Chrome plated razors

[robertj298]

Curious why more vintage razors weren't plated in chrome. Chrome is a lot harder than
silver and gold. I have a Gillette New DeLuxe in chrome that is over 90 years old and
you couldn't tell it from new

 

[ivan_101]

Mostly the price. Both will offer good corrosion protection, but...
You will have have fingerprints left on chrome. Also on brass nickel will offer a litttle better corrosion resistance.
An interesting thing is Merkur will plate their razors with chrome, but it is a triple process. First copper plating, then nickel plating, then chromium.

 

[robertj298]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chrome plated razor that the finish was worn off

 

[ivan_101]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chrome plated razor that the finish was worn off

Lots of Merkurs both vintage and from the last one-two decades have lost chrome plating. You just need to look.

 

[ButterfaceX]

Cost, less labor /process , uniformity, Hard Nickel is better for irregular shapes.
Chrome is harder, but not by much...compared to hard nickel..
Differences Between Electroless Nickel Plating & Hard Chrome - https://hcsplating.com/finishes/comparison-between-hard-chrome-and-electroless-nickel-plating/#:~:text=Hard%20chrome%20wears%20less%20and,electroless%20nickel%20require%20occasional%20maintenance.


BFX

Chocolate dipped for me please..

 

[Lockback]

It's a good question that I'll leave to others.
However, as the owner of a few nickel-plated vintage Gillettes, I can't believe how good they still look. Apparently, nickel plating of brass holds up pretty well. Granted, nickel isn't as shiny as chrome and a different, almost gray, color. But it still looks good many decades later, not that chrome necessarily wouldn't.

 

[SamplingNature]

Curious why more vintage razors weren't plated in chrome. Chrome is a lot harder than
silver and gold. I have a Gillette New DeLuxe in chrome that is over 90 years old and
you couldn't tell it from new

They simply didn't think...or care...about the concept of a collector's market for items that would spring up 25, 50 or 100 years after the initial purchase of the razor. They were focused profitability at the time of the initial sale. As such, they built their razors focusing on the then-profitable materials, processes, values of the customer and aesthetic. The durability...resulting in the fact that we can find perfectly useable, if less than 100% attractive examples today...is a byproduct of those materials, processes, customer values and aesthetics.

What Gillette did in 1901-04 was truly revolutionary. It was an early step into today's disposable culture...at a time when things were expected to be durable. And he was competing with a product that had hundreds of years use and, by nature, could be expected to be useable for a lifetime or several.

His approach was brilliant. He targeted the working man, with a product that could easily be "tweaked" to appeal to the wealthy influencers.

Remember...money WAS gold and silver. Your dimes and quarters were 90% silver, people still used some gold coins, and paper money was an i.o.u. from the government for a specific amount of gold or silver. Chrome would have probably seemed tacky to most of the customer base, especially for such a personal item as a razor, for the first years of the disposable-blade razor's ascent in popularity.

Gillette and other companies got a big boost from WWI. The use of poisonous gas in combat and the resulting need for gas masks took shaving from a fashion statement/status symbol to a necessary survival skill. The habit carried over to civilian life at the end of the war. The economy was booming for a few years and Prohibition had created a unique social movement. Automobiles went from nearly non-existent to the primary means of transportation.

The Depression and WWII shortages caused a change in people's values. Day-to-day items became less ornate. Meanwhile, cars became flashier, and chrome became desirable for a while.

Nowadays, chrome isn't the aesthetic in cars...or razors...that it once was, as can be seen on both the showroom floor and on the razor rack at Walmart.

But guys like us will still drool over a 1956 Chevy...and a shiny chrome razor.

 

[Lockback]

They simply didn't think...or care...about the concept of a collector's market for items that would spring up 25, 50 or 100 years after the initial purchase of the razor. They were focused profitability at the time of the initial sale. As such, they built their razors focusing on the then-profitable materials, processes, values of the customer and aesthetic. The durability...resulting in the fact that we can find perfectly useable, if less than 100% attractive examples today...is a byproduct of those materials, processes, customer values and aesthetics.

What Gillette did in 1901-04 was truly revolutionary. It was an early step into today's disposable culture...at a time when things were expected to be durable. And he was competing with a product that had hundreds of years use and, by nature, could be expected to be useable for a lifetime or several.

His approach was brilliant. He targeted the working man, with a product that could easily be "tweaked" to appeal to the wealthy influencers.

Remember...money WAS gold and silver. Your dimes and quarters were 90% silver, people still used some gold coins, and paper money was an i.o.u. from the government for a specific amount of gold or silver. Chrome would have probably seemed tacky to most of the customer base, especially for such a personal item as a razor, for the first years of the disposable-blade razor's ascent in popularity.

Gillette and other companies got a big boost from WWI. The use of poisonous gas in combat and the resulting need for gas masks took shaving from a fashion statement/status symbol to a necessary survival skill. The habit carried over to civilian life at the end of the war. The economy was booming for a few years and Prohibition had created a unique social movement. Automobiles went from nearly non-existent to the primary means of transportation.

The Depression and WWII shortages caused a change in people's values. Day-to-day items became less ornate. Meanwhile, cars became flashier, and chrome became desirable for a while.

