First of all, WOW, TONS of feedback on the pinning.

That's all VERY much appreciated. With this razor, I'm happy with the pins having a slightly "hammered" look. With old horn scales and less than mirrored blade, I think it's more appropriate.

That being said, I had looked at my pins and wondered just exactly how I could make them smoother. Sanding them never even occured to me.

The only other thing to point out, is that the crack, and texture of the pins are both FAR more subtle in person. Those photos were taken in a lightbox with over 1000 watts of light hitting it, using a 90mm macro lens. In person, the pins look more satin, and you can't see the hammer marks unless you prety much hold it up to your eyeball.



All this really has me thinking though. As I move along from razor to razor, I'm going to have to experiment with the pins. There will be plenty of razors I want to shine the pin up using some of the techniques you guys listed, but I can also imagine trying to exaggerate the "hammered" look.