Dovo Gentleman - adjustable pivot install and custom scale work

REK Knives · Oct 26, 2015

So I got a customer's razor in the other week and was adjusting the pivot tension w/ a brass hammer and this happened:

yeah, that was a sinking feeling, especially since it's a $200 razor. Anyway, after discussing it w/ him we decided to go w/ me making some new scales for it out of wood so it would look more and more weathered over time. He also opted for an adjustable and removeable pivot while I was at it. This is how it turned out... hand sanded through 600 grit. Loving the Yew wood and it centers nicely! I even frog lubed the scales so it smells good

It's nice that it can be fully disassembled for cleaning over the coming years as that is an issue w/ normal razors.

Remzy · Oct 27, 2015

your scales look cooler to me and that it can be disasembled is a cool bonus! where do you get such tiny screws btw???

REK Knives · Oct 27, 2015

Thanks! Micro-fasteners.com I think it was 😊

BobbyH · Oct 28, 2015

Yes, having the scale split like that would give one a sinking feeling for sure. I guess having adjustable removable pins may have some advantage too. I just never cared for the looks of them or found it necessary to completely disassemble a straight razor for normal cleaning. The exception to that would when I restore some vintage SRs.

Bob

REK Knives · Oct 28, 2015

Yeah you could dress it up more (countersink the holes, get nicer screws/nuts, etc) but I was simply going for a clean, functional look that would not take too long to do! hehe.

It would be very beneficial as the razor ages to be able to clean in the pivot area but the tension adjustment is sweet because you can always tweak it a little bit whenever you need to.

Thanks bob!

BobbyH · Oct 29, 2015

Yea, I can understand using adjustable pins but I'm too much of a traditionalist to like the aesthetics of them. I even dislike the "nail head" pins ,where only one end is peened in the traditional way, used on modern production SRs for the same reason.

If you are sloppy/carefree in how you shave and get water/lather on the tang into the pivot area you'd definitely appreciate being able to separate the blade to clean that area. I don't do that so it has not been a problem for me.

Bob

Ernie1980 · Oct 29, 2015

I love wood scales despite those that say it's a bad idea due to the environment they will be in. I have split many scales while unpinning, and it is a great oppurtunity to make somthing better! You did a nice job on those scales:thumbup: I usually use microfasteners on my re-scales as well, I like being able to adjust the tension easily and take the blade out without removing pins. Here are a couple of my recent projects:

REK Knives · Oct 30, 2015

Ernie1980 said:
I love wood scales despite those that say it's a bad idea due to the environment they will be in. I have split many scales while unpinning, and it is a great oppurtunity to make somthing better! You did a nice job on those scales:thumbup: I usually use microfasteners on my re-scales as well, I like being able to adjust the tension easily and take the blade out without removing pins. Here are a couple of my recent projects:

Thanks for chiming in and the pic! Great work 😊