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.
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