This morning I was shopping for a waterstone to sharpen my plane irons and chisels - and I ended up on one of those long Internet rabbit trails that wound up here. Couldn't retrace the steps if I tried - but here I am. I had no idea that this whole straight razor culture existed, but now that I know... it's fascinating.
So the question that's making me crazy is the mechanics of the blade/scales relationship. I've noticed that some razors have a third pin that the tang rests on when the razor is closed. But I've also noticed that those seem to be the exception rather than the rule. I've scoured the pictures online to see if I could detect a hidden third pin - maybe set into holes on the inside of scales - but I haven't seen it.
The only thing I can think of is that maybe what keeps the sharp edge from sticking out the back of the scales when closed - is a friction fit between the scales and the thicker section of the blade as it gets up to the spine. Somehow this doesn't seem like it would work on the wider blades mounted in thinner scales (I'm thinking of elevation view here).
So - does anything keep the edge from sticking out the back - or does it just do as it pleases? This question doesn't really seem worth a thread of its own - but I didn't see anywhere else it would fit in. Sorry if I'm breaking forum norms on my first post.