Berea razor handle kits concern

[Carl Fisher]

So of the 20 or so razor handles I've made in the last few months, I've had this issue with easily 75% of them.

The fittings are not a tight fit into the brass tubes. I've had to add a drop of CA into the tube of almost every single one before pressing to the blank. Otherwise you can just press in or pull out the fitting from the tube by hand with minimal effort.

These are not just from one vendor either, I've had this from 3 different vendors of these kits.

A post by someone else made me think that that I'm not the only one with this issue and I'm curious if this is really by design or a design flaw? Are they not meant to be a press fit like the pen kits?

Inquiring minds want to know

 

[thewishman]

With pens, I use blue Loctite to make sure parts stay together. Since Loctite is water soluble, I use CA or epoxy to secure razor parts. I go back and forth on how to secure the threaded head.

 

[Carl Fisher]

I guess if I want to be 100% certain, I could epoxy them in.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

The few I've done can be pressed in about halfway by hand but then become fairly snug as pressed all the way in.

 

[ed4copies]

A razor is likely to be exposed to hot, soapy water---daily. Even if it is a snug press-fit, I would think a little waterproof epoxy would be "cheap insurance".

What is the "downside" (potential risk) of adding the epoxy??

 

[PenMan1]

I make and sell hundreds of razors each year. The Berea trim rings will, in fact, pull apart without cementing them to the tubes.

My preference is to use either JB Weld or Loctite Heavy Duty Epoxy to cement in the trim rings. JB Weld works better than Loctite Epoxy, but the clean up is more difficult.

As for securing the razor head to the trim ring, pipe thread sealant (pipe dope) makes a nice,secure seal. Again, MAKE SURE to do the clean up before the pipe dope has a chance to "set".

The PSI Razors fit VERY SNUGLY without epoxy, but there is so little "meat" left on the tube that it is very easy to crack the blank when pressing the parts together. With these razor set, I use a bullet reamer to flair the tubes, THEN EPOXY OR JB weld.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Good info Andy. Thank you.

I don't care for the PSI kits and the customer I make all of these for agrees at the Berea kit is the better looking of the two. It's just a matter of extra steps that were previously not thought necessary.

 

[PenMan1]

Another nice "plus" of using the Berea Razor sets is that the Parker Double Edge Safety Razor head is a direct "bolt up" to the Berea razor trim rings.

This is nice, as our sales for wet shavers (double edge Merkur) has eclipsed our sales of Mach III. It costs more to buy a Parker head AND a Berea set, but making wet shaves without trim rings is a PITA AND it looks (and feels) unbalanced without the trim.

Additionally, using the Berea trim with Parker heads allows the builder to balance the wet shaver simply by adding play sand into the tube. This can't be done WITHOUT using the trim rings.

 

[jaywood1207]

Another nice "plus" of using the Berea Razor sets is that the Parker Double Edge Safety Razor head is a direct "bolt up" to the Berea razor trim rings.

This is nice, as our sales for wet shavers (double edge Merkur) has eclipsed our sales of Mach III. It costs more to buy a Parker head AND a Berea set, but making wet shaves without trim rings is a PITA AND it looks (and feels) unbalanced without the trim.

Additionally, using the Berea trim with Parker heads allows the builder to balance the wet shaver simply by adding play sand into the tube. This can't be done WITHOUT using the trim rings.

Thanks for the info Andy. Are you saying you add the Merkur head on the Berea trim as well? If so where do you get your Merkur head?

 

[PenMan1]

No, Jamie. I'm adding the Parker head, as Merkur will not sell only the heads.
The Parker Classic and the Merkur Classic heads are identical, EXCEPT the Merkur is made in Germany and the Parker is made in India.

Many razor distributors have the stand alone Parker Classic heads.

 

[PenMan1]

I do supply my razors with Merkur platinum blades as they are, without question, the best I have found. Pricey, but very good. And VERY PRECISE with the Parker heads.

 

[jaywood1207]

Thanks Andy. I tried to buy some and couldn't which is why I asked. I really like the idea of the safety in the Berea trim. Thank you again for the suggestion.

 

[EBorraga]

I do supply my razors with Merkur platinum blades as they are, without question, the best I have found. Pricey, but very good. And VERY PRECISE with the Parker heads.

I've found that those blades only work well with a Merkur razor. My daily blade is Gillette 7 o'clock black or Personna med prep's. But i have around 40 double edge razors.

 

[TimS124]

Another nice "plus" of using the Berea Razor sets is that the Parker Double Edge Safety Razor head is a direct "bolt up" to the Berea razor trim rings.

This is nice, as our sales for wet shavers (double edge Merkur) has eclipsed our sales of Mach III. It costs more to buy a Parker head AND a Berea set, but making wet shaves without trim rings is a PITA AND it looks (and feels) unbalanced without the trim.

Additionally, using the Berea trim with Parker heads allows the builder to balance the wet shaver simply by adding play sand into the tube. This can't be done WITHOUT using the trim rings.

I just received a small shipment of Berea Razor sets and the 3-pack of Parker Double Edge Safety Razor heads. The heads do NOT directly bolt up to the Berea razor's trim ring.

The screw posts on the Parker head is much too small…it slips freely into and out of the Berea razor's threaded trim.

According to my thread gauge, it looks like the Parker heads I received are using a #10-32 thread. The Berea kits are expecting a 1/4-20.

I'll followup with Golden Nib to see if the three-pack uses a different head than the individual heads…

 

[TimS124]

I just received a small shipment of Berea Razor sets and the 3-pack of Parker Double Edge Safety Razor heads. The heads do NOT directly bolt up to the Berea razor's trim ring.

The screw posts on the Parker head is much too small…it slips freely into and out of the Berea razor's threaded trim.

According to my thread gauge, it looks like the Parker heads I received are using a #10-32 thread. The Berea kits are expecting a 1/4-20.

I'll followup with Golden Nib to see if the three-pack uses a different head than the individual heads…

It looks like I bought the crummy made-in-China heads (which explains the slight bit of rust on the threads) instead of the true Parker heads. Sure wish that would've been clearer when wading through their pages. There's plenty of room for more details in their product descriptions…

Live and learn...

 

[MichaelD]

The Parker head alone uses a smaller thread but the trim for the head uses a 1/4x20. The head screws into the trim which then needs to screw into .... something else. That's what comes from Golden Nib. I talked to Tony about that about three weeks ago looking for ideas to hot swap the DE Parker, Mach 3 and Fusion heads using some sort of adapter trim or inner bushing. No luck on that yet.