After some troubles with my #15 British Aristocrat (this is my second one) I decided to have this one replated. The razor was definitely user grade, but it shaves like a dream. My first one looked OK but shaved like a R41 according to a reliable witness. The baseplate was crooked and the blade gap uneven...
Unfortunately Dave at Restoredrazors is on a hiatus so I needed to find another replater. It turned out to be a two person market after some investigation on B&B. I needed to have a website for contact and a vendor that supports B&B. I don't need the surprise of sending one razor and receiving another one, as I did from Razoremporium. Do not use that vendor, they are banned for a reason here!
Out of Chris at RazorPlate.com and Nick of SportShaving.com I randomly chose Nick for the job. I have no affiliation with either but both are well regarded here. For full disclosure: I paid the full price for the job.
I had my #15 done in rhodium and my British Set No 59 ( aka Rocket HD) in nickel. I also did my favorite NEW head (with the British Raised Flat Bottom) and my only US old type head in nickel.
The starting point was rather user grade with (to my eyes) very deep pitting on the doors. I did not expect to have a perfect result, the pitting seemed very deep. As you can see from these pics the Dame looked rather tired at this stage:
The result after physically stripping the old rhodium by grinding very carefully was this:
It is obvious from the pics that this job was done by a highly skilled craftsman. To be able to loose the deep pitting on the doors is impressive. For me the most impressive result however is in the minimal loss of detail on the handle. Look at the dot (.) after Brit. pat! This is the mark of a master! Please realize that the old rhodium coating cannot be removed chemically, it has to be removed mechanically.
For comparison I have my US '34 Aristocrat that I mistreated by combing sand when I was 8 years old in 1964. Luckily Grandpa had passed the year before. This original gold plating was removed chemically and thus leaving the surface unaltered. As you can see from the knurling and text on the handle the British Dame is on per with the details on the American gent. Also please note that the knurling on the razors is done differently, the '34 is more rough.
#15 and '34, both replated in rhodium
My intention with the picture above was to show the difference in the hue of the two replated razors. I can assure you that on my color corrected screen ( HueyPro on IPS LED LG monitor) I can see a difference, as I can in real life.
Lets try another one:
Brit #15 in rhodium, Gillette #59 in nickel and US '34 in rhodium
Although it might not show up on all displays there is a distinct difference in the hue between these three razors. The US '34 was done by a for me unknown plater in Finland. He obviously did not use the same rhodium solution as Nick ( and the original guys at British Gillette.
My intention with this post is to point out that a thick plating is not a sign of a good plater but the preserving of details is! There is no need to grind out the soul of these distinguished razors.
Unfortunately Dave at Restoredrazors is on a hiatus so I needed to find another replater. It turned out to be a two person market after some investigation on B&B. I needed to have a website for contact and a vendor that supports B&B. I don't need the surprise of sending one razor and receiving another one, as I did from Razoremporium. Do not use that vendor, they are banned for a reason here!
Out of Chris at RazorPlate.com and Nick of SportShaving.com I randomly chose Nick for the job. I have no affiliation with either but both are well regarded here. For full disclosure: I paid the full price for the job.
I had my #15 done in rhodium and my British Set No 59 ( aka Rocket HD) in nickel. I also did my favorite NEW head (with the British Raised Flat Bottom) and my only US old type head in nickel.
The starting point was rather user grade with (to my eyes) very deep pitting on the doors. I did not expect to have a perfect result, the pitting seemed very deep. As you can see from these pics the Dame looked rather tired at this stage:
The result after physically stripping the old rhodium by grinding very carefully was this:
It is obvious from the pics that this job was done by a highly skilled craftsman. To be able to loose the deep pitting on the doors is impressive. For me the most impressive result however is in the minimal loss of detail on the handle. Look at the dot (.) after Brit. pat! This is the mark of a master! Please realize that the old rhodium coating cannot be removed chemically, it has to be removed mechanically.
For comparison I have my US '34 Aristocrat that I mistreated by combing sand when I was 8 years old in 1964. Luckily Grandpa had passed the year before. This original gold plating was removed chemically and thus leaving the surface unaltered. As you can see from the knurling and text on the handle the British Dame is on per with the details on the American gent. Also please note that the knurling on the razors is done differently, the '34 is more rough.
#15 and '34, both replated in rhodium
My intention with the picture above was to show the difference in the hue of the two replated razors. I can assure you that on my color corrected screen ( HueyPro on IPS LED LG monitor) I can see a difference, as I can in real life.
Lets try another one:
Brit #15 in rhodium, Gillette #59 in nickel and US '34 in rhodium
Although it might not show up on all displays there is a distinct difference in the hue between these three razors. The US '34 was done by a for me unknown plater in Finland. He obviously did not use the same rhodium solution as Nick ( and the original guys at British Gillette.
My intention with this post is to point out that a thick plating is not a sign of a good plater but the preserving of details is! There is no need to grind out the soul of these distinguished razors.
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