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Razor Replating for my Toggle...how about some recommendations...HELP

retrolike

retrolike

So I'm looking for someone to replate my Toggle...and I don't want to do it in gold.

-I'm thinking either rhodium, silver, or black nickel. What do you all think?

-I'm also looking for suggestions on who to contact to do the replating...I'm leaning towards West Coast Razors.
 
R

Rob72

Best/longest wearing, most expensive- rhodium.
Best wearing/cheapest-nickel.
Silver and black nickel (do you mean black chrome-?) don't last as long, and will look worse, more quickly.
 
maxman

maxman

I plated my Toggle in Rhodium a few years back at Reliable.
They did a fine job. I recommend them.

I'm not sure who actually does WCS plating. I'm assuming it isn't done in house given all the gear required.

I've heard that black nickel is nice, but the finish is mostly decorative. It's not as durable as other finishes.
If you go with the Rhodium it will most likely outlast you!
 
huck1680

huck1680

For me, I'd do it in Rhodium, just because it's gorgeous and if you ever decide to sell it, rhodium will pull more than nickel. If the razor had been done in nickel originally I'd say stick with that. But you're going from gold to another plating. Black nickel in my eyes would diminish the value of the toggle. Don't get me wrong I like black nickel and have a razor done in it as well. But the toggle is a bit more special than that. I've had some serious issues with Razor Emporium and would suggest Dave at westcoastrazors.com as one of the go-to guys for plating.
 
king1976

king1976

Krona Kruiser said:
Top 3 reputable places for rhodium, gold, etc. are:
Reliable Electroplating
Onotoman (Dave)
westcoastrazors
Click to expand...

So, I send my GEM razor for replating to one of above (for now I will keep it for myself and not speak abot name in public)....razor is finished and send back to me at 05/31 but still did not reach me. I have to say that I ordered lots of packages from the same country and neither took more than 10-12 days to arrive so the only logically explanation is that razor is lost somewhere.
Seller/replater obviously send it without tracking number so there is no possibility to track it.
I make a claim to the seller - he told that he will send replacement razor to me - unfortunatelly he do not have the same GEM and I told him to send me photos of available razors that he can offer but no photos also.
So, I need your advices what to do in this situation.
Btw. I also make a claim under PP but in that case I will recive just a compeation for replatin and not for the razor which I pay almost 50 USD.
 
Krona Kruiser

Krona Kruiser

This is tough one. It seems like the seller is being cooperative. Shipping items to Eastern Europe is always risky (even with tracking, it's also expensive) and it may be held up in customs. If the vendor has offered to replace the razor, I'm sure they will honor that and the razor is probably the similar style. I would be a little more patient to see how it plays out, you may even end up with 2 replated razors.
 
dreadpirate

dreadpirate

I have had GREAT results (5 razors done, 2 more in process) from West Coast Razors. I have never tried the other two vendors mentioned. I have gold, silver, rhodium, and bright nickel DE's. Newly plated silver is stunning; it really looks nice, and came out better than I thought it would. But silver will tarnish. Rhodium shines like a mirror and does not tarnish, but it is much darker. Bright nickel is also stunning; looks better than the satin nickel finish used on vintage DE's. Nickel will tarnish but very, very slowly. It all boils down to personal preference, and whether or not you are willing to use Tarnex about once a year (for silver). I personally don't like the black cera-coat or the dark nickel.
 
O

onotoman

This was me - I always send out razors via recorded delivery, but the problem is that Royal Mail will only track within UK borders, so it doesn't really help much.

At the end of the day, I'm afraid I can't be held responsible for overseas or indeed UK postal operatives but that said, for goodwill, I offered Teo a replacement razor from my own collection or an offer of compensation for the razor.

In the end, Teo chose to take the cash compensation I offered and the Paypal issue was closed.

So, I don't think I could have done much more really?

Hopefully Teo will find a good replacement.

king1976 said:
So, I send my GEM razor for replating to one of above (for now I will keep it for myself and not speak abot name in public)....razor is finished and send back to me at 05/31 but still did not reach me. I have to say that I ordered lots of packages from the same country and neither took more than 10-12 days to arrive so the only logically explanation is that razor is lost somewhere.
Seller/replater obviously send it without tracking number so there is no possibility to track it.
I make a claim to the seller - he told that he will send replacement razor to me - unfortunatelly he do not have the same GEM and I told him to send me photos of available razors that he can offer but no photos also.
So, I need your advices what to do in this situation.
Btw. I also make a claim under PP but in that case I will recive just a compeation for replatin and not for the razor which I pay almost 50 USD.
Click to expand...
 
cernel_joson

cernel_joson

My attitude with replates is that you're taking away something from the razor, i.e. the original finish. The knurling might not look the same, if there's engraving, it might not be as crisp. Therefore you should try and make the replate an upgrade, which is to say, rhodium.
 
O

onotoman

If the old plating (what's left of it) is removed using gentle chemical stripping and the razor is only polished where necessary, then the knurling and imprints will be as they were originally. The problem starts when replaters buff off old plating on a wheel, this invariably removes metal too.

I've replated a razor, not been happy with the finish, stripped it again and replated it without any wear to the detailing. Nickel will last a lifetime if applied correctly and Rhodium, well you then have a beautiful piece of jewellery, stunning.

I would only recommend Rhodium if the 'donor' razor is unmarked beneath the original plating, otherwise nickel plate and use it as a daily shaver - but then if you have a Rhodium razor, you'll want to use it as much as possible.

cernel_joson said:
My attitude with replates is that you're taking away something from the razor, i.e. the original finish. The knurling might not look the same, if there's engraving, it might not be as crisp. Therefore you should try and make the replate an upgrade, which is to say, rhodium.
Click to expand...
 
O

onotoman

I'm far from perfect, but I like to try and do the right thing.

In every instance, I send off razors to their owner, then request payment for work and postage and to date (in over 5 years) no-one has 'forgotten' to pay. I think the traditional shaving community are an honest and upstanding bunch.

I'm sad to say that I've bought a few razors on Ebay to have the seller disappear from the face of the earth and no razors to appear though, so the wider world, well...

chongo gordo said:
^^^^^ Unbelievably stand-up response. Bravo!
Click to expand...
 
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