 1109365
I might re-sand the scales now it's in one solid piece and re-finish.

looks good to me!!!!

camo
 
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