Thread: Pinning question: uneven torque

When I pin my home-made scales, I often find that the rotating resistance is not even along the distance that the razor is rotated relative to the scales. For instance, when one razor is opened half-way, it suddenly has almost no resistance and moves freely, while another moves easily when almost closed but runs into a lot of resistance when about quarter-way.

Does anyone recognise this and have a (fool-proof) way to prevent that?

Check the eveness of the bearing surface on the inside of the scales, often times the inside surface is cupped or perhaps curved toward the ends which will not allow the razor to move evenly..

Using a flat file or a sanding block to rough and flatten the insides of the scales will normally solve this problem..

Brass Bearing washers will also help

I don't know if you are guilty of this or not but I have seen a ton of very thick scales that cannot flex, and the use of spacers rather then actual wedges lately, this will also cause the problems you describe...


Hope that helps

Are you using a spacer or a wedge on the scales?
If you do not have the correct wedge angle to match the tang taper you re going to get that effect.

I got this problem with and without washers, although it was less obvious when I used them. I normally use wedges, but am currently working on a one-piece scale on which I want to prevent it.

Thick scales? Probably guilty as charged. I will look into that!

Thanks guys.

Thank you Glen for bringing up the thick scales and spacers,they sometimes are quite ugly.
As far as blade tension? I shoot for enough tension to hold the blade in position while drying.lots of tension in the stropping position.
After that I do not care. To me it makes no diff if the blade is loose in the shaving position,the blade and scales are locked in place by your fingers,nothing can move

When I first started pinning I smacked a pin till it bent. Now I take the time to cut the pins to the proper length. Does this not cause the same effect ? I seem to remember re pinning it because it did that but not sure if I also worked on the washers some.

Ah, yes, impatience is one of my virtues as well. Taking my time while pinning helped my overall pinning results, but not with the torque.

I tried thinning down the scales and that worked miracles! I don't know the right thickness of scales per material, so I test if I can pinch the scales until they touch in the center while the razor and wedge are in place. While thinning out, I noticed a rather sudden increase in flexibility, which is the only indicator I currently use for scale thickness.

+1 on spacer vs wedge issues.
I know a lot of guys like their one piece scales but that style effectively gives you a spacer & not a wedge..
The tapered tang then causes pivoting issues. As you have found thinning the scales will help a lot tho.

One piece scales have several build issues that need addressing..

Here is a thread from awhile back where a few of us worked through some

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...solutions.html

I tried wedging one-piece scales a while ago to make them wider, and then I broke them I will have to experiment a little more (carefully) in that area.