Epoxy and repin Help Please

Hello Everyone,

I am new to straight razor shaving. I bought a razor here in the classified and it needs some minor work. the razor slides around in the pivot hole a little, and from all the forums I read epoxy looks the easiest and there looks to be some easy applications at Lowes. So a couple of Questions

1. when you squeeze in the epoxy in to the pivot hole, how do you keep it from falling out the other side and keep it flush/flat with the shank until it dries

2. after it dries how do you drill a perfect hole so its even in the same spot through the other side and does steer to one side after I repin it.

please keep it simple as possible as I live in a apartment, and have limited tools

thanks,

Mafuzul

I would put some tape on the back side to keep it in. If you are trying to drill it out, make sure and line up the bit so it only drill the epoxy. I am betting you are not set up for drilling through hardened steel.... and a spinning razor is a very bad thing.

You are also drilling through a plug of epoxy that is in a Tang that is beveled in two directions...

The tang is angled front to tail, and top to bottom, makes for an interesting try at getting the hole straight through :hmmm:

Dremel with a grinding attachment to auger out the hole to accommodate a sleeve using brass tube with an id of 1/16.

Put a couple globs of hot glue on the tang and press on a flat surface as it hardens. Once cool and hard, use a file to fine tune the compound angle you need to drill the hole straight.

A chisel or puddy knife will pop it off when done.

I like to re fit the pivot holes to keep them tight so they don't move towards the wedge as I like mine close to the blade
I have use tungsten burrs and recently a small dremel abrasive grit cone to grind them out.

Have you considered the idea that it might not be a pivot hole problem? It could just be that the pin is loose or worn out as it is designed to break before it eats the pivot hole.
First step would be to tighten the pins and see if that fixes the problem.
Second step would be to repin it.

The blade should rotate freely on just the pin. The pin is not a friction fit part through the blade. The friction on the blade comes from the washers (or scales) held against the blade by peened ends of the pin.

If it is indeed a worn out a pivot hole, you will want a drill press to drill out the epoxy filled hole. The Dremel type drill press will work.
Make sure that you secure the razor in a vice before drilling. I also usually put electrically tape over the blade to protect myself from it.
Do some test holes on a scrap piece of wood to make sure that when you drill from top and flip the wood over that the drill bit should go right back into the hole.
Adjust the press as necessary to get that line up. Once it is lined up, drill a 1/32" pilot hole through the epoxy to the other side. Then step up to 1/16" bit and drill halfway through the epoxy. Flip the razor over and drill the remaining half of the hole. (Drilling from both sides counteracts the chuck wobble). Then repin it.

And make sure the hole is clean of soap, oil, and gunk because epoxy won't stick to the gunk.

thanks, Guys,

I was looking for a quick fix, as I do not have the tools to do this as some of you sound like professional. think I'm just gonna send it in and have it professionally

If tools are the issue then there is another low tech way to do it.
Stick the razor to a board using double sided tape.
Take a straight pin coated in Vaseline and stick it in the board in the center of the pivot hole.
Fill the hole with epoxy which will not stick to the Vaseline.
Let it dry for 24 hours and then remove the pin. Now you have a pilot hole.
Use a 1/16" bit to drill the epoxy out. You can even spin the bit in your hand without a drill if you wish. (Still do half of the hole from each side though).
Repin.

And you don't have to have a jeweler's anvil to repin. All you need is a clean piece of steel bar. I say clean, because any rust on it will transfer to the face of the pin.
The same applies to the hammer, it needs to have a clean face. I CrOx mine before pinning and coat it in oil after pinning.

Go the auto parts store and look for a tube of reinforced putty(it will be near the epoxy) It is a 2 part, so use a small amount and you can fill the pivot hole in. No messy epoxy and this stuff is so tough it can be drilled and tapped. I have used it on small stuff to bolting the head down on a old Kawasaki two stroke triple street bike. That had a ton of compression after I was done with it.

Many options. First one would be is it really worn is just loose. Simply open the razor, put the scale on something hard like a piece of steel or the smooth part of a file, then give the pin 4 or 5 light taps with a small hammer, preferably a ball peen hammer. They may take care of the issue.

If the brass pin is worn in half, or nearly worn out, then you just grind one side off, or file it off, and take it out. Then put in a new pin. If the hole in the blade has actually worn out and gone oval, then you can either drill it out and put in a sleeve provided you have enough steel in the tang to safely drill it out for a small brass sleeve, or fill it with metalized epoxy (JB Weld) and drill a new pivot pin hole which is tricky. You have to get the blade leveled and you will need a drill press set on a low speed, dont even try it with a hand drill. You will not get the hole straight.

As cannonfodder said, many options. What would help us is for you to take the pin out and photo the tang from several angles so we can give you a better and more precise idea as to how to proceed. Help is on the way pending a more detailed description of the problem.