Thread: What's under the chrome?

New guy here with interest in DE razors. I must say that the all stainless feather has caught my eye due to its solid SS construction. Ive noticed many others are chrome plated. Now I wonder.. what's under the chrome? Are there some razors with better construction than others? I just dont want to deal with peeling/chipping chrome. Are there other all stainless DE's out there?

Most are brass if I'm not mistaken. During WWll there may have been zinc substituted. With a bit of care a plated razor will stay nice for many years but stainless is cool too. Just a lot more $.

Buzzard217,

As JimmyHAD has said, a lot of the vinatge safety razors were made from brass.

IIRC 'recent' Merkur razor heads are cast from a zinc based alloy 'Zamak' (Zamak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

I don't know what the current Edwin Jagger/Muhle heads are made from.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Good plating is a multi level job and as I recall they use copper plate over the base material. I know the EJ Chatsworth series uses a special plating process. They say it's the same one Roll Royce uses to plate car accessories.

Gentlemen:

I am not all that impressed with the plating on Merkur, but Edwin Jagger and Muhle glow.

By the way, Buzzard217, you will be thrilled with the Feather all stainless steel. I think it's worth every cent. Then there is the Pils all stainless steel, possibly the most expensive double edge these days, and it is exquisite.

Regards,

Obie

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Good plating is a multi level job and as I recall they use copper plate over the base material. I know the EJ Chatsworth series uses a special plating process. They say it's the same one Roll Royce uses to plate car accessories.

Oddly enough a good friend of mine is the bookkeeper at a small company that plates the Flying Ladies for Rolls and the B's for the Bentleys! It is in Gloucestershire and their main product is making plastic security mirrors. I shall have to ask her if they do Jagger heads.

They also plate those Renault diamond shaped car badges.

Some of their specialist plating they contract out to a tiny two man (well husband and wife) company here in Cheltenham. I visited there once and it was like something from a Victorian horror story! Big vats of bubbling acid and the hum of electricity and the two people walking around in heavy rubber boots, gloves and overalls. Now I know where the bodies went...

Gareth

Over the years they have made the process safer but it is still an unhealthy vocation. In the early days with the chemicals they used most of the workers didn't live very long.

The chrome finish on the Edwin Jagger DEs is top quality. The only other razor i have that gives it a "run for the money" in the finish department would be a Gillette President ( Rhodium handle I think?)

This might be a useful link: YouTube - ‪How It's Made - Butterfly Razor‬‏