Thread: Straightening bent pin

My Dubl Duck Goldedge arrived from floridaboy today--beautiful razor. Thanks, Phil!

Both this razor and my other Goldedge share a common problem. The scales don't quite line up at the pin. It's like the pin got bent slightly, allowing one scale to rotate with the butt pin as a pivot point.

I'd like to correct this if possible, because the razors are otherwise in fabulous shape and I'm a little Type A sometimes.

Any suggestions? The scales are celluloid, so I don't want to risk cracking them.

Suggestions?

Josh

I hear you mate... I'm a little type A all the time

But you need to be so so careful... i have a beautiful tort-shell Flic that needed exactly that kind of adjustment and so remembering what i had learned from Happy Gilmore i gave the head pin a tiiiny tiiiny tap and split the scales right at the pin hole.

They've probably spent some time in that condition and become stressed into the shape they currently are.

Without actually seeing how much twist they have in them I am imagining that they are about the same as the Flic i tried to "adjust".

If i had the chance again... in fact it's what i had to do anyway... I'd de-pin the razor, check and correct the twist in the scales then repin them with new pins.

I know this means sacrificing the original pins but it's often the best solution.

Greg Frazer

If the pin is bent, it'll have to be replaced. That's the only way your scales will line up properly.

Yes with the celluloid scales your limited as to what you can do so you'll have to repin them. Does it really bother you that much?

OK, this is really weird. I have a third Goldedge that I'm cleaning up for a member. It's in great condition--as good or better than either of mine.

But the scales show the same offset that my other two do. How is this happening, especially on a razor with three pins? Seems like it would cause damage to the scales for the pivot pin to get bent like this...

If you're having a hard time visualizing: Imagine holding the razor, closed, with the tang pointing up. The spine is on the side opposite your body, so you can see both scales at once. One of the scales looks like it's pushed forward from the other one at the pivot.

I just can't figure it out. I'm starting to wonder if they were designed this way, possibly to make the razor easier to hold while stropping? (I don't find this to be the case, actually. It's a little harder to grip the razor for fast stropping. But it's my only theory...)



Josh

I'm looking at my Goldedge now. It's tight and square at the pivot point, so your issue does not seem to be a design issue. Mine appears never to have been honed, so I take this to be the way they left the factory . . . well except for the rust and pitting on my poorly stored razor.

Is it possible that prolonged and vigorous stropping can cause this? I've always wondered a bit about the structural integrity of the pivot pin on some razors under stropping - depending on how you hold it there'd be some force exerted at that pin. But then again, there's no reason why it should all be in one direction...

James.

Having just viewed the Bill Ellis CD, he mentions that celluloid is extremely heat sensitive. If someone had the blades displayed in case perhaps differential heat slightly warped them.

I too just received a Dubl Duck Goldedge and while viewing (as per Josh) the right hand scale seems just a smidge longer at the pivot, it appears to be because of fit in the bolster is off perhaps a bit. Ya gotta look real close. The blade is just a little loose when fully closed but snug in the shaving position. Other than that, the razor looks like new.

Oddly enough I have a tortoise-shell Flic razor, probably a lot like Greg's, that suffers from the same complaint. I had put it down to someone trying to tighten up the scales by re-peening the pin, but buckling it instead.

I've resigned myself to having to re-pin it at some stage.

I just disassembled two Henckels razors in preparation for a rescaling job for a member, and the pins on both were bent. Has to be from retightening over the years. The scales seemed to line up fine, but I didn't take a real close look.