I was just curious why when straight razors were starting to become defined did they start tapering the tangs and using a wedge rather than a spacer? I was thinking it had to do with additional pressure while reducing the stresses on the pins thus reducing the chance of the pivot loosening. I know many restorers and some custom builders use straight "wedges" or make the tang parallel rather than taper. I assume this is for ease of manufacture, but why would one choose to go the traditional direction?

-G