Chris is going to do a couple of pieces for me in the coming weeks. Your photo makes me want gold. Are you using that razor or is it a safe queen? I'm torn on plating because I love using the razor. I'd have a hard time using a new gold finish for fear of plate loss. I'm guessing anything other than gold lowers the value to a collector? What finish could be used that would allow periodic use without showing plate loss? Rhodium can, I think. I've grown somewhat enamored with Gillette adjustables and particularly like 1958. Good stuff in 58. My Toggle is a D1. Chris is going to replate my D3 Fatboy (I think this is the 1st production date of the Fatboy). I should have a D3 Executive Fatboy on the way. It appears to be NOS....or very close. I've no need to use this one really. The only other '58 Adjustable, I think, is the D1 Red Dot Fatboy...which is on my list of purchases. Unless I get a great one, it will get plated too. Maybe I'm the only guy in the world who would find a collection of those 4 core adjustables kinda cool. Let alone get to take them for a ride every now and then. Maybe it's better to leave them alone and use them. Maybe it's better to replate them in original skin and put them behind glass. I dunno. My preference would be to use them. That's what they're for. There is a lot here to dissect. I'm open to any and all constructive comments.
Gold is fine. It will last for years without needing a replate. It doesn't wear nearly as fast as you might think. Gillette just had a tendency to use a super thin gold wash and coat it with lacquer. Very fragile stuff, especially on early razors (pre war) that didn't get a base coat of nickel first. Modern replating in gold is three to five times thicker than the original Gillette plating.
Super fast reply! Thanks for the great info. Is that true with Rose gold too? Razor Emporium had a Fatboy in rhodium with just the baseplate in rose. It was quite nice. Do collectors prefer original finish?
Depends on the plater. Different ones do different thicknesses. Chris at Razorplate is the only one who replicates the original finish (though thicker), including a lacquer coat. There's another one who also does lacquer, they sell on eBay. The name escapes me at the moment. @Robyflexx used them before I think. As for collectors, it depends on the collector. Some won't touch a replate with a ten foot pole. Others prefer replated razors, especially in rhodium or cerakote. As a collector myself, I could care less if a razor is replated, as long as the replate is the same material that the original razor was coated in. The one exception is silver. I prefer rhodium replated to an original silver plate. Luckily, very few razors were plated in silver. Most of those date from the 1910-1920's. Edit: Chrome is an underappreciated finish. Done well, it holds up better than nickel, and also appears brighter/shinier. I like nickel on most razors, as it has a rich warmth that chrome plated razors lack.
It's not a daily driver, but it hangs in a stand on the sink for the days I don't have time for a straight. Still looks like it did the day I got it back from Chris.
Thanks for the info @PLANofMAN . I feel much better about gold now and the perspective on collectors helps as well. It's all preference. @Luteplayers any man with a Toggle as back-up has my respect and has built my curiosity. There is another thread around here where you show your top shelf....or in your case, your sink. In fact, show and tell from you both would be greatly appreciated. What's in your current rotations?
Razors: Cooper MonoBilt, Blackbird (not shown: No. 58 and No. 15. Have many other razors, but those are the only ones in current rotation). Brush: Wolf Whiskers with ShaveMac knot Soap: SV Felce Aromatica Shave Cream: KmF Limes AS: RL Safari, B&M Leviathan, Farina Gegunüber Kolnisch Wasser, and Derby City Chop Shop's Small Batch Shave Tonic Winter Reserve
Whoa, I've much to learn. I've no idea what most of it is. Off to google... I do like the Blackbird, super sexy. Thanks for sharing.
Did anyone here pick up 1 of the 2 nickle toggles that were on ebay last week? Those were the 1st 2 I've seen. Someone wanted them pretty bad.
Tomorrow I meet Chris from RazorPlate. We are to have lunch and personally hand over my Toggle, my D3 Fatboy, and an Aristocrat (my brother's) for new skins. Then, the long wait begins...
That...was awesome. I just had a crash course in the plating process and all things Toggles. Great discussion, great company. I learned things about Toggles I had never read. I understand their flaws. What makes them hard to plate. It just made me fall in love with them even more. Chris brought his Toggle (it's original skin, believe that?) and his North Shore Custom that was beautiful. Black body, White numbers, Rhodium doors and accents. It was very nice. If I get a flawed Fatboy, I'll go Cerakote for one. But this time, I'm going Rhodium on my D3. I'm super excited. He said my Toggle was one of the better ones he had seen and it should be stunning. If it as nice as @Luteplayers ...I'll be skrait. It was fun to sit back and let the man geek out. The education was well worth the cost of a couple of hot dogs. I look forward the holding the end result.
Wow very beautiful. He does great work and a real nice guy too. I'll be sending Chris a razor in in two weeks.
I notice on the original that the selector ring has a 'flat' gold finish. Looks rather distinctive to me, and I wonder if that can be successfully reproduced?
That was one of the things Chris pointed out to me. I'd never noticed it on my original. But, that's one way to tell if it has been replated.... Unless Chris did it, then you get the matte selector. He went to great length to explain it to me. Most of it I forgot. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
I didn't confirm specifically the 3-5 times thicker, but you are correct, Gillette gold is a wash with lacquer. Chris DOES NOT lacquer his razors. I did ask that one. What really separates Chris from anyone else in the industry is the stripping method. He is the only one that uses a chemical process that DOES NOT remove brass in the process. Every other plater with remove brass in their process. It's inherent. Another nugget...Chris will not disassemble a Toggle. If your Toggle is not functioning properly, you have to arrange to have it shipped to another forum guy (Capt Morg maybe?) who will diassemble. He send parts to Chris to plate. Parts go back to be re-assembled and set to original Gillette specs. So there are 2 men's calendars one must coordinate if you get a Toggle in bad shape. Fortunately mine did not need this step. Keep this in mind when you bid on a cruddy specimen. PS. Don't try to dissemble a Toggle unless you know what you are doing. You run the risk of destroying it with the 1st pin you remove.
I wanted to say the matte barrel is a difference in materials. I have a NOS Fat Boy Executive and an NOS Slim Aristocrat...both the gold versions, and their barrels are matte too. It should definitely be matte....on any of those 3 models.