Thread: To re-pin or not to re-pin. That is the question

I just landed this J.A. Henckels #415. It is in very good shape with a few exceptions. There is rust on the shank near the hinge pin and more than likely between the scales. I am wanting to remove the hinge pin and remove the rust but am concerned about the very slight crack in the scale. Would I be better off just trying to remove as much rust as possible without breaking this razor down? Or would you recommend removing the hinge pin for restoration?

Another angle.

Those old cracked ice scales can be tricky. If it was me I would just clean it up and use it as is. If I did take it apart, it would go into a new set of scales. Just my opinion. Good luck.

Originally Posted by prodigy

Those old cracked ice scales can be tricky..

How so....I'm curious for much the same reason as Straightandproud. I have a Goldedge in similar condition.

Originally Posted by prodigy

Those old cracked ice scales can be tricky. If it was me I would just clean it up and use it as is. If I did take it apart, it would go into a new set of scales. Just my opinion. Good luck.

The beautiful scales on the #415 are the appeal. I would rather use it as is than re-scale it. Im sure I can remove the visible rust, but the rust between the scales is a concern. Will it eventually ruin the scales through abrasion?

Originally Posted by Straightandproud

The beautiful scales on the #415 are the appeal. I would rather use it as is than re-scale it. Im sure I can remove the visible rust, but the rust between the scales is a concern. Will it eventually ruin the scales through abrasion?

Would not worry about abrasion ruining the scales.

That's a difficult one - on the face of it, getting at the rust and cleaning it up is preferable, but you risk worsening the split in re-pinning. From what I can see, the rust is no so bad, therefore a little penetrating spray should be enough to ensure it doesn't get any worse. I don't think you need have any concerns about rust ruining the scales.

Maybe give the oil a chance, get rid of what rust you can and monitor the condition for a few weeks.

I tried to take apart a goldedge, and every set of scales is different, but mine split very easily. +1 to the oil it and keep going as is.

Just my opinion but I would try to get at the rust with some WD-40 and a women's Emory board cut down to fit in there with maybe some floss and a toothbrush to hit the hard parts. If that didn't spin my crank then I would reinforce with a bit of super glue and tape and carefully unpin and once apart I would fix it up the best I could so re-pinning wouldn't cause a further split. Go slow, start with the lowest intrusive method, and understand you run a risk. Or you could possibly send it out. My 2¢

You run the risk of breaking the scale twice, unpinning and repinning. Old scales like those can be pretty brittle too. If it were me I'd follow the previous advice and work around the problem without unpinning the scales and live with the crack. Only replace then if you have too. It's your call though.

Bob