What's on your work bench right now?

[H Brad Boonshaft]

For horns I use a jig that holds the scale blank so I can flatten the inside of the scale blank with a sharp hand plane. Then Double stick tape them together.

I mostly use lead wedges that I make from wheel weights and hammer to shape, I finish them on a file to get the sides tapered and flat.

I fit with bolts sold on eBay years ago, which are great for working out fitting and centering. You can make a similar set using a bolt and threading on 3-4 nuts, then super glue the nuts together. A bit of furniture wax prevents nuts from gluing to the bolt.

If you dome your collars they will keep a bit of tension on the pins, and you can replicate factory collars if you want that look.

Nice work and nice pinning.

 

[driftwood]

Picked up this Geneva yesterday. It was in very good condition so a couple minutes with the buffers and presto. Eventually I'll find time to hone it.

 

[rhgg2]

Cleaned up this loose SSA blade with sandpaper, autosol and lapping film.

Put together some scales for it:

Annoying stain in the wood that doesn't come out. These ones are nice and thin at around 2mm and have a decent flex.

Need to apply finishes to the scales before cutting a wedge and assembly.

 

[fft_phase]

Looking for advice. I'm working on this Geow below. All I plan to do is some hand sanding / polishing, then set bevel + sharpen. With sanding I started with 600 grit to clean off some rust and remove steel for a fresh shine (ill probably progress to 3-4k), everywhere except the face.

What I am unsure about is working with the painted design. Obviously, I won't sand it, but what can be done? I was just thinking to polish it by hand using mothers and a cloth.
Can someone comment on their experience with mother's polish and how it interacts with lacquer paint I imagine?

 

[driftwood]

Looking for advice. I'm working on this Geow below. All I plan to do is some hand sanding / polishing, then set bevel + sharpen. With sanding I started with 600 grit to clean off some rust and remove steel for a fresh shine (ill probably progress to 3-4k), everywhere except the face.

What I am unsure about is working with the painted design. Obviously, I won't sand it, but what can be done? I was just thinking to polish it by hand using mothers and a cloth.
Can someone comment on their experience with mother's polish and how it interacts with lacquer paint I imagine?



View attachment 2000353

That looks like gold wash to me, not lacquer. Mother's polish will remove faster than you'd think. Heck, some gold wash csn be scrubbed off with just the grit from a paper towel. Your example already looks like it's thinned out pretty good.

You could use a bit of ISO alcohol rib gently with a soft cloth. But past that, and given it look clean and free of rust/gunk I'd just leave it. If you do try the mother's polish go very, very gently.

Hope that helps.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

Is it an etch? Looks like an etch with the Canuk gold filled, if so any metal polish, or sanding will remove it. Any gold will be removed by metal polish, to clean gold use only Alcohol and Q tip or cotton ball.

Looks like someone tried to hand sand around the etch. If you want to preserve it, mask with a piece of scotch tape, cutting around the etch and sand carefully with small pieces of sand paper and polish with a Q tip and metal polish.

Or just remove the entire etch with 600 grit paper. The rust on the toe looks pretty heavy and you will likely have some remaining, deep pitting, so it will never be a pristine beauty.

You cannot spot treat the rust chemically without causing other finish issues. Mask and try to save, if not remove it entirely. It is a good razor in decent condition, not particularly rare or collectable, but should make a good shaver.

 

[fft_phase]

Apparently it's an etch, but I can't feel any recession in the metal. Attempting to preserve the gold Canuck on this one. Given the times, c'est à propos, so going to give it a shot to preserve the gold wash and etching.
The toe isn't too bad, but the head/nose/point revealed deep pitting. Just had to reshape the toe a bit.

Anyway, thanks for the tips you two.

 

[driftwood]

I think the 'Canuk' razor is acid etched, so not recessed, but rather the area is "rough".

In the past I've used clear nail polish to protect gold was. It works, sort of. . . You still want to avoid hitting it with sand paper, or in my case buffing wheels, but it does provide a bit of reassurance that if a slip occurs the paper or wheel bites into the polish as opposed to the wash. Once done the polish can be removed with rubbing alcohol which will also serve to clean the gold up a bit. Just another option.

I've tried tape but could never get it just on the wash. With the polish I could get a bit closer to just covering the gold wash area.

Have fun with it, it's a really nice razor.

 

[rhgg2]

View attachment 2000145
Cleaned up this loose SSA blade with sandpaper, autosol and lapping film.

Put together some scales for it:
View attachment 2000146
Annoying stain in the wood that doesn't come out. These ones are nice and thin at around 2mm and have a decent flex.

Need to apply finishes to the scales before cutting a wedge and assembly.

Done and dusted. Much happier with these scales and wedge than my previous attempt.

Good tight clearance (this is french point).

Wedge and scales but up nicely against each other.

Centring worked out well. The toe is a bit bent but with some judicious whacking I got it closing without any trouble.

 

[Frank Shaves]

^
Looking good. There is a lot going on when making and fitting a pair of scales. Each time I do it, I update my notes. If I was going to make lots of scales, I would buy a $300 hobbyist CNC milling machine.

 

[rhgg2]

Now I've got a couple of scales under my belt I'm going to tackle this scaleless Wostenholm:

The spine has a significant curve which the scales need to match, so it seemed easiest to just make something up. Above is my proposal.

