Thread: Loose hinge pin on new Ralf Aust

Hello everybody, I got a Ralf Aust new about three months ago and the hinge pin seems to have become a little loose. Not real loose, but gravity will move it. Does not bother me when shaving, but is annoying when cleaning and stropping. Any recommendations? Thank you.

One way:
If the scales are not brittle,use a carpenters' hammer on its side as an anvil on the table; then use a stainless steel tablespoon as a hammer and lightly tap the pin on each side. Do not whack! Impatience has broken more scales than any other cause!
~Richard

What Geezer said all day long, you will be safe without damage that way or over doing it. It takes a lot of tsps with a spoon, but the results are right on. Tc

Aside from what Richard said. There are a few videos about this, and pinning in general. They all have a couple of things in common, use a crazy tiny hammer, many very light hits. I broke the first three I tried to tighten. The reality is the head of the pin is like a tiny mushroom. We are simply trying to get the outside edge of the cap to push down a very small amount. If you are a very handy person you may have a small enough hammer. We are talking about only a few ounces, I have a tiny chasing hammer from the beading section at Michaels.

I use a 4oz ball pein hammer and the flat spot on a bench vice. Light easy taps paying attention to tapping the head of the pin not the scale. You can't hit to light but you can too hard so experiment with how much force it will require.

Good luck!

And if you are married, don't let your wife see you doing it.

Thank you all for the great advice. Worked like a charm!