Thread: When Pins Cannot Be Tightened

Yesterday I tried to tighten the pins on a recently acquired Greaves. Tap Tap Tap over Tap Tap Tap over...and so on. The tapping seemed to do nothing. I am by nature get a bigger hammer person but this razor is a treasure to me and I don't want to do something foolish. And I don't want to de-pin the razor.
Has anyone experienced this and found a reasonable solution. It was not a problem shaving as the scales seemed to stay put by friction on the short end above the pin. But stropping was not fun as the scales offered practically no resistance.

Pivot pin is most likly bent.

The pin may be bent or the pivot hole is worn and larger than the pin. Can you move the blade around when opening and closing? Does it move toward and back or up and down?

Nope, just tried, snug as a bug. But if you hold the blade and scales and drop blade (holding parallel) the blade drops 90 degrees. And the scales as noted above keep their position when shaving. It is just the stropping that is a problem. I hope over time I can work with this by not relying on my 'extra' fingers on the scales to stabilize the operation....a bent pivot pin makes me feel a little sick.
Thanks everyone for the help.

Originally Posted by bouschie

The pin may be bent or the pivot hole is worn and larger than the pin. Can you move the blade around when opening and closing? Does it move toward and back or up and down?

In reality, an enlarged Pivot hole has nothing to do with scale tension againest the tang.

roger that, this is the only razor I have where the scales taper inward and create the friction on the tang which holds the scales parallel to the blade if holding the blade. I'm assuming this is not intentional, just old scales going where they feel like going.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

In reality, an enlarged Pivot hole has nothing to do with scale tension againest the tang.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

In reality, an enlarged Pivot hole has nothing to do with scale tension againest the tang.

so what keeps a (heavy) blade open about 45 degrees? just tension/friction between the scales and the tang?

Let me share a little secret trick that might work. Carbon Paste. This is the stuff that bike mechanics use in slip joints (seat posts/stems) so that the parts have enough friction to bind properly without over-torque (carbon-fiber parts are fragile in that regard). I use carbon paste on full-metal slip joints sometimes.

One might take a q-tip by the bike shop and ask them for a smear of carbon paste. Or they might give you a "sample" sized packet. Or they may be hardballers and sell you a whole container.

Or you can "borrow" that technology and add a little "slurry" to your rust preventative oil and dab that into the friction area.

I had one recently that tightened up beautifully, then got wet, so i oiled the pivot, then it "got loose" so I re-peened, it went crooked, then i had to heat it, etc. It was a battle i should have carbon-pasted!

Originally Posted by globaldev

so what keeps a (heavy) blade open about 45 degrees? just tension/friction between the scales and the tang?

Yes, friction between the tang,thrust washers if present, and the scales,simple mechanics

I could be wrong but before I ever set hammer to pin I tried to think what was I actually doing. This is what I came up with: I was shortening the pin thereby increasing the diameter. This increased the friction, pretty easy to visualize, just never had anyone tell me if it is right or not.

Originally Posted by globaldev

so what keeps a (heavy) blade open about 45 degrees? just tension/friction between the scales and the tang?