Why the emphasis on the material of a razor in the wet shaving world?

saj

Über Member
You can add drop them on a hard floor and/or chip the finish to expose the zamak underneath.

Bob
yea thats true especially dropping the razor in the sink with slippy aands is common thing to happen tbf
 

Wayne

Forum Sod
Even a Zamak razor will see most shavers out before it gives up the Ghost but lets be honest here. It's about the exclusivity. If you are buying a £200 razor you do want it to be made out of something nicer than the average offering from Muhle or Edwin Jagger.
SS, Brass, Ti or Copper just oozes quality. The manufacturer has gone to the trouble of making his offering from something more robust something that stands out from the others. Us lot aren't your normal everyday shavers that get rid of their stubble for work or whatever. We are enthusiasts and as such we look for something a little more premium.
Blackbird, Wolfman, Timeless and all the others could easily make their razors out of pot metal, they would shave just as well and still be going strong when we pushed up the Daisies, they just couldn't charge £200 for them.
 

saj

Über Member
Even a Zamak razor will see most shavers out before it gives up the Ghost but lets be honest here. It's about the exclusivity. If you are buying a £200 razor you do want it to be made out of something nicer than the average offering from Muhle or Edwin Jagger.
SS, Brass, Ti or Copper just oozes quality. The manufacturer has gone to the trouble of making his offering from something more robust something that stands out from the others. Us lot aren't your normal everyday shavers that get rid of their stubble for work or whatever. We are enthusiasts and as such we look for something a little more premium.
Blackbird, Wolfman, Timeless and all the others could easily make their razors out of pot metal, they would shave just as well and still be going strong when we pushed up the Daisies, they just couldn't charge £200 for them.
yea true, supply and demad and if theres people who want it then it makes sense for them to make it
 

saj

Über Member
you wont believe this but i made this thread today and guess what? i broke one (theres two of them) of those things on the top cap of my fatip razor that whichgos into the hole of the baseplate,
couldnt believe it and thought of this thread immediately and laughed to myself loool 😥😂💩

hopefully hsould be able to superglue it back on loool 😂
 

Convencional

Forum GOD!
In my case, a razor don't need to be made with the most noble material, but a material designed to withstand what it is made of!
Zamak is not made to get wet, it relies on plating. There is no advantage even to using zamak other than cost.
So when a razor is made at least in brass, that's already something that is worth for me.

@saj About your Fatip, looks like more a (another) quality issue.
I had already seen reports about both the thread and the pins coming loose from the cap. Seems to be a bad solder problem.
 

Razorboy

Forum GOD!
@saj In 20/25 years of passion I have tried, buy/ sell almost everything .
my favorite razor? Muhle R41 . But the poor version in zamak, not the one in steel and not even the one in Ti.
In 10 years it has never broken and even if it does I have 4 spare heads.
many of us are looking for a razor that will last a lifetime, then after a week it's on sale...🤣
 

Hone

Forum GOD!
Artisan
I have had lots of conversations about this... I batch make my razors, so pretty much have to CNC them. I had a lot of requests for a stainless option but the 316 was prohibitively expensive to make. I went to a 304 grade to make the machining easier. In comparison to 316 you only really sacrifice corrosion resistance in quite extreme marine/chemical environments. 304 is already quite a high spec for what a typical razor should see and should easily outlast the owner. It's got enough resistance to not rust and deal with the soaps and oils it should encounter. But the market has driven to 316 so I feel that I often get judged negatively on this. But if I put a 316 version of my design in the same bathroom as a 304 it would be hard to tell the difference over decades of use even.

I think stainless is good for longevity. It finishes really nicely and feels great. For a premium tool I think it is a great choice. But the obsession with grades is somewhat hard to balance with production needs, and then customer costs as well.
 

Chris

Forum DOG!
Staff member
I have had lots of conversations about this... I batch make my razors, so pretty much have to CNC them. I had a lot of requests for a stainless option but the 316 was prohibitively expensive to make. I went to a 304 grade to make the machining easier. In comparison to 316 you only really sacrifice corrosion resistance in quite extreme marine/chemical environments. 304 is already quite a high spec for what a typical razor should see and should easily outlast the owner. It's got enough resistance to not rust and deal with the soaps and oils it should encounter. But the market has driven to 316 so I feel that I often get judged negatively on this. But if I put a 316 version of my design in the same bathroom as a 304 it would be hard to tell the difference over decades of use even.

I think stainless is good for longevity. It finishes really nicely and feels great. For a premium tool I think it is a great choice. But the obsession with grades is somewhat hard to balance with production needs, and then customer costs as well.
Thank you! I've been saying for ages that 316 is only really better than 304 if you're storing your razor in seawater, but it's a myth that won't seem to die.
 

Vacumatic

Testy
Zamak reminds me of the metal used in Japanese motorcycles for cross head fixings for engine covers, take them apart once and the head of the bolt was wrecked. First job on any new bike was to replace all the service bolts with chromed steel Allen bolts, problem fixed. Britain made a similar zinc alloy product called Mazak, mechanics called it monkey metal.

I still like the idea that items made of steel have a long life, there will come a time when the razor lives on in the hands of another, better that it is steel and, can you imagine, has a 200 year life.
 

saj

Über Member
In my case, a razor don't need to be made with the most noble material, but a material designed to withstand what it is made of!
Zamak is not made to get wet, it relies on plating. There is no advantage even to using zamak other than cost.
So when a razor is made at least in brass, that's already something that is worth for me.

@saj About your Fatip, looks like more a (another) quality issue.
I had already seen reports about both the thread and the pins coming loose from the cap. Seems to be a bad solder problem.
never had any issue with this or any razor but alignment issues are well knonw with the fatip range, not sure why its not been dealt with by now?
 

saj

Über Member
I have had lots of conversations about this... I batch make my razors, so pretty much have to CNC them. I had a lot of requests for a stainless option but the 316 was prohibitively expensive to make. I went to a 304 grade to make the machining easier. In comparison to 316 you only really sacrifice corrosion resistance in quite extreme marine/chemical environments. 304 is already quite a high spec for what a typical razor should see and should easily outlast the owner. It's got enough resistance to not rust and deal with the soaps and oils it should encounter. But the market has driven to 316 so I feel that I often get judged negatively on this. But if I put a 316 version of my design in the same bathroom as a 304 it would be hard to tell the difference over decades of use even.

I think stainless is good for longevity. It finishes really nicely and feels great. For a premium tool I think it is a great choice. But the obsession with grades is somewhat hard to balance with production needs, and then customer costs as well.
i still consider myself a newbie shaver but never did the thought come to mind that yea i got to think about the material of a razor, think its for the hardcore people who are really into shaving and probably those who are specific about the stainsteel steel type? just an assumption
 
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