My first sr restoration

[LooneyToons816]

Today i finished my first full blade+scales restoration, i didnt take a before picture unfortunately but here she is.. Tiffany blue G10 Scales on a double hallow ground Wade and Butcher. I pinned it with nickel silver rather than the usual brass and im extremely happy with how she looks. Please let me know your opinions on it. On with the show!!

Now all she needs is to be honed and used(unfortunately im not confident enough to hone myself nor do i have the skills)
Thanks to everyone that contributes to B&B i couldnt have got here without all the information the community provides

-LooneyTunes

 

[silverlifter]

Looks fantastic! Nice job. Remember to let us know how she shaves!

 

[rbscebu]

Very nice job. It's not as difficult as you thought, is it.

Don't be afraid of honing. I started using lapping films and following the Method. No drama, if you can follow instructions, and I had a perfectly good shave-ready edge on my second attempt. I'm a slow learner.

 

[Legion]

Nice one. Send the razor for honing to someone well regarded in that area. Then decide on a finishing stone to keep it to that level.

On the next razor you do you can pick up some bevel setting hones, or whatever other tools, and you will have a definitive aim point, and can try to get it there yourself.

 

[Gamma]

Looks good. I might suggest, next time around, to consider some beveling around the edges.
I don't think I've seen G10 in that color before, very nice.

 

[rbscebu]

I concur with @Gamma. He is referring to beveling the outside edge of the scales all round. This can easily be done even now just with sandpaper.

 

[lloydw]

Well done - I really like the color of the scales.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Nice job!

Next time you make a pair you might want to try going thinner. When you get scales down to about 3 mm thick they take on a certain elegance.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Nice clean work.

Thicker scales can be awkward to hone and strop, next time make you scales thinner and use a wedge in place of a spacer, will keep the pivot tighter.

Google (How to make a traditional set of horn scales ... the way I do it.) for an excellent step by step, photo tutorial by a master KarleJ.

You can smooth your pins, with some 600 and 1k wet and dry and polish with any good metal polish and paper towel or on a buffer with Stainless compound or as your pinning skills improve with a polished 2oz ball peen hammer.

Did you make your collars?

 

[LooneyToons816]

Very nice job. It's not as difficult as you thought, is it.

Don't be afraid of honing. I started using lapping films and following the Method. No drama, if you can follow instructions, and I had a perfectly good shave-ready edge on my second attempt. I'm a slow learner.

I did indeed try out lapping film on a piece of plate glass and boy you were right of course, I got a really nice shave ready edge on the razor and she shaved lovely. The only problem is I had the adhesive back lapping film which would get very costly if I were to do a bunch of razors on it, especially being new to it. All in all it was a really fun restoration and a very nice shave. I think I may keep trying to get together my own stone set! Thank you!

 

[LooneyToons816]

Looks good. I might suggest, next time around, to consider some beveling around the edges.
I don't think I've seen G10 in that color before, very nice.

I think ill end up popping the scales and adding some beveling or even remaking the scales completely, i have a few mistakes to rectify! I love this tiphany G10 its absolutely beautiful

 

[LooneyToons816]

Nice job!

Next time you make a pair you might want to try going thinner. When you get scales down to about 3 mm thick they take on a certain elegance.

I had just used the 1/8” they came but yes youre right, thinning them out would give her a much more elegant look

 

[LooneyToons816]

Nice clean work.

Thicker scales can be awkward to hone and strop, next time make you scales thinner and use a wedge in place of a spacer, will keep the pivot tighter.

Google (How to make a traditional set of horn scales ... the way I do it.) for an excellent step by step, photo tutorial by a master KarleJ.

You can smooth your pins, with some 600 and 1k wet and dry and polish with any good metal polish and paper towel or on a buffer with Stainless compound or as your pinning skills improve with a polished 2oz ball peen hammer.

Did you make your collars?

