Thread: Plated blades?

Im new to razors but I started resoting another one today and it seems to be plated with chrome... I found this out because when I started to clean up some of the major rust some chrome started flaking off...Can this still be restored? It has no tang stamp but looks old to me.

I have seen this as well! If my memory serves, it was on an American made razor. I have only seen a few,tho. You might try buffing it to blend the chrome into polished metal underneath. Removing the chrome is not an option, I would think. Good Luck!

I was thinking something like an acid bath type thing to remove the plating and then just have it replated. but I dont really like it anyways because it doesnt have a tang stamp, the only reason I bought it was because it had a barbers notch and its the only one with that that I have now. and it was 5$.

Actually I'm thinking if I can get the chrome plating off of it then I will just restore it like any old razor and not plate it again. Anyone know how to take of plating?

Hard plating like chrome and nickel are hard to get off. You would probably have to grind it off. I don't know of any chemical way to do it. That's one of the reasons they do it to protect from different substances. Proper plating usually requires multiple layers so hard to tell what is underneath. However, flaking was an issue with the older plating processes.

A plating shop would remove it using muriatic acid - might leave the steel a bit pitted, though. Reverse electrolysys in sulphuric acid electrolyte would also work. You will find an underlying layer of nickel under the chrome, probably - the acids will remove it too. Safest way to do it at home is an alkaline bath sold by Caswell, but it involves use of reverse electrolysis and the expense of a plating outfit, or you could make do with a car battery and lower the output by wiring bulbs into the loop.

All are a bit more costly than what you paid for the razor. Probably best to write it off to experience!

Regards,
Neil

well thank you, if anyone wants the blade for a resto or something you can have it. I dont think I want to go through the trouble of restoring it, Ill just go resore one of my other razors or get a different razor thats not plated haha.