How durable is palladium plating and is it worth it?

[Medivh]

I have a British Aristocrat in good mechanical condition, but the plating isn't very good and i'm planning to send it for a replating. I've chosen the services of one of the few good reputable people for the job, but i'm still not 100% sure which plating to pick. If rhodium was available, I wouldn't have asked this question, but since not many people offer rhodium these days, I think palladium might be a good alternative.

At first I wanted to pick nickel over palladium, since it's more durable, but that would make the Aristocrat look cheap. I'm going to use the Aristocrat from time to time, but not as often as my modern razors and I guess the plating would be intact, but I still want to know more from people who own palladium plated razors for a second opinion.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Rhodium is much harder but for simple plating I don't see much difference between the two.

For other applications it looks different...

Rhodium and Palladium - Comparison - Properties - Material Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of rhodium and palladium, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Rhodium vs Palladium.

material-properties.org

 

[MikeTbass]

Great question, and very timely as I am going through the same debate. I have a few razors that I am looking to replate and would go with rhodium without hesitation if I could find it. Well, actually I can, but it's to the tune of $150 per razor.....

I suppose my biggest problem going with palladium is that it isn't a traditional razor plating. Nickel - yes, gold - yes and rhodium - yes but palladium was never used on any production razor to my knowledge. I am replating vintage Gillettes and I am not sure if I can feel good about going with a substitute plating material. I am leaning towards nickel for this reason and FWIW it doesn't appear that palladium is much harder of a material compared to rhodium.

 

[Medivh]

Great question, and very timely as I am going through the same debate. I have a few razors that I am looking to replate and would go with rhodium without hesitation if I could find it. Well, actually I can, but it's to the tune of $150 per razor.....

I suppose my biggest problem going with palladium is that it isn't a traditional razor plating. Nickel - yes, gold - yes and rhodium - yes but palladium was never used on any production razor to my knowledge. I am replating vintage Gillettes and I am not sure if I can feel good about going with a substitute plating material. I am leaning towards nickel for this reason and FWIW it doesn't appear that palladium is much harder of a material compared to rhodium.

I might go with Palladium, because it would be a shame to put nickel over an Aristocrat considering that the price for both is the same and besides, i'm not going to use that particular Aristocrat very often, so I doubt that I would damage the plating just by using it 10-30 times a year. If it was a workhorse razor, which I use all the time, I would most definitely pick nickel.

 

[MikeTbass]

I might go with Palladium, because it would be a shame to put nickel over an Aristocrat considering that the price for both is the same and besides, i'm not going to use that particular Aristocrat very often, so I doubt that I would damage the plating just by using it 10-30 times a year. If it was a workhorse razor, which I use all the time, I would most definitely pick nickel.

For a British Aristocrat I would go for palladium as well. I would guess that over time it will become a more "normal" plating material as rhodium prices remain high. Now, I have a Gillette President that was originally a rhodium head and nickel handle that I have no idea what to do with...

 

[Medivh]

For a British Aristocrat I would go for palladium as well. I would guess that over time it will become a more "normal" plating material as rhodium prices remain high. Now, I have a Gillette President that was originally a rhodium head and nickel handle that I have no idea what to do with...

Wasn't it the opposite - the handle of the President rhodium plated and the head being nickel plated?

 

[MikeTbass]

Wasn't it the opposite - the handle of the President rhodium plated and the head being nickel plated?

The plating on mine is pretty shot, but yes, it would appear you are correct.

 

[Medivh]

The plating on mine is pretty shot, but yes, it would appear you are correct.

One just got sold for around $180 without case lol. I still don't understand why are people paying that much when they can just buy a cheap Aristocrat for around $40 and get it replated and have basically the same thing, but much cheaper.

 

[MikeTbass]

I watched that auction through the end - it was the earlier variant with the unknurled lower band, but yeah man, crazy prices. One of my favorite razors is a 46-47 Aristocrat plated in nickel which I think out shaves the President while having "that look". I wonder if it's possible to plate just the head? The handle on my President is flawless but the head plating is shot. It looks like it got a chemical bath that destroyed the nickel but the rhodium shrugged it off. Would be nice to just have the part that needs it touched up and I would be at well under $100 for it all.

 

[Medivh]

I watched that auction through the end - it was the earlier variant with the unknurled lower band, but yeah man, crazy prices. One of my favorite razors is a 46-47 Aristocrat plated in nickel which I think out shaves the President while having "that look". I wonder if it's possible to plate just the head? The handle on my President is flawless but the head plating is shot. It looks like it got a chemical bath that destroyed the nickel but the rhodium shrugged it off. Would be nice to just have the part that needs it touched up and I would be at well under $100 for it all.

Chris from Back Roads Gold offers partial plating. He will disasamble the razor and just replate the head without damaging the handle.

 

[DrStrange]

Platinum is now cheaper than palladium.

It is almost as hard.

About 5 years ago, platinum was a few times more expensive than palladium.

 

[Medivh]

What about gold plating? Would gold plating be good enough on a one piece razor, which isn't going to be used all the time? I wouldn't have picked gold plating, but given that the razor in question was originally gold plated and it's case and blade bank as well it would be very wierd if I pick anything else.

 

[DrStrange]

I have a gold plated Super Speed with date code Y2.
It was less than $40 including shipping from Back Roads Gold
several years ago.

I like it just fine.