Nowadays, chrome isn't the aesthetic in cars...or razors...that it once was, as can be seen on both the showroom floor and on the razor rack at Walmart.

But guys like us will still drool over a 1956 Chevy...and a shiny chrome razor.

As a history guy, I appreciate this post. Your historical perspective is absolutely correct. It's funny ... just the other day I mentioned to a friend how King C. Gillette helped invent the throwaway culture we now take for granted, the same thought you had.
And just think how it changed our culture: prior to the Gillette's invention, men either used a straight razor or went to a barber. From that point on, though, they could shave at home with relatively little concern for cutting themselves or having to deal with stropping their straight razor. In fact, the early Gillette blade packaging said, "No Honing, No Stropping!"
That was a big deal back in the early part of the 20th century and it changed America - and the world - forever.

 

[SamplingNature]

As a history guy, I appreciate this post. Your historical perspective is absolutely correct. It's funny ... just the other day I mentioned to a friend how King C. Gillette helped invent the throwaway culture we now take for granted, the same thought you had.
And just think how it changed our culture: prior to the Gillette's invention, men either used a straight razor or went to a barber. From that point on, though, they could shave at home with relatively little concern for cutting themselves or having to deal with stropping their straight razor. In fact, the early Gillette blade packaging said, "No Honing, No Stropping!"
That was a big deal back in the early part of the 20th century and it changed America - and the world - forever.

 

[SamplingNature]

And to think, the "fad" may have died out without the aid of a world war...

 

[romsitsa]

Chrome was used from the 20ies and tons of razors were plated with it. Why Gillette did not use it more is a good question, maybe it is because chrome is much more brittle than nickel.
Btw. I have a handful of silver plated razors looking as good as new and a few chrome ones looking ratty, the plating in it self does not predefine the durability.

 

[lasta]

When talking about multiple decades or even 100 year vintages, chrome cracks, nickel doesn't.

A lot of Japanese made Gillette copies were chromed, they usually don't hold up as well as nickel.

 

[ZeelandsRoem]

prior to the Gillette's invention, men either used a straight razor or went to a barber. From that point on, though, they could shave at home with relatively little concern for cutting themselves or having to deal with stropping their straight razor

Just to add something here, a DE does not necessarily reduce the risk of cutting the skin. There are also DE users which switched to SRs and found out that cutting yourself with a SR is actually less likely than with a DE.

As for stropping, in the time you unpack a blade and install it into the DE, you can strop a razor.

What the introduction of the DE razor achieved was that regular users no longer needed sharpening stones, which at that time were expensive and not everyone could afford one.

 

[Legion]

Just to add something here, a DE does not necessarily reduce the risk of cutting the skin. There are also DE users which switched to SRs and found out that cutting yourself with a SR is actually less likely than with a DE.

As for stropping, in the time you unpack a blade and install it into the DE, you can strop a razor.

What the introduction of the DE razor achieved was that regular users no longer needed sharpening stones, which at that time were expensive and not everyone could afford one.

Also, honing is a skill that many find difficult, or at least tiresome. Most people would rather not have to, even if they could afford the stones.

Also, storing a straight without rust being a problem could also be an issue in many places (particularly a muddy trench in Flanders).

 

[ivan_101]

His approach was brilliant. He targeted the working man, with a product that could easily be "tweaked" to appeal to the wealthy influencers.

Not sure what you mean by 'working man'.
In the first 10-15 years, most of the working class couldn't afford a Gillette razor as it was $5 (quite a lot of money at the time). That thing changed after WWI (during which contract razors were issued to soldiers), especially when in 1921 the razor became Old Type and has been reduced to $1, since the New Improved got introduced ($5).

 

[SamplingNature]

Just to add something here, a DE does not necessarily reduce the risk of cutting the skin. There are also DE users which switched to SRs and found out that cutting yourself with a SR is actually less likely than with a DE.

As for stropping, in the time you unpack a blade and install it into the DE, you can strop a razor.

What the introduction of the DE razor achieved was that regular users no longer needed sharpening stones, which at that time were expensive and not everyone could afford one.

You may stand less of a chance of cutting yourself with a DE, but the straight is capable of delivering a far worse cut. Plus, razors get dropped, and the instinct is to catch...

Plus, there's perception vs reality. Folks have long called straight razors "cutthroats", and don't forget "Sweeny Todd".

I'm not besmirching straights in any way...I occasionally use one...just discussing the perception.

 

[SamplingNature]

Not sure what you mean by 'working man'.
In the first 10-15 years, most of the working class couldn't afford a Gillette razor as it was $5 (quite a lot of money at the time). That thing changed after WWI (during which contract razors were issued to soldiers), especially when in 1921 the razor became Old Type and has been reduced to $1, since the New Improved got introduced ($5).

Yes, $5 was a lot of money, but there was less to spend it on. Most people didn't have a car (no payment, fuel or insurance). It wasn't until 1925 that 50% of Americans had electricity...or electric bills.

Straights weren't wildly cheaper at the time, and required quite a few accessories...and time...to keep them useable.

According to the song and that scene in the Charlie Chaplin movie "The Little Dictator", a trip to the barber cost two bit...or a quarter. Thus, 20 skipped trips to the barber was your break-even point.