Ok - so I know Feather and Tradere make stainless steel razors. What other options are out there if I don't want pot metal? Brass would be OK as well.
Which New DE Razors are NOT Made out of Pot Metal?
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Ok - I just found this thread:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/315361-Modern-Razors-not-made-of-Pot-Metal
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/315361-Modern-Razors-not-made-of-Pot-Metal
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And this DE I have never heard of before is supposedly brass, as per the description (" Made of Brass with Silver Finish"):
http://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Care-h...sim_hpc_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=02ZF49292J65G3TW4CB1
http://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Care-h...sim_hpc_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=02ZF49292J65G3TW4CB1
On the Utopia - at least one of the reviewers says the handle is brass, the head is not. Hard to tell if he really knows, he just says the head is way too light to be brass.
I think that thread you found probably covers it. But just to sum (off the top of my head) the Joris and Fatip razors are plated brass. There are a few stainless choices out there - Above the Tie, Weber, Tradere (if they're ever made again), iKon (except the Shavecraft heads), Feather (AS-D2), L.A. Shaving Company (BBS-1, or whatever the next iteration of that will be), Italian Barber Stealth Prototype (maybe -- limited release Joe said he's considering selling). Am I missing any? Another non-zamak razor is The Standard Razor Company (anodized aluminum, either Black or "Raw"/matte silver). And there are other razors around made of bakelite or plastic.
I might be missing a few, but that's what I can think of right now.
I think that thread you found probably covers it. But just to sum (off the top of my head) the Joris and Fatip razors are plated brass. There are a few stainless choices out there - Above the Tie, Weber, Tradere (if they're ever made again), iKon (except the Shavecraft heads), Feather (AS-D2), L.A. Shaving Company (BBS-1, or whatever the next iteration of that will be), Italian Barber Stealth Prototype (maybe -- limited release Joe said he's considering selling). Am I missing any? Another non-zamak razor is The Standard Razor Company (anodized aluminum, either Black or "Raw"/matte silver). And there are other razors around made of bakelite or plastic.
I might be missing a few, but that's what I can think of right now.
Using the utopia handle on my tech. I really like the balance and weight of it. Now I just need to master it. One of these days I'll try the utopia head and handle together.
Zamak isn't pot metal fwiw. Zamak is actually held to certain standards. A yuma is actual pot metal in the truest sense. Parkers are brass, and while ppl love ragging on parkers, I saw their entire three piece line in person last week and I have to say, I wouldn't have minded using any of them. They were quite heavy, had a lot of grip and looked aggressive. I think all the indian razors are brass actually.
Cool to know -- I'd been thinking Zamak was just a subset, the "best of" the pot metals, but now I know better.
re: the Indian razors, and the Parkers, are the heads brass, too? Or just the handles? The new Parker 3 pieces are indeed getting great reviews. I've almost pulled the trigger on one a few times, largely based on the enthusiasm of Phil at Bullgoose. But I have four razors in very active rotation as it is... and this isn't counting my continuing attempts to get competent with straights. One face, lots of razors.
Pot metal was literally the metal equivalent of chop suey, pretty much any low melt point metal thrown in with a base of zinc to cast stuff. Zamak is an actual alloy with designations for each specific makeup.
I think the parkers have always been brass... The parkers looked like an amazing value to me, and every one felt radically different in hand. I really don't see how you can go wrong for what they cost.
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I think this has been beaten to death already on B&B, but Zamak ("Zink, Aluminium, MAgnesium, Kupfer") is a classification for zinc alloys.
The catch is that there are various Zamak alloys, with different properties, so saying that a razor is made out of Zamak does not say everything. For instance, Zamak 3 and 5 have different corrosion resistance, due to the higher copper content in Zamak 5.
Exactly... Pot metal was just literally any scraps of waste metal with a low melt point thrown in with the zinc.. Big difference.
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Potmetal or Zamak or what ever zinc alloy; I look at the comments I read from guys that re-plate vintage razors and they all say the zinc alloy does not do nearly as well as brass. IMHO - I don't think the zinc alloys are ideal for a DE razor. Yes I own a couple of Merkurs and love them (esp. the slant bar) - but I don't think I will be passing them down to my grandchildren. I am thinking the vintage Gillettes have lasted this long due in part to the use of brass. Once the zinc alloy razors start to flake - they seem to go to hell in a hand basket quickly.
Thanks some very informative posts.
Now I know where to look for brass DE's.
Thanks some very informative posts.
Now I know where to look for brass DE's.
Do you have any confirmation of that? The heads all look the same as the Cadet/Pearl/etc line of razors from India, and the wording in the descriptions at most vendors are the same - using the somewhat evasive term "brass frame", instead of saying it's all brass (which they surely would do if it was all brass). I believe I've seen at least one Parker owner post that they confirmed Zamac heads because of some plating loss, but I'll need to dig a bit to find that.
The Cadets/Peal/Matador/Razorock from India are all Zamak heads (both TTO and three piece). I've confirmed that via a vendor. I suspect Parker is the same based on circumstantial evidence, but the information is bit more fuzzy on them.
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The joris razors are brass
This Wiki page includes materials and manufacturing techniques for all of the modern razors:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Modern_Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness
Cheers,
Shawn
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Modern_Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness
Cheers,
Shawn
Shawn, you list stamped brass for Cadet/Pearl/Matador TTOs. I have a confirmation from Joe at shavebuck that they are Zinc alloy. I'll forward to you.
As I mentioned, I confirmed that with Joe at ShaveABuck. The handle is brass, but head is Zamak.
Sure that he did not refer to the three piece razors?
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