Scale material choice

Roy_FR

Roy_FR

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I am currently having a look at the various straight razor manufacturer sites and many, if not most, offer a large variety of scales.

To resume they all appeart fall into one of the following categories

1 : Synthetic ( Plastic, polymers etc)
I would presume that these are easily the most durable.

2 : Wood ( varying hard or reasonably hard woods)
Water and wood don't usually mix very well which worries me a little. Probably requires a faire amount of attention in order to avoid scratches, chips etc

3 : Bone ( I consider bone and horn to be in the same category)
I would imagine that these are pretty solid due to their inherent hardness and waterproofness.

4 : Metal ( this seem quite rare).
I would not choose metal scales, neither the aesthetics or tactileness appel to me..

Is there any particular reason for choosing one over the other, other than for aesthetic reasons ? What would be the Pros and Cons on anything that I have not imagined.. Are there any inherent hardware problems, with pivots or axes with the above material groups. Obviously price has a major influence but that is quite obvious due to rarityor diffulty in manufacturing.. ( Surpising that I haven't seenm titanium scales though due to the weight savings)

Cheers
 
There are plenty of woods that are fine for scales provided they are pre-treated. If you look at the number of wooden brushes you will realise that wood and water can go together.
Bone and horn are nothing like each other. Horn is much easier to work with and provides greater flexibility - which all scales need. I’ve worked with both Camel and Giraffe bone and they take far more work with a consequent increase in cost. My preference is for horn because of its finished feel.
Man made materials include micarta, G10 as well as the acrylics you mentioned. Of these, G10 is pretty much indestructible but still provides the necessary flex. Acrylics can be had in all kinds of patterns including embedded shells such as abalone if that’s your fancy.
There are some metals used for scales - mainly stainless steel but I’ve used copper, brass and nickel silver as liners. The problem comes with weight - a straight razor needs to balance at the pivot when the scales are at 180 degrees.
If you are buying from a recognised supplier or maker you can be fairly sure that what you opt for will be OK.

Here are a couple of my razors in Mother of Pearl on liners.

AEC83946-D11C-4C7B-9082-CE6D5399249A.jpeg89240719-C71C-4A6F-997B-E52DB68C3534.jpeg2305E93F-6515-40B0-A22D-6CEE1692189E.jpeg
 
Hi Rob,

Thanks for your reply, I agree that bone and horn are different , ones basically calcium and the other hair amd to be perfectly honest I thought they would have been similar to work upon...

I have quite a few knives and I have one knife with Micarta scales which I like so I was looking at the following setup
Ralf Aust with Micarta Scales

I love the idea of supporting peole like Ralf Aust rather the the factories.. He has a few different sclaes, hence my initial quesiton, as per usual the amount of choice can make one's head go all fuzzy...

I like this too ( much the same price but a much larger company)
TI - Le Grelot with Ebony Scales

And I love this but it's moving towards the expensive side of things
Wacker 75th - Horn Scales


Great work with those mother of pearl scales, I presume that this is a metal liner ?
 
Ralf Aust has a good name. The razor in black mother of Pearl is a Walker Chevalier - but you’re right, they are expensive now.

The first razor is on nickel silver liners and is quite heavy but reasonably well balanced because the blade is quite big. The second I used very thin G10 as a liner and it’s much lighter.
 
UKRob said:
Ralf Aust has a good name. The razor in black mother of Pearl is a Walker Chevalier - but you’re right, they are expensive now.

The first razor is on nickel silver liners and is quite heavy but reasonably well balanced because the blade is quite big. The second I used very thin G10 as a liner and it’s much lighter.
Click to expand...
What is G10 Rob , like a perspex material or something else ?
 
G10 is a fibreglass laminate which is quite strong, waterproof, resistant to most things.

I have it on a couple of my knives, it's quite popular in the knive world for scales.

Micarta is kind of similar but is has a different texture look, looks more like a mixture of compressed fibreglass and linen. It's also slightly more expensive than G10...

They both have a kind warm feeling... Hard to describe but they are not like hard plastics.. They can have a very smooth or a very rugged surface, which is good for knives.

Due to their durability, lightness I am sure that they would be great for scales on a Straight Rasor.
 
Roy_FR said:
G10 is a fibreglass laminate which is quite strong, waterproof, resistant to most things.

