Peening without washers

Unfortunately this didn't work on the ivory scales - despite gently gently tapping with a very light hammer, the pivot end broke away before I got anywhere near tight enough.



I guess one of the issues is that the scales had already been pinned once which probably weakened them anyway and the pin hole is very close to the end, but I just don't consider ivory to be strong enough for this. If it was done originally by Heljestrand there must be some way of doing it without the risks of hand peening.

The two sets of SS scales were fine as expected.

 
Ach, sorry to see that Rob but full credit for having a go. For what its worth I absolutely love those layered 'Bullseye' washers - a beautiful feature if ever I saw one and with a proper air of class. Jamie's washers on that razor he showed back looked good too but I love to see a nice piece of wood with those brass washers - beautiful. I might not be a straight razor user (yet) but I can certainly appreciate their form and the skill that goes into restoring and maintaining them.
 
It's a risk for sure trying to peen without washers Rob, even a small washer displaces the pressure and stress at those specific points, even if you managed to successfully peen the razor without washers I still believe there to be a weakness especially at the pivot point, a razor peened without washers to me is wrong full stop, but against stainless steel scales it's not only right it's also logical.

Jamie.
 
It was a good learning experience - if only because it confirmed what I thought would happen.

I looked at Jaycee's photos of acrylic and horn and assumed that acrylic would probably suffer from the same issues because it's quite brittle, whereas horn - being more fibrous would hold up better.

When you think about it, the pivot end of scales takes most of the pressure so it's no surprise that most problems occur there. The scales tend to be tapered in both width and thickness, so when you drill a hole you're asking for trouble with anything other than robust material.

As Graeme said, a nice set of washers can add to the aesthetics but I guess there is a practical reason for using them in the first place.
 
Thanks Rob. you done great work on all 3 razors. cheers mate.

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UKRob
As I was falling asleep last night I had an idea. What if you strengthen the hole with some tube glued to hold in place. Then peening the end to cover the tube. Would this work?
 
lexx said:
UKRob
As I was falling asleep last night I had an idea. What if you strengthen the hole with some tube glued to hold in place. Then peening the end to cover the tube. Would this work?
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Thanks for the suggestion but I don't think it would make much difference given that the peened head has to have something to work against. If you visualise what is happening to the rod when you peen it - the head begins to spread and tighten against the scales - or washer if there is one in place. It seems to me that the whole point of the washer is to spread the load and is probably why the old washers were domed - by using a domed washer the pressure is taken away from the area immediately around the hole - this is the problem area which is likely to split. We really need Neil Miller to provide a proper explanation.

I've just started doming washers before I use them - take a look at this example.



I feel much more comfortable using these and the end result looks just as good in my opinion.
 
Having a second thought about peening a razor without washers, maybe there is a solution ? As you know when you start to peen the pin head without a washer not only does the pressure build by pushing the scales more tightly against the tang, but also the biggest problem you will have and the most likely to break the scales is when the pin starts to expand directly inside the hole of the scales here lies the biggest problem to me, well there is away around this if you find a small gauge brass sleeve maybe from a model steam enthusiast that a 1/16 pin will fit inside perfectly then you can cut a small piece that travels directly through the both ends of the razor and slightly proud of both sides of the scales, this will greatly ease the direct pressure on the hole in the scales but maintain the required pressure to make the right amount of friction required when closing the blade.


Jamie
 
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