Rhodium plating or alternatives?

M

marmottefarcie

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I recently acquired what appears to be a very well used #19 O/C British Aristocrat.
Since it has no box I assume that it will be of minimal interest to collectors so I had planned to get it replated so that it will be useable as a day to day razor.
I understand that the original finish would have been Rhodium and that to get it replated with that finish I would probably have to send it to the US.
Assuming that I will get it replated, what is the collective opinion on the most suitable alternative finish that I should be looking for?
Thanks for your help.
 
Well, first of all the finish doesn't affect the shave. ;)

What it does do though is give you that little extra buzz if it is nice and shiny.

Would I bother? Depends on the shave it gives you.

If it shaves like a total demon and makes you feel like a god when you are flinging it around your chops - do it. If however it is just ok / had better, don't bother that way when you unload it later on you have a better chance of getting your brass back. :|
 
Well I would for a start, send it to safety razors to get it nickel plated, rhodium is what they use to plate white gold with but you would need to nickel plate it first anyway so this way if you still want some more bling after half the work is done
 
Well, nickel lasted 50+ years so i don't see any use for rhodium... except that it costs more and stuff... does not look that much better IMHO. :ugeek:
 
I agree, make sure you absolutely like it as a shaver before investing in it further despite it's reputation.

You might have to go for a rhodium replate anyway, stripping rhodium or over plating with nickel might be problematic, just double check with the plater.
 
marmottefarcie said:
I recently acquired what appears to be a very well used #19 O/C British Aristocrat.
Since it has no box I assume that it will be of minimal interest to collectors so I had planned to get it replated so that it will be useable as a day to day razor.
I understand that the original finish would have been Rhodium and that to get it replated with that finish I would probably have to send it to the US.
Assuming that I will get it replated, what is the collective opinion on the most suitable alternative finish that I should be looking for?
Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Replating a beat up razor can be a great way to preserve it and turn it into something that's a pleasure to use. Maybe it's a family heirloom, or possibly it's just one that's an especially good fit, or maybe it's a rare model that you don't see very often in any condition. Sigh.......I'm still kicking myself because I didn't buy a 1941 US made Aristocrat (no endcaps) in crap condition a year ago or so, mainly because I didn't want to spend another $65 doing a replate in gold. Damn non buyers remorse......

Some important things to find out from the plater would be:

Does the razor get stripped to the bare metal
Do all the scratches (and any rust or pitting) get buffed out to make the surface pristine before plating.
What's the plating base coat put down before the final plating choice is applied.
How thick is the plating gonna be, since you don't want it to wear through too quickly.
Is the razor gonna be taken apart and tuned up at the same time
Is there any sort of time related guarantee regarding wear.

Heh, I'm sure there's other things I'm forgetting, but you get the idea. In the past I'd sent a few razors in for replating with mixed results, one in Rhodium and one nickel, and learned a few things along the way. Oh yeah, you should know that some people are allergic to nickel....more than you might think.

Let me just mention the Rhodium plating is a brighter finish, with more of a white gold look. Matter of fact, that's what most of the ringmakers coat their 'white gold' rings with...makes it shine more. I'll include a pic of two Fatboys......one Rhodium coated and the other in it's natural state. See what you think.

Just one more shallow badger burrow to climb out of,

Martin
 

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That pic nicely shows the glamour of Rhodium: if it tickles your fancy, go for it. It shines more but looks less original, IMHO.

PS: truth is, I'm reconsidering my original intent to go plain nickel... that rhodium looks cool!
 
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