Thread: Fixing scales that the blade almost closes into

I have to be quite careful when closing my Friodur, the blade almost contacts the scales right at the very toe end of the blade. The scales may be a wee bit warped, but are quite straight.

Is there any way to fix this, or is it something I have to pay attention to every time I open/close?

First thing to check is alignment at the pivot end...
Take the razor and look straight at the pivot holding the razor so that the tail is toward yer face... see if the scales are lined up or if one is higher than the other???

What can also happen is if they are lined up right and seem to close straight at first, then take a turn one way or the other when it nears the closed position. This is a problem I see with Friodurs and a major design issue when rescaling them. It is caused by an unusually fat tang with a very rectangular shape. As the scales ease over the tang where the mark and model are stamped they ride differently and push/pull the scales one way or the other. Fixing the problem, if this is the cause, is not an easy thing.

the scales are really not in line at all, the scale along the back of the blade (which is the side that almost contacts the scales) is much higher than the scale along the front of the blade.

Does this make it easier to fix?

I did that to one of my ebay acquisitions by over tightening the pivot pin. Maybe not quite as warped ....... yet. Time will tell. I have become really careful when closing my razors even if they have no issues.

Hmm I would have guessed the high side would be opposite the closed toe contact side. Is that a bent pin then?

On ones i have put together one side of the tng might push the toe to the opposite side. Maybe it's the tang, or the taper to the monkey tail, or the scale- but something is out of wack.

If they are not bowed, do not modify the tang to suit the scales-then the only thing left is remove a bit of scale material until it closely smoothly. Could be something else guys?
Or it needs to be repinned.

I have never noticed a high side Glen, I'll be looking

Most likely a bent pin, but sometimes it is an easy fix, This is going to be really easy to do, but very hard for me to explain....
Basically yer going to use yer finger tips to pinch the scales in opposite directions so that yer pushing and pulling at the same time , just firm steady pressure on the bottom of one scale and the top of the other to twist the razor straighter.....DO NOT BEAT ON THE SCALES, or USE ANY TOOLS, YOU WILL BREAK THE RAZOR, just use yer fingers.... If this doesn't help at all after 2-3 tries then it needs a new pivot pin.... I have run into the tang problem the Dan is talking about but it is fairly rare, although one of the razors that had an uneven tang was a Friodur... if the scales are sitting uneven it most likely is a bent pivot pin....

If my explanation is at all un-clear send me a pm and I'll try and help by phone....

If the pivot pin does not stay tight, this is also an indicator of a bent pin. Friodur's big long blades and factory scales often have this problem. I have at times fixed this problem with warming the scales and forcing a realignment. That is providing the pin was true. I just keep thinking that a razor that expensive with that high a blade quality would have a solid set of scales.