I have it on a couple of my knives, it's quite popular in the knive world for scales.

Micarta is kind of similar but is has a different texture look, looks more like a mixture of compressed fibreglass and linen. It's also slightly more expensive than G10...

They both have a kind warm feeling... Hard to describe but they are not like hard plastics.. They can have a very smooth or a very rugged surface, which is good for knives.

Due to their durability, lightness I am sure that they would be great for scales on a Straight Rasor.
Click to expand...
Thank you Roy
 
Agree the knife collectors' forums are generally mad for G10. It's almost like biker clothing, where if the armour isn't D3O it's seen as a minus (because D3O is a great product, but has been very heavily promoted by the venture capitalists that 'stole' it off the inventor). Go on any blade forum and there's a buzz round G10, ditto Heinnie Haynes special editions. I believe micarta is indeed linen soaked in resin, used a lot in chef knives. My penchant is for traditional Japanese kitchen knives so I prefer pakkawood but a little care is needed to dry them well and use suitable oil on the handles. I would have thought the same might apply to straight razors. Rob's insight into different material choices and balance considerations was very enlightening. Beautiful examples too!
 
RussellR5555 said:
What is G10 Rob , like a perspex material or something else ?
Click to expand...

Roy_FR said:
G10 is a fibreglass laminate which is quite strong, waterproof, resistant to most things.

I have it on a couple of my knives, it's quite popular in the knive world for scales.

Micarta is kind of similar but is has a different texture look, looks more like a mixture of compressed fibreglass and linen. It's also slightly more expensive than G10...

They both have a kind warm feeling... Hard to describe but they are not like hard plastics.. They can have a very smooth or a very rugged surface, which is good for knives.

Due to their durability, lightness I am sure that they would be great for scales on a Straight Rasor.
Click to expand...
I believe G10 was developed for computer boards and it is pretty much resistant to anything including extremes of temperature as well as water. It doesn’t warp which is a great advantage over natural products - both wood and horn scales can twist if not properly aged.
Micarta can be made from pretty much anything layered in a liquid resin then pressed and dried - you see examples of denim and paper. Personally, despite its practicality, I’m not a big fan for scales from an aesthetics viewpoint as you can’t polish it to much more than a semi matte finish. It offers no advantages over G10 as far as I can see and requires the same amount of working. When it comes to the amount you need for a pair of scales any cost differential is negligible. The big advantage of G10 is that it comes in a whole range of colours and thicknesses - including some so thin that they can be used to repair and bolster cracked scales such as horn and ivory.

Heres a few examples of G10 and one in ebony which is one wood that I think is really suited to razors.A686A528-B435-4204-AA91-BE1B440CBFA7.jpeg5C4615B9-0CC9-4CEC-A8BA-79A63915EE34.jpegE4791B1D-67EC-4C90-A97A-3B32BA3F7EC8.jpeg329CD869-2F59-4629-887A-1A0BF37C77BF.jpeg
 
UKRob said:
I believe G10 was developed for computer boards and it is pretty much resistant to anything including extremes of temperature as well as water. It doesn’t warp which is a great advantage over natural products - both wood and horn scales can twist if not properly aged.
Micarta can be made from pretty much anything layered in a liquid resin then pressed and dried - you see examples of denim and paper. Personally, despite its practicality, I’m not a big fan for scales from an aesthetics viewpoint as you can’t polish it to much more than a semi matte finish. It offers no advantages over G10 as far as I can see and requires the same amount of working. When it comes to the amount you need for a pair of scales any cost differential is negligible. The big advantage of G10 is that it comes in a whole range of colours and thicknesses - including some so thin that they can be used to repair and bolster cracked scales such as horn and ivory.

Heres a few examples of G10 and one in ebony which is one wood that I think is really suited to razors.View attachment 70184View attachment 70185View attachment 70186View attachment 70187
Click to expand...
Thank you Rob

Appreciate the detailed reply.
 
Roy_FR said:
Quick question Rob, do you sell those razors or they collection pieces ?
Click to expand...
It’s a mixture. The Krupp in ebony was sold some years ago which I now regret as it was the only example of a 7/8” Krupp that I’ve ever come across and was in pristine condition with a tiny and even bevel. The Kamisori in blue scales was sold a few weeks ago. The two SK razors are part of my collection as are the two in Mother of Pearl from the earlier post.
 
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