Thread: The extra collars..

A few of the razors i've taken apart had a fifth collar, both times on the pivot end.

Check out the pic.

The top 3 collars were all on the back side of the razor, two stacked on top of each other at the pivot end. The 2 middle ones were on the front side. They middle two are solid and the top ones are like little halved tubes. What is the difference?



I've seen the extra washer before and just though yeah, bonus washer!! But seeing it a second time made me want to ask if there is some significance in its use.

Also after seeing the pics is it worth reusing this hardware? I have new pinning kits i can use but i figured id get a some educated opinions. I know there is some appeal to reusing original parts but i'm not the best judge yet of the integrity of these tiny things.

Right now the scales are clamped between some boards in the freezer so i wont be getting to repining till tomorrow.

Thanks!

Hi, Matt.
Stacked collars are pretty common on factory-assembled razors. Seems to me they are so cheap and ordinary that people who pinned razors at the factories didn't care about how much they were, because the time spent on sorting and separating collars was more expensive than the time spent on just picking them from a huge tray and pinning anyway.

That makes sense. Thanks!!

Had the razor been re-pinned? The 'tube' like ones you referred to were commonly used in pairs - so I'm speculating that if you have an odd one it's because the razor was re-pinned at some stage and one part was missing. The fact that the washers are different types also suggests this.

If you un-pin an old razor you generally find that all 4 washers are of the double type with one stacked on the other. My understanding is that this was done to support the top washers and avoid it being flattened when peened.

UKRob is correct. The inside collar is a support for the brass and is usually steel. Without it the brass collar will flatten out and you'll have a tough time maintaining sufficient tightness for the blade or wedge. If you look at the stamped collars Austin Kennedy sells you'll see they all come with small steel washers to go behind the scales for this reason.

I'm gonna say it was probably re-pinned. I thought that may have explained the two solid washers. Thanks again for the answers. It was a curiosity.

i have to side with Matheus on this one (not saying UKRob is wrong) because i have ran into the same thing but with the majority of razors not having double tube washers. JMHO

I have seen a lot of different combinations of collars, washers and pins on razors as domed collars backed by steel washers, stacked eyelets-like on single, double and washer-backed arrangements, simple washers, no washers at all, coin pieces, pins pinned on both extremities, modern nail-like pins, nail kludges, screws and rivets, almost all of them in copper, pewter, bronze, silver and sometimes steel metal. All of us have valid arguments, because pinning evolved - and had been kludged and improvised - throughout history. UKRob have a nice solid argument, IMO.