Quote Originally Posted by zepplin View Post
I watched Bill's CD, too. In his section on pinning, I was interested in the instrument he used while flattening the brass rod. In the CD he had forgotten the name of it. I emailed him with the question; here was his response:

"You can use a 3/32 woodworking "nail set". I think that's what you may be talking about. The other thing is to dish out a spot on the top of a hobby anvil about 3/32 in diameter and a 1/16th deep. Put the indentation about a quarter inch from the edge of the anvil. Use the round head of a small ball peen hammer to mushroom the pin. Make sure the hammer head is polished and also make sure you only tap the pin, not hit it. It make take 100 hits to spread the pin. After pinning a few razors you will get the hang of it."
I haven't seen he CD and have never made a pin so excuse my simple questions. In the above description, is the indentation being used to hold the pin while you form the mushroom the other end or is the indentation being used to produce the shape of the mushroom end (kinda like a cake mold)? if it's the second option what is being being used to hold the pin? if you held the pin with your fingers, surely both ends on the pin would mushroom? and is there any importance in using the round end of a ball peen hammer? couldn't you use a small hammer or a spoon or something?