Thread: 5/32 pins

Texas knife supply carries 5/32 rod for pinning.

http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/produ...oducts_id=1779

5/32nds is fairly common for old razors like these - you find that size in the centre of the big, ornate bosses of some very early razors too, sometimes brass, sometimes copper, sometimes plain iron. I repair a lot of real oldies, and have got pins in steps from just under 1/16th to just over 5/32nds - all have seen use. For very uncommon odd sizes, a larger pin turned down in the chuck of a drill is a quick and dirty fix.

With regard to that pattern in the steel of the blade, it is as Substance says - a sign of damascus patterning, ie folded and hammer-welded steel.

Geezer pointed out the Jacques le Coultre razors - his family were primarily watch and clock makers, and Jacques himself gave up razor making to concentrate on the other side of the business - Jaeger-Le Coultre watches spring to mind! Springs - that was the reason behind the lines in Jacques le Coultre razors - the early ones were made by hammer-welding watch springs together - they are quite thin, as we know.

You need a superior type of steel to make watch springs - the main reason Benjamin Huntsman rediscovered crucible steel (cast steel/acier fondue) was because he wanted a good steel to make his watch springs from. Prior to this, in the 1700s the best steel was said to be 'german steel' or 'venice steel', both types being the same - the steel was made in Germany and shipped either direct to its destination or via Venice. In the UK we used the cementation method, also called the 'English Method'.

None of these steels were good enough for watch springs, as they suffered from lack of consistency and purity. Watch makers may be said to have kick-started the modern methods of steel making in the quest for a high quality reliable steel - in fact an english watchmaker from London, one Benger Higgins, may have beaten Huntsman to it. In the 1740s Huntsman embarked on the quest for a finer steel - and found it.

Le Coultre, born 1781, carried on that tradition by making fine steel from his own watchsprings, describing the product "...Razors, manipulated from steel wire used for watch springs, and consequently of superior temper..."

From razors to pins to springs to steel-making - what a convoluted journey the comparatively innocuous can take us on....


Regards,
Neil