My Replating Saga: formerly, Razorplate Question?

I've looked over the various options for razor replating services, and decided to go with Razorplate. (Another vendor, story below).

This is the razor before pictures:



As you can see, it's not in terrible shape. User grade, perhaps slightly better.

I need to know what steps I need to take to start that process. Reading the website, it looks as though you just blindly send your razor in, and I know that's not how it works.

I considered Reliable Electroplating, but decided to pass on them due to a lack of in depth communication between them and the customer. You send your razor in, 2 to 8 weeks later you get a bill, and the razor gets sent back to you. They do quality work, but the razor (if it's a one piece design) is plated without being disassembled.

Razor Emporium, you send your razor in, and you get it, or a similar razor, back fairly quickly. The do a huge volume of business, and batch run razors though the plating process. I recently read of a member's razor mysteriously becoming a year younger after visiting RE. from what I understand, the razor is usually disassembled before plating and rebuilt after plating. Turn-around time is fairly quick these days.

Which brings us to Chris at Razorplate. Turn around time is slow, and the wait to get it started is fairly long, but he is passionate about replating, and treats every razor he touches as though it were a valuable classic car. I already have a razor that I purchased, already replated, that I was told was done by Chris, and I was impressed by the finesse of that plating. Polished, but not enough to lose the fine detail. As a result, flea bites and other marks of corrosion remain, but the detail is preserved. (See below).


So, how do I go about getting a razor replated by Chris?

 

After some soul-searching and careful deliberation, and a conversation with Nick of Sport Shaving (@FacialCarnage ) I've decided to go with a new kid on the block. I don't like to do things halfway, and the American platers don't really replate cases. (Nick didn't have a big enough tank)

@jaycee-uk from HTTP://razorplating.co.uk will be replating the case in nickel, and the blade case and razor in rhodium. I will be handling the preservation of the support tray (which will likely be a scour, soak in vinegar and a coat or two of rust-oleum).

I've made a template from the rotted remains of the velvet and will try to source a match.

Another UK fellow is working with me to develop a process to replicate the gold and silver hot stamping Gillette used through the 1930's.

I've already sourced royal purple silk to use for the top portion of the case, and made a template for that part as well. All in all, it would probably be cheaper to find an early aristocrat in good shape, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

As a side note, you guys might find it interesting that the velvet portion of the lining is all one piece of fabric, cunningly cut to fit and not leave visible seams.

As for what made me decide to go with this guy? These pictures and the story that went with them:
Dent removal before:

Dent removal after:

"The razor on the left, has damage caused by someone accidentally dropping it. It has resulted in a dent that would undoubtedly spoil the look of a replated razor - so clearly needs some restoration work!


First, the razor was chemically cleaned and the metal activated to allow a layer of copper plating to be applied. This would allow the areas to be brazed and molten metal to be added to the top of the razor handle. A simple lead free tin solder was used. After that, the built up metal was worked on using wet and dry paper - working up to 2000 grit.


After, the razor was polished to an exceptional shine - and plated in another layer of copper. After that the razor was plated in nickel.


You can see from the second picture, that the damage was fully repaired and any evidence of the mishap removed!"

I personally am not recommending this guy. I'm going to give him a try, and be a guinea pig.

 

I plan to. I might even start a "case restoration thread" when this is all done. I have been taking pictures and notes.

Edit: for anyone watching this thread, who owns one of these kind of cases, I highly recommend prying up on the right front corner of the razor tray and tossing a small silica dessicant bag in there. The trays are made of plain stamped steel, and if a damp razor was ever put back in the case, they are sure to be rusty.

 

Gosh, yeah, that would have been great if someone thought about doing something like that as a sideline or something...
This one's a freebie. More along the lines of a rough draft actually, considering what I had to work with.



The bottom line on the bottom card, is 7cm long, for anyone who wants to...I don't know...print this to scale. I expect to have to make minor tweaks to the pattern, but it's fairly close.
Edit: 7cm long, not mm. Whoops!
Here's a picture of the bottom of the tray before I removed the velvet.

And a picture of the top of the tray, after I removed the velvet.

See those two little gaps on either side of the blade case holder? Part of the liner was stuffed into those gaps to pinch the liner in place.

 

Wow. I wouldn't even know where to start if I was faced with something like that.

My interest is merely to see if it is a viable sideline. The biggest cost in restoring a case will come from replating the cases. That isn't something I want to get into. The other stuff is just fiddly bits. If I can get the logo stamping done, that is the crucial part. Everything else any Joe average could do with some patience and some time on his hands.

It kills me to see people take old razors, restore them brilliantly, and then have to store them in a cruddy looking case.