Razor Composition Controversy

In my personal experience, I've never had to replace a razor because of it's composition. I do clean, remove the blade, and dry after each use(I do leave the blade in my Schick Adjustables). I also tend to rotate so that could be a factor.
I am always surprised when I read people have had to replace Muhle or Rockwell heads for example(I believe the threading is usually the culprit). Could this be due to over tightening(I definitely don't do that). Also I hear zamak deterioration after plating issues mentioned with Merkur for example.
Others are are fine with brass plated products or aluminum products.
Then there is the Stainless Steel supremacists who think everything else is garbage(which would include every vintage Gillette I suppose).
On the other side, there are those that don't care for stainless steel(uncoated at least for drag). I suppose that could carry over to certain coatings as well not being slick enough.
I've read with Rockwell T2 SS, or the 6S, people complain about drag. With the Muhle R41 GS, that it didn't shave as well(maybe the head isn't exactly the same due to the added difficulty to produce it?).
I know replating places prefer to not deal with zamak.
With all of this said, when a razor has the option for zamak or stainless steel, I fall into the trap of the SS Supremacy Propaganda, at the sometimes much higher cost, even though I've never had a problem with zamak, brass, aluminum, etc.
Edit: I failed to mention handles made of wood/resin/plastic elements or razors completely made of plastic. Titanium Razors. Also if there is any compatibility as far as if you have different materials, for example, a brass or zamak head and a stainless steel handle, if it will wear out the weaker metal faster. Additionally the weight/density vs. mass preference for example, the desired handle length/thickness vs. the weight, how heavily that can influence your razor decision, in other words, could that make you choose a razor/handle made of an undesired material to get that specific size and shape?
Any thoughts or feelings are welcome.

 

..you guys know my thoughts..

 

You like Volvos and cars with big motors?

 

@brit likes Mustangs too, and I think the moving parts are all made outta Zinc.

 

yes..i've had ss razors and i still have a couple of zamak gillettes(late model techs).both are just fine until they are not.both of my mustangs are now passed along: i am car free at present.
i like the looks of 1 ss razor,but it appears out of production now.
give me a brit #58,a 4th gen aristocrat,or a new rfb/tech hybrid variant and i'll be a happy camper any day of the week.they tick all the boxes..looks,performance,value..

 

I prefer brass to stainless. All of my zamak razors are still going strong, too.

 

Metal is the core about straight razors.
I don't care about metals for safety razors.
I have / had all kind of, and never had issues.
I focus the performance (head geometry), weight (light) and balance (circa 1:1).
Over a good standard, the last point is the price.

Zamak and aluminium are my favs.
Same result of titanium, with better balance at a little fraction of price.
Hefty metals are just not able to produce a light and balanced tool, if the handle is long / large enough to have comfort.

On the superlight side, I love some resin razors too.
Both, industrial injected and artisanal 3D printed, give nice shaves.

I'm not a collector. Safety razors are "holders". The keen blade cuts the hair.
The game is all about rigidity and angle, within volume, weight, balance, leverage.
In one word Physics, applied to Dermatology. Because the target is the skin, not the metal.

 

In other words, Gillette, Gem, etc., figured it all out 100+ years ago.

 

Which razor is that?

 

the mild gamechanger.i had the first mamba,it was meh..cool razor but it's better if i stick to what i have.too much time and effort acquiring what i have.i like the silversmith razor,but it's a lot of bucks if they are even available.not worth taking a chance over.

 

my buddies car that i built. 5.oL 5 speed.

 

I used a game changer 68 as my daily driver for a brief while when I shaved early in the morning before going to work. It was truly a shave in the dark with your eyes half closed kind of shaver. Good, easy, no thinking shaves. When I changed to an evening shave, I ditched the game changer. While it delivered a quality shave, it lacked the soul of a brass and nickel razor. Plus, the buttons on the base plate were never really my bag. That said, I do enjoy a handful of stainless steel DE razors. Many people might scoff, but two of the best razors in my den are the black oxide Asylum Evolution and the RazoRock Lupo DLC. The Lupo 72 didn’t suit me, so I’ll probably put that and a few other items up for sale at some point down the road.

From what I have seen Gary, you have an extensive collection. It must have been a ton of fun going through the time and effort of curating your den! It makes sense you’d want to try to get around to using what you’ve got.

 

thank you Charlie.it was a lot of fun. . and i am glad i went on the path i chose.these higher end brit aristocrats and similar gillettes were not just shinier trinkets.they deliver fine shaves.the folks that bought them back in thje day would have had lots to say if they didn't.

 

I've had brass, stainless, aluminum and zamack razors. All worked pretty well on my face. As part of my recovery from razor acquisition syndrome, I sold almost all of my collection and now have 1 Above The Tie SS, 1 Gillette Tech and one Merkur zamack razor. The ATT is my daily razor, the Tech is my travel razor and the Merkur is my sentimental one as my son bought it at a rummage sale in Germany several years ago.

 

Cool!

I like it.

 

Nice. A Volvo Sleeper. Do you still own it??

.

 

This again?

Can't speak for Merkur, never had one, but I have multiple 1930s era zamac razors. They get used and are holding up fine. A few have no plating and apparently never did. They should have corroded and crumbled to powder by now according to conventional wetshaving wisdom, if any should have.

Like many other issues, there isn't an absolute one size fit all answer. Here it evidently depends on the particular metallurgy of each zamak item. Some don't last, some do.

Too much absolutism on topics where there is room only for preference.

 

I think my 2011 R41 is Zamak. Great razor. Zero Zamak issues.