Vintage Safety Razors head & handle materials

[Chrisp]

I know what the Merkurs are made of, but what lies beneath the plating of all those old Gillettes - all brass?

[Haiku]

I know what the Merkurs are made of, but what lies beneath the plating of all those old Gillettes - all brass?

From everything that I can tell, yes. Brass. The Merkurs have zamak heads but I believe that the handles are brass.

[john parker]

I have a Gillette Tech that has a zinc head and an aluminum handle. I would say that most, but not all, Gillette's are of brass.

[Haiku]

I have a Gillette Tech that has a zinc head and an aluminum handle. I would say that most, but not all, Gillette's are of brass.

Right. Yes, exactly. I mis-spoke myself. They are all brass except for those that aren't. Those that aren't brass are made of other stuff.

[john parker]

Right. Yes, exactly. I mis-spoke myself. They are all brass except for those that aren't. Those that aren't brass are made of other stuff.

Well said!!

[Haiku]

Thanks.

[luvmysuper]

Some of the early gillettes had copper cap pieces as well, but most of the TTO types were brass.

[Chrisp]

Thanks for the replies. If the Gillettes have lasted this long, would the Merkurs with their zamak heads be as hardy? I bet my 40's SS will outlive my new(ish) HD...

[cfriend]

I've never even heard of ... zamak.

[michiganlover]

I've never even heard of ... zamak.

Quoting Wikipedia:

Zamak is a family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminium, magnesium and copper.....It may be referred to as pot metal or white metal.

Zamak is a fancy term for pot metal. Pot metal is not very well regarded as a construction material, and usually indicates underlying cheapness of a product.

Objects made from pot metal won't take much abuse, and will break into pieces if dropped, as the metal is super soft.

Pot metal is a slang term that refers to alloys that consist of inexpensive, low-melting point metals used to make fast, inexpensive castings..............Pot metal can be prone to instability over time, as it has a tendency to bend, distort, crack, shatter, and pit with age. The low boiling point of zinc and the fast cooling of the newly-cast part often allow air bubbles to remain within the cast part, weakening the metal. Many of the components of pot metal are susceptible to corrosion from airborne acids and other contaminants, and the internal corrosion of the metal often causes the decorative plating to flake off. Pot metal is not easily glued, soldered or welded.

[**Bingo_Bob**]

zinc, aluminum, magnesium, and copper... sounds like a cheap/crappy die cast alloy

maybe that is why Merkur has so many quality control issues with their heads.

The nice thing about brass heads is that you can drop them and then bend them back into place.

The New Improved razors aren't brass I don't think. They are some type of die cast and they are brittle (you can't bend teeth back into place). Gillette stopped using die casts after that model and went back to brass heads.

[*King G*]

^ good info- thanks!