Thread: 1/16 nickel rods

The 1/16 nickel rods I bought off the bay are solid unlike the brass rods i bought off the same guy. I tried to pin a razor with walnut scales that i made and the solid rod was nearly impossible to do anything with. I managed to crack the scales and bend the rod. Is the solid nickel rod the right stuff and any helpful hints to successfully pin a razor would be very apprieciated.

Have no clue what you bought,,,

Most of us use the Solid 1/16" Nickel Silver rods or NiAg available from the Knife supply places if there is a problem with those it is normally that they are too soft

What hammer do you use?
A light hammer with light taps will make the tips of the pin swell.
A heavier hammer with deep stokes will make the pin swell and/or bend in the middle.

Hey There

Nickel is a very hard metal. Nickel has a Vickers hardness of around 600, Nickel-silver has around 130, maximum 220 if it's extra hard.
As a comparison the razors you shave with have a hardness of around 500 ish after tempering )75 ish before).

I have had a solid nickel rod come in with my order. I did the same thing. Pissed me off because those scales were an old mahogany and I ruined them. I could not believe I could crack them after the epoxy resin, but it is possible.

Originally Posted by Lemur

What hammer do you use?
A light hammer with light taps will make the tips of the pin swell.
A heavier hammer with deep stokes will make the pin swell and/or bend in the middle.

its a ballpeen hammer, not a jewlers ballpeen. I might of been hitting it too hard. i tried light taps but that took too long. There are another set of walnut scales drying on my clothes line right now, when they dry ill try again and hit lightly.

Originally Posted by clamup1

its a ballpeen hammer, not a jewlers ballpeen. I might of been hitting it too hard. i tried light taps but that took too long. There are another set of walnut scales drying on my clothes line right now, when they dry ill try again and hit lightly.

Go tap tap tap...
Do you have any means to anneal it?

When you say "...solid unlike the brass rods..." are you confusing 'tube' (hollow) with 'rod' (solid) or do you mean that the nickel is much harder than the brass?

You can peen with any hammer, providing the head is small enough - jewellers watch hammers are like minitiature claw hammers, but their lack of mass means that they don't have much effect - overall they are a bit light. A small ball-pein, webbing-tackers hammer or even a fine cross-pein (with some practice) can be used. Heating the rod to dull red heat might help. You can let it air dry or plunge into cold water. It will get harder again as you hit it.

Peen over one end first, put the washer on, insert through scale/tang/scale, add washer, close blade and pinch scales tight, rest already peened end on metal surface (small anvil of some sort) cut other end leaving around 1/16 showing or a bit more if you have not got good flush cutters and have to file the crimped bit off, then peen enough to retain washer, then turn-peen-turn-peen until done, testing to see how blade opens as you go.

A better description is in the wiki somewhere.

Regards,
Neil

Do you have any means to anneal it?[/QUOTE]
what does this mean?

The brass rods were hollow and the nickel rods i bought were solid in the middle. I got it to work,



I thought the ball peen hammer i bought might of been too heavy but if you hold it right above the scales and lightly drop it, it does the job quit well. The only prob ive run into is the razor hits the back part of the scales. You have to guide the razor closed. I dont know how to fix this and i dont think im going to tear the scales apart now that ive gotten them back together. If i ever have to sell the razor ill fix it.

Well, the solid ROD was the correct type of thing to use for pins - still don't know if it is nickel or the far more readily obtainable nickel-silver, and the hollow TUBE is definitely not correct for pins - sleeves if it has an internal diameter of 1/16th maybe, but not pins, though given the will I suppose you can do almost anything you set your mind on...

What did you use the brass tube for - make-shift washers like eyelets to slide the nickel rod through? I'm intrigued!

Regards,
Neil