I did notice when i was lapping the robust scales were akward and heavy. As for the spacer i used a piece of g10 that i attempted to taper but couldnt get the right angles so it is a little bit tapered but yes could be much better ill give it another shot once i get some time! The collars on the pins were bought from a man on ebay, he sells many different types/styles and sizes in pinning kits, if youd like his info let me know! Hes a truly nice person and a gentleman

 

[mycarver]

Nicely done. Laying in a base with some skills.

 

[Tanuki]

Congratulations on diving in and getting a nice result. Of course you may refine things, but I don't see "mistakes". The pinning looks great. Razor scales come in all sorts of formats. I like the heft of W&B blades and tangs. Some matching weight in the scales helps with balance. It also contributes to maintaining good centering over time.

As for honing, boy that is a huge topic with many very different approaches that all give results that users swear by.

With lapping films, many prefer the non-adhesive. They can be held in place with just water.

Now that you have an edge that shaves well for you, you might look into pasted balsa strops for edge maintenance. I use a set, as well as a leather strop, and I rarely have to use a finish hone.

 

[Toro Blanco]

Let me start by sayin, well done! The Tiffany color G10 is a looker. Wow!

Thinning the scales from 1/8(.125 or a little over 3mm) to .060-.080(1.5mm-2mm) and bevel the edges would class it up. Maybe make the wedge a little more wedgier too. LOL!

Overall it look's great! Good job!

Thank's for sharing.

 

[LooneyToons816]

Nice one. Send the razor for honing to someone well regarded in that area. Then decide on a finishing stone to keep it to that level.

On the next razor you do you can pick up some bevel setting hones, or whatever other tools, and you will have a definitive aim point, and can try to get it there yourself.

I have a naniwa 12 or 15 cant remember as my finishing stone to touchup an edge but im still not confident to do it on my nice vintage razors!

 

[LooneyToons816]

Let me start by sayin, well done! The Tiffany color G10 is a looker. Wow!

Thinning the scales from 1/8(.125 or a little over 3mm) to .060-.080(1.5mm-2mm) and bevel the edges would class it up. Maybe make the wedge a little more wedgier too. LOL!

Overall it look's great! Good job!

Thank's for sharing.

Thank you! Yes i do find the 1/8 g10 to be too thick, she needs some slimming down and put a proper wedge in her, im gonna end up redoing the g10 but i really only have a *** 1” belt sander sanding disc combo so i may secure a belt sander upside down and see if i cant slim them down accurately and uniform. I gotta di more research on how to make a proper wedge. As for beveling the edges i tried it on my foredom flex shaft with a small sanding wheel on another razor im working on(its a wm gilcrest no43) in pic 2 i started the edge beveling with the rotary wheel (this g10 is just a test handle to learn and practice forming SR handles

 

[LooneyToons816]

Congratulations on diving in and getting a nice result. Of course you may refine things, but I don't see "mistakes". The pinning looks great. Razor scales come in all sorts of formats. I like the heft of W&B blades and tangs. Some matching weight in the scales helps with balance. It also contributes to maintaining good centering over time.

As for honing, boy that is a huge topic with many very different approaches that all give results that users swear by.

With lapping films, many prefer the non-adhesive. They can be held in place with just water.

Now that you have an edge that shaves well for you, you might look into pasted balsa strops for edge maintenance. I use a set, as well as a leather strop, and I rarely have to use a finish hone.

Thank you for the compliments and your input!! Yes i dislike the lapping film with PSA not for me at all lol. I actually have everything i need to make my balsa strops i just havnt had the time to put them together nor did i ever get a good substrate to glue the balsa to.. ive got the diamond paste the balsa the flattening dmt stone some JB weld i just need some true tile or thick extruded plexiglass from taps plastic.. would i be looking for maybe 3/4” by 12”x4” or would 16” be more ideal?

Thank you
-looney

 

[LooneyToons816]

I concur with @Gamma. He is referring to beveling the outside edge of the scales all round. This can easily be done even now just with sandpaper.

I tried to use a rotary tool with a sandpaper barrel and it was extremely hard to get uniform and gets stuck and creates a divet so my next time around im going all by hand. Thank you for the input