Thread: Pinning: Tight or loose?

Myself I have trouble with the scales flopping around, it sets the motion off for me .. But honestly if it doesn't mess you up, I would love to see a vid of you stropping because it is impossible for me...

I can mange to shave with loose scales, I don't like too but I can, Honing and Stroping are a no go for me though with the scales TOO loose..

Like U2Bono269, it doesn't matter to me if the scales are tight or loose. In stropping and shaving, I only grip the razor itself. To me, the scales ain't nuthin' but a cover to protect the edge when it's put away.

Originally Posted by JeffR

Like U2Bono269, it doesn't matter to me if the scales are tight or loose. In stropping and shaving, I only grip the razor itself. To me, the scales ain't nuthin' but a cover to protect the edge when it's put away.

my thoughts exactly.

I don't know how you guys do it?
I strop really fast and if I have to worry about the blade moving around on me I lose the rhythm of stropping and would probably cut my strop.

Most of us strop using the fingers to help rotate the razor. If the scales are loose it's like a brake system full of air.
You don't get the desired results for your actions.

I just broke the scales on two different razors from stropping with loose scales. They moved too much around in my hand and caused me to inadvertantly to put pressure on the scales causing them to break at the pivot. After that, I tightened the pins on all my razors.

I also dont like loose scales, the must be tight for me.

I concur... for me, loose pins / scales change the center of gravity if the razors moving when the scales move. Not much, but enough to throw off a fine motor skill, like flipping, and all of the nicks I've put in my strop happened as a result of a sloppy flip. For the actual stroke it doesn't seem to affect anything.

And to answer the OP's question, I don't know if it's possible to loosen the scales at the pins without repinning.



But I've been wrong before.

I found that if I lowered my grip closer to the scales on my tighter razor it was easier to maneuver. I think it might have to do with how I hold the razors...I watched a few videos and saw a lot of people using only a few fingers, whereas I cradle the razor in my whole hand.

I agree with 94terp. In my limited experience I have found that the staighter the razor is from tip of the blade to wedge, the easier it is to flip and be smooth. I have one razor that is a little loose and no matter how much I try and hold tang or jimps only, I will inadvertantly touch the scales with the heel of my hand which moves the scales off at an angle to the blade. When this happens (for me), it makes my stroke and flip just a little off because it feels butt heavy. Right now I need as few variables as I can get to get my technique better. This is just my opinion though. The other razor I have that I peened a little tighter feels much smoother to work with.