Thread: Brass or nickel rods.....?

Those of you that routinely re-pin and peen razors, what do you like and feel works best either brass or nickel? I bought a kit to repair a razor and build a set of scales that is nickel and find it is very resilient to mushrooming when tapped lightly rather than monkey fisted like a 600 lb. gorilla.

So given a choice, which do you prefer to work with and feel it is easier to manipulate?

I personally have found that the NiAg rod is softer then the Brass, I have been ordering it from different places looking for a more resilient type

Link to yours would be appreciated

To answer the question however I use either what was on the Original scales or what I feel is aesthetically better looking,,, no functional difference IMHO

I like brass as it seems easier to peen.
NiAg isn't much harder but it isn't so hard to have to monkey fist it as you say.

Slow easy taps....that is the key.
Maybe have to do it a couple hundred times though. Lol

A polished peen hammer helps or crown the flat side and polish for a smooth finish.

You can smooth and buff a hammer easily with Wet & Dry to 1k then polish with metal polish, a dremel and a fine drum or on a buffer, then just use the hammer for pinning.

The peen or dome concentrates the energy to a single point and you need less force and have better control of the shaping the pin and a polished hammer does not transfer marks for a smooth crown or dome.

If you pinning rod is hard, annealing helps… a lot. I use Texas Knife for pining rod.

It takes a lot of light tapping to pin a razor. I was told in my earlier days of pinning what was the correct amount of force used; tap your thumb nail with the hammer, if it hurts you are hitting too hard.............................

I mentioned annealing your pin material in another thread, I do the ends, on Brass,or NS, heat till dull red hot and dip in cool water, softens it right up, THEN, I use a Jewelers "Beading" tool it rounds out a bead for setting diamond pave' style, the tool comes in many sizes and is like a hip socket in that it rounds and flairs with ease the pin ends and makes it safe to work around fragile scales. Ya might want a couple cup burrs with that.

Hmm, I really am going to have to post pics aren't I? I don't like to show off like that.

We ALL like pictures.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I personally have found that the NiAg rod is softer then the Brass, I have been ordering it from different places looking for a more resilient type

Link to yours would be appreciated

To answer the question however I use either what was on the Original scales or what I feel is aesthetically better looking,,, no functional difference IMHO

I ordered my rods and washers from Maggards because I also bought some black horn scale sheet from them to make a set of scales. It may be that I am not that experienced what so ever at it. I did do little easy taps to mushroom it but seems like it took forever to get it there.

Originally Posted by Chevhead

We ALL like pictures.

I will post a picture for sure of the scales I made utilizing the nickel rod.

Originally Posted by DoughBoy68

It takes a lot of light tapping to pin a razor. I was told in my earlier days of pinning what was the correct amount of force used; tap your thumb nail with the hammer, if it hurts you are hitting too hard.............................

I have heard that same thing somewhere as well.