Vintage versus Modern DE razors

This morning I had my first shave with a "modern" DE razor- the DeFitch DF91. Up to this point, all my DE shaves have been with one or another vintage Gillette razor. Comparing the two, it seems as though they embody very different design decisions.

For one thing, the amount of metal required to make a razor head seems to be very different. In the case of the vintage razor, head and cap are relatively thin; today, this is only seen on "cheap" razors, mostly from places like China and India. By comparison, the modern three-piece DE seems to have a head, particularly a baseplate, which has been machined out of a block of metal and probably contains enough metal to make an entire Gillette Tech.

Along with the increased use of metal is the weight of a modern DE razor. Although Gillette produced some heavy razors during the Golden Age such as the Rocket HD, none seem to compare to a modern DE. Indeed, it almost seems as though the makers of modern razors pride themselves on just how much heft their razor (or, at least, the handle) has.

Don't get me wrong- I'm not knocking modern DE razors. I'm just wondering, though, what it is about today's wet shavers that has caused such a change in what constitutes a DE razor.

JR

 

I would like to think that just as cartridges are for us now, DE was to everyone then. Companies were probably trying to accommodate a mixture of quality and value. Which I believe the succeeded at.

Modern DE shaving is a hobby, therefore people are willing to pay more for a hobby than what may have been considered a chore.

Or at least that's what I like to think

 

Modern razors, with a few expensive exceptions, are cast of a Zinc alloy commonly called Zamak which is why they are thicker. The vintage razors were usually made of Brass and plated with Nickle and even overlaid with a gold wash. The modern Zinc alloy will literally rot over time if not carefully cleaned and dried frequently and the weakness of the alloy will suffer mechanical failure such as the threaded post snapping off. I have a Futur that is unsafe to use due to Zamak corrosion around the center post, it's in my lessons learned junk bag.

 

Well said.

 

Heavy Stainless Razors largely Sell to a Minority Group of Shaving Forum users that have some expendable income...That small minority group all over the Western World amounts to a fair sized razor market & selling price & profit...

Billy..

 

When I started wetshaving all I used was modern razors such as Merkur, EJ, and Muhle. After several years I discovered vintage Gillettes and fell in love with them. All my modern razors are now gone.

 

I think it's important to remember that Zamak is not just Zamak. Zamak can be very different.

So just because one Zamak razor is "bad" doesn't mean the next one is.

Quality differs massively within Zamak depending on how the manufacturer has composed it.

 

True, earlier (vintage) Zinc alloy razors seem to hold up better than modern ones. I expect large, reputable? companies like Merkur, Parker and Edwin Jagger to use the best available material, they don't but they price as if they do. I would also expect these companies to stand behind their products, EJ does and Parker usually does but Merkur is notoriously bad. All bets are off for the Asian manufacturers, as usual that's a crap shoot at best.

The cost differential of manufacturing from Brass instead of Zinc is not significantly higher and could easily be accommodated with a slight price increase that I think most of us would be happy to pay for a better product. IMO it comes down to designed obsolescence, crappy material means frequent replacement and therefore more sales.

 

The Futur is zamak? Wow.

 

Ok so now I have to ask, what is the life expectancy of a zamak head? I get that it's not heirloom quality, but I thought it would last longer than my Subaru.

 

There are too many variables for a simple answer. In my case I disassemble my razors only when I change the blade so I don't put excessive wear on the plated threads of the center post and I rinse the razors well after each use. My Futur center post corroded to the point of being dangerous in about two years and my EJ cap pitted in less than a year due to flawed plating. EJ would likely replace the cap by why bother, I would expect the same quality from the replacement. Merkur would most likely blame it on my water, soap, practices, anything but themselves and that's based on the majority of reports about their customer service.

My solutions were to go with vintage Brass, pay the exorbitant price for stainless or go carts. I went back to carts because in my experience I get a perfectly acceptable shave from them with no irritation or ingrown hairs. Not everyone can use carts so the other options are the best. Most modern and vintage TTO razors are plated Brass but I don't like TTO's, someone else might do just fine with them.

 

Hooray for someone repping carts!

 

what material makes up the Mehaz ... zamak, brass, other?

 

TTO's are stamped, plated brass. Zamak would not be a good material for that mechanical design.

 

I think there is a great deal of misinformation regarding Zamak razor heads. I have hundreds of razors in my collection many of which have Zamak heads, and I have none that exhibit any of the corrosion characteristics described in so many of the Zamak postings. Around 2009 I purchased a well used EJ 89 off Ebay that had lost most of the plating on the head plate bolt threads from use. My son now has it, and uses it as his primary razor, and it is no different now than when I gave it to him several years ago. It is not disintegrating, corroding or dissolving in any way.

The threaded bolt portion from the razor head top plate on 3 piece razors, obviously receives the greatest amount of wear and stress from multiple uses. It is the one part of the razor that would likely be a point of failure simply because of the basic razor design. Maybe some are attributing a failure in this area to Zamak, that may be related more to the basic design of 3 piece razors and this major stress point. I have noted on some Youtube videos where individuals are demonstrating something using a 3 piece razor, and are screwing the handle onto the bolt with such force, it is surprising the bolt didn't simply snap off in their hand. I think that continual use of excessive force in tightening the handle onto to the head bolt would most certainly cause a failure in this area at some future point.

 

I can see how over-tightening the head eventually leads to the head bolt breaking. Zamak is not known for stretching or being flexible. It's a very brittle material and under stress it will crack. Used in the head of a 3 piece razor, with it being tightened repeatedly, especially overtightened, results in the eventual failure.

 

Thanks for that info. I have a Gillette Tech that's Zamak. I will be careful tightening.