Thread: Pins vs. Micro Fasteners...

I've got some old family heirlooms that I'm thinking about cleaning up for daily shavers. This will be a first razor project for me. Do people think there are any advantages/disadvantages to using micro fasteners vs. just re pinning? In a former life (when I had more time), I was a model builder, so delicate work such as re pinning is nothing new to me. Just seeking some thoughts.

ps. any opinions on polishing up the blade?

Advantage of micros is that they can come apart easily which is handy for cleaning, rescaling, and mocking up scales. Disadvantage is supposedly they can get loose, they aren't as attractive in my mind and they can break more easily.

Regular pins I think you can figure out. That being said- when I currently pin a razor for good, I use regular pins. I used to use the micros but my preference has just grown away from them. I just don't think they look nearly as good unless they are the kind Zowada uses which only fit much larger holes and only look good countersunk. My $0.02 as usual.

I would agree there. Don't bother using the microfasteners unless it is important for you to be able to take them apart or if you have limited patience and equipment.
Real pins are a little harder to perfect but if you have already done some model building it shouldn't be a problem.
That said, I use the microfasteners most of the time because I am not very good at pinning!

I, too, have some family heirloom razors that I'm trying to get in shaving shape. When I finish cleaning up the blades I intend to put them back together with microfasteners while I hone. Later, I'll send them to someone who knows how to pin. I would definitely screw up some old scales if I tried it on my own.

Using them for scale layout and function tests, they can't be beat as Alex already said....
I however won't use them on razors unless specifically asked by the customer.....
My theory is this they don't have 200+ years of a track record behind them like peened pins do....

I think the pin whatever you use should be smooth to the touch and look balanced on the scale.

The supply of materials for pins is a little restricted, but some of the guys peen the brass rod so well that it almost looks machined.

I think that roughly peened pins or chunky nuts and bolts that don't match the original quality that has been removed are not a "good job". They can look and feel terrible.

A razor needs to feel good and smooth when closed. All the old ones do.

Thanks for the feedback. I can see that in general we all think re pinning is the way to go, but we resort to micro fasteners until for thier convenience.... At the moment, I'm inclined to use micro fasteners because I like the idea of being able to take the razor apart for a good cleaning every now and again. Has anyone ever used pan head screws vs. hex head? I did a model once where I used a countersunk pan head on one side and a countersunk hex nut on the other. I was a pain cutting out the hex shaped contersink, but very pleasing to the eye. Anyone ever done this with a razor scale?

I think Seraphim does or has done this. Check out some of the gallery posts and you will find them.

Originally Posted by Climber160

Thanks for the feedback. I can see that in general we all think re pinning is the way to go, but we resort to micro fasteners until for thier convenience.... At the moment, I'm inclined to use micro fasteners because I like the idea of being able to take the razor apart for a good cleaning every now and again. Has anyone ever used pan head screws vs. hex head? I did a model once where I used a countersunk pan head on one side and a countersunk hex nut on the other. I was a pain cutting out the hex shaped contersink, but very pleasing to the eye. Anyone ever done this with a razor scale?

YES !!! I have, and still do use the pan-heads on occasion, as they don't need special wrenches from Microfasteners to tighten them..... I actually like the look on these better than the hex-heads but that is personal opinion......

When you use the micro fasteners, do you use any locktite or file the screw down to the nut to keep them from backing off?