Competition #3

[paco664]

lol......

[mycarver]

Plus I think you guys are trying to sabotage me!

Here I am , minding my own business , doing my razors and what to my wondering eyes should appear? Razors showing up from others who want some resto work done! Why are they showing up? Cause you guys sent them to me!

Are you thinking ,,, " Lets get Mark all tied up with other work so he can't finish his entry." ? Ahhhh, such an apparently openly friendly but fiendishly clever plot against me. You scoundrels , you!

In all honesty, I do appreciate it because I take it as a compliment for others ( guys who can easily build killer blades) to suggest I do some resto's for someone else's blade or treasured heirloom.
Thanks guys, you're the best.

[otto76]

Okay guys... I FINALLY finished mine, and I'm super excited because it's by far the fanciest razor I have now... (Only for a little while though - there's something else in the works!)

Anyway, I decided to go for semi ornate, classy, polished. With the reputations some of the well known contestants have for customizing razors, I figured I had to pull out all the stops. I tried my best...

I THINK... At least, I haven't seen one yet... That I have the very first...



Covered Tang Gold Dollar

Anyway, it was a TON of work... Fun though. Here's the details:

Spanish point
Worked spine
Shoulderless blade with Thumb Notch
Walnut Covered Tang
Reground tail

Scales are very curly Maple with a polished Aluminum Wedge. Finished in Shellac and pinned in Stainless Steel.

Here's some more pics:

You must have run out of bubble gum. That is some nice work.

[newtobengall]

Looks sweet but c'mon guys this is meant to be fun lets stop with the spy cameras please, My gold buck looks almost the same!

[HLS]

Trick that's beautiful. Are you sure it was/is a gold dollar lol? Just kiddin around. Very fine work sir.

Jim

Okay guys... I FINALLY finished mine, and I'm super excited because it's by far the fanciest razor I have now... (Only for a little while though - there's something else in the works!)

Anyway, I decided to go for semi ornate, classy, polished. With the reputations some of the well known contestants have for customizing razors, I figured I had to pull out all the stops. I tried my best...

I THINK... At least, I haven't seen one yet... That I have the very first...



Covered Tang Gold Dollar

Anyway, it was a TON of work... Fun though. Here's the details:

Spanish point
Worked spine
Shoulderless blade with Thumb Notch
Walnut Covered Tang
Reground tail

Scales are very curly Maple with a polished Aluminum Wedge. Finished in Shellac and pinned in Stainless Steel.

Here's some more pics:

[CyiDev]

Trick420 - how did you keep the blade cool during all that grinding? I find that only after a few seconds mine begins to heat up to much.

[trick420]

Just keep a bucket of water near by. I do most of the grinding with a 60 grit dremel sanding drum. It cuts really fast. The thing I have to keep telling myself is "light touch - let the sandpaper do the work." The grit will pull material away faster with a light touch but your instinct is to lean into it to make it "cut" harder. This of course just wears out the drum, AND causes LOTS of friction for heat. a Lighter touch allows the grit to gut away material and fling it away, so there's less friction, and less heat build up. I can usually go for 30 - 45 second before it gets hot to the touch and warrants a dunk in the water. If I'm grinding on the spine, I don't really worry at all because by the time the edge gets hot enough, you can't hold on to the rest of it.

The relief for the covered tang is done on a large belt sander with a 120 Grit 6x48 belt. It's VERY fast. Just keep dunking it in water when it gets hot, wipe it dry and continue. Heat to this point hasn't been an issue for me. I had more issues with heat while grinding the wedge. THAT sucker got HOT...

I honed it up and shaved with it this afternoon... SMOOOOTH... Got a fantastic shave right off the coticule (OK, and 20/20 on .25/.1 CBN, 30 on Paco's strop, and literally 200 strokes on latigo)...

[newtobengall]

Well i'm out!

[kjparker]

Bugger.... What happened?

Why not make a shortie GD

[trick420]

Well i'm out!

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Is that Mother of Pearl??? Dude, how long did it take to do the covered tang? I did min in about 2 hours. Can you just start over? (Do you have any more 66's?)

That is truly heartbreaking....

[Legion]

Dremel?

[newtobengall]

Thanks for the condolences friends, Ive calmed down now (a little) yes it was mother of pearl and it took hours had to prep the m.o.p. first then did the tang all by hand well grinder(hand held 5") and files sand paper ect, prob 6 hours, then i thought hmmm this looks great maybe i could drill 5 holes in the top of the spline for some little rocks i have (yes diamonds) and as i was attempting to get a good centre hole she slipped and jammed between the blade and padded vice it was just sitting in. The blade was taped up and padded to stop scratching lol, god it upset me i cut it straight in half, luckily i somehow managed to get the m.o.p. off and have been redoing the spare since. I was going to quit but i cant let it beat me, should have the new 1 done soon. but that was a 777, 7/8 and i only have a 108 6/8 now so it wont ever be as good. PS These things shave awesome had my first shave with the 108 the other day, Its as good if not better than my satin edge.

So this time we can't blame dremel, who use's a cordless drill hmmm ME the idiot.

[Legion]

"It's all fun and games until someone tries to put diamonds in a Gold Dollar."

[newtobengall]

"It's all fun and games until someone tries to put diamonds in a Gold Dollar."

You did say bling David, So its actually your fault, you must owe me a gold dollar lol.

[Legion]

Ha! I'm half thinking of ordering a dozen. We shall see ...

[newtobengall]

Lol, i'm thinking of doing the same when ive got some spare cash. there great shavers, Oh and beware people "TAKE TWO" will be ready in time, Heres a preview of todays frustrations.

[CanisiusHistGrad]

Forgive my question as I've never worked with M.O.P. and I can't plainly see any holes in it, but how does one mount scales to a blade without a hole for the pivot pin all the way through the tang? Is the M.O.P. translucent enough to accurately see where the hole through the metal tang is located?

[mycarver]

Oh man, that was unfortunate. But glad to see you're bouncing back.

[newtobengall]

Forgive my question as I've never worked with M.O.P. and I can't plainly see any holes in it, but how does one mount scales to a blade without a hole for the pivot pin all the way through the tang? Is the M.O.P. translucent enough to accurately see where the hole through the metal tang is located?

Fair question and i was waiting for it, the reason theres no hole is because the gold dollar holes seem to be way to low and i was going to re-drill it through the m.o.p. i should have drilled the blade first then drilled each side of the m.o.p. when there on 1 at a time. and thats how i'm doing this next 1 that is getting named take two. Or maybe i should call it the 500 dollar. lol. the m.o.p. is only about 1.2mm thick and is not at all see through.

[JeffM]

Even though I don't have a dog in this fight and can't even fathom modifying razors, I am really enjoying this thread and following all of your progress (mostly). If nothing else it has made me appreciate all the nuances and craftsmanship required in straight razor design and restoration. Keep it up. its impressive.