I often seen people complaining about the plating on Merkur razors. Whether it be the finish or how the plating flakes off after just a couple years of use, I have seen threads come up more than a few times. Has anyone replated a Merkur? Is that an option, and if so, is it worth it? I see great reviews for the slants and the progress all the time, but the issues with the plating makes me hesitant to invest in one.
Merkur Replating?
- Thread starter VALevey
- Start date
I think they are harder to replate than the vintage gillettes. The Merkurs are made of zamak (a zinc alloy) that does not take to replating as well as the brass vintage razors.
zamak: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamak
zamak: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamak
Anything that can be plated can be replated, but plated zamak will not necessarily deteriorate any faster than plated brass. We hear a lot from folks with plating problems: we hear much less from those who have no problems. So it is difficult to know how common the problems really are. I suspect they are much rarer than you might think: none of my modern Merkur razors had any problems, and I have a vintage Merkur razors with good plating.
So the odds are probably in your favor, but what happens when things do go wrong? If the razor you receive has defects, a reputable vendor will stand behind it. Merkur surely wants to be a reputable manufacturer, so they should also stand behind their products.
So the odds are probably in your favor, but what happens when things do go wrong? If the razor you receive has defects, a reputable vendor will stand behind it. Merkur surely wants to be a reputable manufacturer, so they should also stand behind their products.
- Thread starter
- #4
The problem I see here is that people email Merkur, and Merkur claims the plate loss is due to the water eating away at finishes. There are a few threads floating around that detail this.
B
BotSpanx
They can certainly be re-plated. It seems that plating problems on Merkurs have become more common (not to suggest that it is common) in the last few years as their overall QC has dropped a bit. I have a Progress that isn't the most perfect plating job I've seen, but a friend has several that all look fantastic. If it comes out of the factory with a bad plating job, they will likely help you to get one that is properly plated. If it wears out over a few years, their denial of service is not unjustified. It would be a losing proposition for them to service every plating complaint with no knowledge of the razors care over the period in question.
I have two Futurs and two Progress Razors that have very good plating, although I have seen some tiny spots on one of the Progress Razors. I was given another (used) Futur by a friend, and the plating was in poor shape. I have an idea that the water quality may have something to do with it, but I don't know why. Our water is very soft which I would think would be more corrosive, and I believe the poor razor came from a hard water area.
I expect the cost of re-plating a Merkur might exceed the value of the razor.
I expect the cost of re-plating a Merkur might exceed the value of the razor.
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