Why are the holes in some heavier razors bigger than 1/16"?

I agree - the oversized and irregular pivot holes I've seen in my restorations have never been symetrical, and I would suspect that the high carbon steel would not wear with a brass pin (brass being the much softer metal and would itself wear instead of the steel).

I suspect that this is especially true in large wedges, since there is more metal to punch through at once, so the chances of an irregular hole is larger, in my estimation.

Mark

Another factor is that the holes had to be drilled before heat treatment.
But if you have just forged a blade, you have to either
1) wait for the blade to gently cool off from the correct temperature so that it is anealed, then drill the hole with a mechanical drill
2) take a punch and make a hole while the blade is still red hot.

2 would seem the logical choice.

We were discussing this in chat also, and one thing that puts me more toward the wear side, I am not saying the hot punch method was not used here, but I am saying that much of the oblong shape and oversize part is from wear.. The brass will wear on that steel, look at the side of the tangs and the wear from the brass bearing washers, also especially on the bigger older wedges there is some back and forth movement there also...
Sp perhaps there are actually two things at work here, the punched hole not being quite as tight nor exact, as a drilled hole allows for more play, which in turn allows for more wear????????:hmmm:

But I've never seen significant wear on the brass pins. And they should wear more than the steel, no?

My vote - hot punch. The deformed (oval hole with long axis parallel to the length of the shank?) I bet comes from the smith hammering out the displaced material from punching the hole.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

We were discussing this in chat also, and one thing that puts me more toward the wear side, I am not saying the hot punch method was not used here, but I am saying that much of the oblong shape and oversize part is from wear.. The brass will wear on that steel, look at the side of the tangs and the wear from the brass bearing washers, also especially on the bigger older wedges there is some back and forth movement there also...
Sp perhaps there are actually two things at work here, the punched hole not being quite as tight nor exact, as a drilled hole allows for more play, which in turn allows for more wear????????:hmmm:

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Glen, every Tuesday night I operate a large newsprint press (offset rotation). The rolls of newspaper weight over 500 kg. They're mounted on a steel rod that turns is a brass bushing at very high speed. After 30 years of heavy use, there's still no sign of wear on the steel rods, but the bushings have been replaced several times.

Just another data point.

Bart.

There are notes on the Sheffield Uni site concerning the work of the last razor-grinder in Sheffield, UK, a Mr Bill Hukin. I have posted the link before - the part apart the hole is here. They refer to it as the "dot hole." It appears that it was punched-in by the forger at that time.

Regards,
Neil

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neil Miller

There are notes on the Sheffield Uni site concerning the work of the last razor-grinder in Sheffield, UK, a Mr Bill Hukin. I have posted the link before - the part apart the hole is here. They refer to it as the "dot hole." It appears that it was punched-in by the forger at that time.

Regards,
Neil

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Great link! Nice to see this stuff.

Thanks Oz! Another reference to the hole being pierced may be found here. See the 5th paragraph beginning "...The variety of materials..." It is based on the 1911 version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and also tells of the various polishing operations.

Regards,
Neil

Speaking of cutlers, there's an eBay seller called razorman2 sells this DVD of a cutler from Ed Vogel's.
Shows him sharpening nail clippers, shears etc & finally a razor. Worth buying just to see the huge wheels he uses.
The link should be good for a few weeks.

Grind hone strop your CUT THROAT straight razor DVD - eBay Straight Razors, Shaving, Vanity, Perfume Shaving, Collectibles. (end time 13-Feb-09 10:02:52 AEDST)