Nice snug fit.

Stuck to some horn blanks from GSG, ready to cut out at the weekend. Think I might cut a little extra length behind the pivot pin, looks a wee bit short back there.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

What will stop the razor from falling through the scales? Will the spine touch the scales in the middle?

Yes, I would allow a bit more clearance between the toe and the wedge. I would make the top of the scale profile match the bottom profile of the spine, (take a tracing of the bottom of the spine) and cut a template from poster board and test fit to ensure that the spine fully contacts the top of the scales perfectly upon closing.

By mocking up with cardboard template and bolts you can make fine adjustments until the top of the scale and the spine match perfectly and you have the toe clearance you need.

Make all your mistakes on paper.

Lead wedges are easy to make, adjust and period correct.

 

[rhgg2]

What will stop the razor from falling through the scales? Will the spine touch the scales in the middle?

The spine will hit against the scales at the toe as normal. The spine may or may not touch the scales in the mid section of the blade, depending on the bow of the scales and the width of the wedge. There is some latitude in choosing the wedge width because of the frameback profile, any number of wedge widths will stop the blade at the same height. However there is a second constraint. The part of the tang which extends down against the back of the heel is quite wide, not much narrower than the spine, and needs to sit within the scales without catching. So the wedge needs to be wide enough to ensure sufficient scale separation at this part of the blade. It looks doable.

 

[ZeelandsRoem]

The spine will hit against the scales at the toe as normal

With the original scales, the shoulder will come in contact with the scales. The toe will not. I am not saying that's how you should design it, I am just saying how the original scales were designed. In my opinion, the original design could be improved a bit, if you design the scales in such a way that they will follow the curvature of the spine. You might have to increase the height of the scales a bit, to prevent any edge exposure.

there is a second constraint. The part of the tang which extends down against the back of the heel is quite wide, not much narrower than the spine, and needs to sit within the scales without catching. So the wedge needs to be wide enough to ensure sufficient scale separation at this part of the blade. It looks doable.

This is another problem with the original design. The wedge is thin and the shoulder hits the scales, basically moving them apart.

I would allow a bit more clearance between the toe and the wedge

That's a good advice, you will need more space to be able to open it. Take also into account if you have any blade movement in the pin hole, that could move the blade forward another fraction. If the clearance is minimal, you could hit the edge at the toe.

 

[rhgg2]

With the original scales, the shoulder will come in contact with the scales. The toe will not. I am not saying that's how you should design it, I am just saying how the original scales were designed. In my opinion, the original design could be improved a bit, if you design the scales in such a way that they will follow the curvature of the spine. You might have to increase the height of the scales a bit, to prevent any edge exposure.


This is another problem with the original design. The wedge is thin and the shoulder hits the scales, basically moving them apart.


That's a good advice, you will need more space to be able to open it. Take also into account if you have any blade movement in the pin hole, that could move the blade forward another fraction. If the clearance is minimal, you could hit the edge at the toe.

Good info, thanks! I feel a bit less bad about not having the original scales now, even though they do have a nice inlay. I think this design seems plausible - have added a bit of length at both ends for good measure. Now to cut to shape.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

“However there is a second constraint. The part of the tang which extends down against the back of the heel is quite wide, not much narrower than the spine, and needs to sit within the scales without catching. So the wedge needs to be wide enough to ensure sufficient scale separation at this part of the blade. It looks doable.”

No, it is not the wedge thickness, it is the wedge angle that is important.

If you do not have the original wedge to take measurements and the wedge taper from, take a measurement from the toe, on the blade and the spine, to figure out where you want the spine to touch the scales when closed that will be the thickness of the wide side.

You will need to experiment with the wedge taper/angle to see how much the taper will bow the scales to allow them to clear the tang. You can match the angle of the taper on the tang to the wedge, the angle not the width.

So, once you know the width of the wide side of the wedge, match that with the same width on the tang and again the length of the wedge and that should give you the width of the narrow part of the wedge or at least a starting point for the wedge angle.

The only part of the blade that needs to touch upon closing is the tip of the toe, which is why the top scale profile should match the spine curve.

Make the wedge and test fit with bolts to see how much the scales bow, thinner scales will bow more than thick scales or material that is not as flexible as horn, like wood.

You can adjust by changing the bevel angle on the wedge or thinning the scales. This is where test bolts and test fitting really pay off before final pinning.

A pair of inexpensive calipers really helps with measurements.

 

[Doc226]

Looking for advice. I'm working on this Geow below. All I plan to do is some hand sanding / polishing, then set bevel + sharpen. With sanding I started with 600 grit to clean off some rust and remove steel for a fresh shine (ill probably progress to 3-4k), everywhere except the face.

What I am unsure about is working with the painted design. Obviously, I won't sand it, but what can be done? I was just thinking to polish it by hand using mothers and a cloth.
Can someone comment on their experience with mother's polish and how it interacts with lacquer paint I imagine?



View attachment 2000353

Mother's will rub all that off in 3 swipes.

Best you can do is use some nail polish to cover what you want to save, you can then use mother's and nail polish remover

 

[BMFtoolco]

My keen kutter got new scales. The old ones were smelling, so I got rid of them before they could do any damage.