New Titan razor is very loose, just flopping into scales

sd_baker

sd_baker

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2023
Location
Ontario, Canada
I was playing around with my newly honed Titan T.H.60 razor and it fell under its own weight closing onto my thumb.

I've done no work with razors beyond honing. What can I do to to tighten it up? (not sure I'm using the right words.)

image.png
 
To tighten the pivot, put the bottom pin on a hard, flat surface (I use the top of a vise), and gently repeatedly tap the top pin being careful not to hit the scales. A small balpeen hammer is ideal for this. Stop and test between rounds of taps to ensure that it is tightening. Make sure that the razor is level, and you applying force directly down, and aren't bending the pin as this will affect the angle it closes on, potentially making the blade hit the scales.
 
The Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 is not fitted with normal pins. Each brass pin is of two part. One part is like a hollow cylinder with a flat end cap. The other part is like a short slightly tapered nail with a flat head. The nail part fits into the cylinder part. (I hope that is explained well enough.)

To tighten the pin, you should use a light (no more than about 4oz or 100g) flat-head hammer. Do not use a ball-head hammer.

To protect the scales, first put some insulation tape over the pin on both sides. Hold the pivot pin on a solid steel surface so that the only the head of the taped pin is in contact with the steel. Now use the flat head of your hammer to gently tap the other taped head of the pivot pin. The amount of forced used should only be about the same as you would use to hit your fingernail without experiencing pain.

Tap the pin a few times and then test the pivot-pin resistance. Repeat this until you have your desired resistance.
 
sd_baker said:
I was playing around with my newly honed Titan T.H.60 razor and it fell under its own weight closing onto my thumb.

I've done no work with razors beyond honing. What can I do to to tighten it up? (not sure I'm using the right words.)

image.png
Click to expand...

5H4E8Gf.gif

This is what happens when you’re not supposed to be playing around with dangerous tools
 
I think this is the right place to ask question about my new Bismarc.
I have bought that a week ago. It is a beautiful razor but opens too easy and when closing the blade nearly touches one scale (not centered). Should leave it as is, try to fix (not sure how) or contact the seller?
 
karol.elec said:
I think this is the right place to ask question about my new Bismarc.
I have bought that a week ago. It is a beautiful razor but opens too easy and when closing the blade nearly touches one scale (not centered). Should leave it as is, try to fix (not sure how) or contact the seller?
Click to expand...
Forward your straight directly to @rbscebu he’ll fix it for you
 
It is relatively easy to tighten the pivot pin. Basically what @silverlifter said in post #2 above should tighten it for you.

The only part where @silverlifter is not fully correct is his statement that bending the pivot pin will offset the blade in the scales. Most pivot pin holes in razors have a diameter larger than the pivot pin. A (not excessive ) bend in the pivot pin will not offset the blade in the scales.

As for centring the blade in the scales as it closes, this will depend 9n the material of the scales and if they are warped.
 
rbscebu said:
The Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 is not fitted with normal pins. Each brass pin is of two part. One part is like a hollow cylinder with a flat end cap. The other part is like a short slightly tapered nail with a flat head. The nail part fits into the cylinder part. (I hope that is explained well enough.)

To tighten the pin, you should use a light (no more than about 4oz or 100g) flat-head hammer. Do not use a ball-head hammer.
Click to expand...
Why not ball-head? For fear of missing and damaging the scales?

rbscebu said:
To protect the scales, first put some insulation tape over the pin on both sides. Hold the pivot pin on a solid steel surface so that the only the head of the taped pin is in contact with the steel. Now use the flat head of your hammer to gently tap the other taped head of the pivot pin. The amount of forced used should only be about the same as you would use to hit your fingernail without experiencing pain.

Tap the pin a few times and then test the pivot-pin resistance. Repeat this until you have your desired resistance.
Click to expand...
So the razor is very tight at the ends of the range of motion and loose and flopsy in the middle. The end exposed end pins are more or less flush with the scales.

I tried a few taps and didn't really change the resistance very much. Should I put a small piece of metal on top so I can drive the pin deeper than flush?
 
So if I would try to do that by myself should I use the hammer on the side where the scale is too close or too far?
 
sd_baker said:
Why not ball-head? For fear of missing and damaging the scales?
Click to expand...
No. You use a flat-head hammer as the top surface of the pin head is flat. Using a ball head will mark the top surface of the pin head.
sd_baker said:
So the razor is very tight at the ends of the range of motion and loose and flopsy in the middle. The end exposed end pins are more or less flush with the scales.

I tried a few taps and didn't really change the resistance very much. Should I put a small piece of metal on top so I can drive the pin deeper than flush?
Click to expand...
I would try first without putting a small piece of metal on top of the pin. A "few" taps might not be enough. I have sometimes had to do 50 to 100 or more light taps to lighten a pivot pin. Remember, like SR shaving, you should never be in a rush. Take your time, concentrate on what you are doing and try to always learn something new.
 
karol.elec said:
So if I would try to do that by myself should I use the hammer on the side where the scale is too close or too far?
Click to expand...
I have no idea because I have never been able to centre a blade in the scales by working on the pivot pin. Remember, the diameter of the pivot pin hole in the blade's shank is typically much larger than the pivot pin diameter, like ∅1.6mm verses ∅2mm to even ∅3mm.

Assuming that the scales are not warped, I have found that to centre a blade in the scales, I needed to remove some of the scales material where it fays against the blade's shoulder/shank area. For that, I use sandpaper and a paddle pop stick.
 
To add insult to injury, literally, when I inspected the edge, it now has a small burr or nick that can be seen at certain angle close to straight on, but not quite.
 
sd_baker said:
To add insult to injury, literally, when I inspected the edge, it now has a small burr or nick that can be seen at certain angle close to straight on, but not quite.
Click to expand...
Sometimes you shouldn't look too closely to a SR's edge. I have noticed the same occasionally but only after I have shaved. Never noticed in the shave feel or result.

Ignorance at times can be bliss.
 
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