I am burdened with ownership of two Leresche 77s, both of which have now been replated in rhodium. Why two? Because their personalities are completely different. One is ferociously aggressive, almost on the level of a devette. The other is smooth and mild. The problem, of course, is how to tell the two razors apart at a glance?
Chris, at razorplate.com, who is my go-to replating guy, came up with a brilliant solution. He knew that the first Leresche 77 was plated in rhodium (because he replated it) and that I love I rhodium. For the second one, he used "black" rhodium (more on this later).
The Leresche 77 is a finicky beast. Both of mine had problems. The first one was asymmetrical. The second one was badly bent and severely pitted. Captain Murphy worked on both of these 77s and did amazing work. The second one was a disaster. The center post was badly bent to the point where the razor was effectively unusable. CAP fixed them both and then it was time for Chris E. to work his magic.
The first 77 is on the far left. I am not great at taking pictures, so I'm borrowing from Chris.
Keep in mind that the bare brass on this razor is very thin and was very badly pitted. Unfortunately, black rhodium shows every tiny imperfection. So, despite meticulous work by Chris, there is still some visible pitting. If your razor has lettering or other fine detail, it will be unchanged after a high quality replate. The same is true for imperfections. I bought this razor to be used, so minor imperfections don't bother me. Indeed, I think it adds character.
Black rhodium is interesting stuff. It isn't black, but it is definitely rhodium. It has that wonderful rhodium glide. You know what I mean (if you own any rhodium razors). The color changes in different light and at different angles. Weirdly, it is amazingly similar to my new Macbook in Space Gray. Seriously, if you want a razor to match your Apple product in Space Gray, then black rhodium is your answer. That said, if you want such a match, you may have some issues.
Thanks to CAP (Captain Murphy) and Chris (razorplate.com) for saving these razors. I will enjoy both of them for many years to come!
A tale of two Leresche 77s
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