Custom Hinge Selection Tool

An unbalanced shear is the same slicing operation as a standard shear, but the overall length is not a full multiple of the knuckle length.

If you are trying to achieve a length that would call for one partial knuckle with a length less than .23" you may have to look at a balanced shear operation in order to get the overall length you need.

End knuckle slightly
deformed by shear

Because the cut is not at the gap between the knuckles, the cutting blade will have to go through some part of the knuckle to achieve the length. Think about how a big cleaver slicing through a roll of cookie dough crushes and deforms the end a bit. The hinge knuckle will get crushed in a similar way in an unbalanced shear.

Please note that because of this deformation, unbalanced shearing can also retain the pin in the hinge. One of the knuckles will be shorter than all the other knuckles, and as a rule of thumb, the length of the shorter knuckle should usually never be less than one half the knuckle length.