Delta Echo Alternative

[the maui life]

"If it isn't 'restored' with NOS it's not original" I'm having trouble wrapping my head around that..

 

[the maui life]

"The decision is a big one because Gun Kote is close to impossible to remove without causing a lot of damage." FYI/INFO as most people may not know this but the same process applying the GunKote requires 'media blasting the finish can be remove without damage. You can even have the razor plated, lets say nickel however it would be a satin nickel finish. This is how RE does razors in poor comedic condition ie bead blast then plate.

 

[romsitsa]

There are two yt videos on their site.
Sandblasting:


And a Tech:


I’m not against painting razors, everyone can do whatever he/she likes, it’s just I don’t see how any paint can adhere as strong or better than electroplated metal. And reversing sandblasting to get an “original” surface, is close to impossible.

Adam

 

[THall]

Really nothing you are going to do with shaving your face at your sink is going to hurt Gun Kote. Gun Kote is well above 700 grams on scratch tests. Chemicals roll off of it. Go with bake on and use a vendor who knows what they are doing/proper prep. With that said, if you have it done, pick a color scheme you really like.

Another option is to keep your razor without any plating/coating in raw brass and apply Protectaclear every several years or so. If you decide to replate later, no harm, no foul.

 

[Mark Thompson]

I found Sherlock a little while back and posted about them because more options are always a good thing. I agree with the comments here that the color schemes on the gallery aren’t my cup of tea but those appear to be customer requests. I’m not a fan of their superhero thing either but you fill out a form and they appear to coat in any color available you wish. I can’t really evaluate since I have not sent any work their way.

North Shore has been around for a while and appears to do excellent work. I base this off of countless reviews I’ve read and their gallery. I also have not sent any work their way but that may change in the future.

Jay Mabe/Delta Echo previously worked on guns and this is why I felt comfortable with him refinishing 2 razors for me, including a collaboration with Razorplate.com. In my line of work, I’m very familiar with that type of person and their attention to detail. If they can work on guns, razors aren’t a big thing in the least. Jay took forever but the wait was worth it. He took a horribly replated Fatboy and half of a second one and made them look incredible. Razorplate.com of course did amazing work on the other half. Jay also put them both together and they are perfect, they are also for my boys.

I see both sides of whether or not to commit to a Gun Kote color finish. It was easy for me because the Fatboys I had done were a thick replate horror show. I also understand why someone would take a user grade and have it done. The decision is a big one because Gun Kote is close to impossible to remove without causing a lot of damage. Gun Kote is also an amazingly durable finish. I posted videos about Gun Kote with firearms a while back. I can’t ever see how shaving could hurt that finish, even daily for a century or more. You have to have someone do the work who both understands prep and avoids the temptation to go too thick. A thick coat will result in a chip after a drop, but a properly applied finish would last more than a lifetime with plenty of drops.

As an FYI, gun shops also use cerakoat, but not because it is better. They use it because more color variations are available. Gun Kote has been catching up though. I would only go with Gun Kote, but that is only because I’ve seen how durable it is during abuse on the range.

I found the quality of work by Sherlock to look sub-par, sloppy at best compared to the other two vendors that do coating nice clean lines and flawless. Just look at the rings, flutes what ever you call them in the photos the paint is bleeding onto the handle, looks like the skill of a third grade art class. I realize he's new and sure he is new to doing coating but he's got a long way to go before I'd ever consider sending anything... I'm not looking to break any civil laws here JMO You all do as you like.

 

[THall]

Jay/Delta Echo had some terrific color schemes. The Cubano and the Steampunk were my favorites.

Although I liked those, I elected to go with a custom, old school Gillette type of scheme after sending him a template. The inspirations came from the Gillette Executive Super for one and the Gillette Black Bottom dial (Collaboration with Razorplate.com) for the other.

FYI. The disassembled Fatboy pictures below were obtained online and I did not take those. I only altered the pictures back then for both to describe the scheme I wanted in communications with Delta Echo and Razorplate.com.

The end result is my picture.

 

[Mark Thompson]

Jay/Delta Echo had some terrific color schemes. The Cubano and the Steampunk were my favorites.

Although I liked those, I elected to go with a custom, old school Gillette type of scheme after sending him a template. The inspirations came from the Gillette Executive Super for one and the Gillette Black Bottom dial (Collaboration with Razorplate.com) for the other.

FYI. The disassembled Fatboy pictures below were obtained online and I did not take those. I only altered the pictures back then for both to describe the scheme I wanted in communications with Delta Echo and Razorplate.com.

The end result is my picture.

I seen one recently on one of the threads by northshore and razorplate I like the nickel/coating look.. Yours looks nice as well.

 

[Flintstone65]

Jay/Delta Echo had some terrific color schemes. The Cubano and the Steampunk were my favorites.

Although I liked those, I elected to go with a custom, old school Gillette type of scheme after sending him a template. The inspirations came from the Gillette Executive Super for one and the Gillette Black Bottom dial (Collaboration with Razorplate.com) for the other.

FYI. The disassembled Fatboy pictures below were obtained online and I did not take those. I only altered the pictures back then for both to describe the scheme I wanted in communications with Delta Echo and Razorplate.com.

The end result is my picture.

I've been quiet on this thread since I'm not much of a "re-plate/mod" guy when it comes to vintage stuff...that said, I LOVE your Nickel and Black Gunkote with white lettering" Black-Bottom-Dial-inspired Fatboy. Dang, I've got a couple that need some work, and I'm thinking one of them will be THAT! Good choices sir, truly nice!!!

 

[THall]

Here are the same Fatboys PRIOR to the Delta Echo and Razorplate.com work. I bought these before I knew better and only owned 1 razor at the time.

Wanted Fatboys for my sons like my father had after he died. His razor was long gone but wanted them for my boys. Too thick of a replate on both and the other had plate wearing off almost immediately. Again, long before being a member here and knowing anything really.

Choose wisely whatever you do, refinish or replate. I chose wisely and results brought tears to my eyes when I got them back.

The black and gold was the one on the left, the collaboration in nickel, black and white numerics was the mess on the right.

 

[THall]

I've been quiet on this thread since I'm not much of a "re-plate/mod" guy when it comes to vintage stuff...that said, I LOVE your Nickel and Black Gunkote with white lettering" Black-Bottom-Dial-inspired Fatboy. Dang, I've got a couple that need some work, and I'm thinking one of them will be THAT! Good choices sir, truly nice!!!

Thank you sir!

That is why I posted my old templates in case anyone wanted to use them.

 

[Ivo4u2]

The Cubano version is also very

 

[JohnnieTime]

I agree to a point. I find them vulgar in the extreme but that is a matter of personal taste. To me, however well it is done, it is permanently disfiguring a razor for future generations of collectors who may find them in a thrift shop in years to come. Most of use here prefer to find razors in untouched condition. But if a razor is common and user grade then to me there is no problem with such paint jobs, ultimately it can extend the useful life of an otherwise unloved and unused razor. To each his own.

Nope...I am taking mine with me

 

[serafino]

I've got at least 6 Gillette Slims and they made millions of them and they are still very common on eBay. I plan on sending one of my Slims to North Shore to get one of their coating jobs.