Fat Boy re-plating opinions

I've come to realize by now my Fat Boy is undoubtedly my favorite razor. Of a 3-4 razor lineup, the Fat Boy gets the nod for 90% of my shaves. I bought it at a very reasonable price several years ago from a fellow B&B member for what I recall to be about $30. Having seen the prices for them now on eBay, I realize what I have. The only thing I believe the razor could benefit from is a re-plate. Everything works correctly but it's starting to show it's wear.

I have a few questions:

1) Who did your re-plate?

2) Were you happy you did so?

3) What coating did you go with?

I appreciate the help in advance. I've been thinking about doing this for some time.

[email protected] there is no one better, nice guy too!

The plating you get is a personal choice.

Thank you TobyC. Did you happen to get a razor(s) re-plated? Would love to know your thoughts on coating.

I like subtle with a twist. Recently seen a FB plated in Rhodium with only the bottom of the click selector and retainer plated in gold. It said re-plated without screaming look at my custom paint job.

TobyC said:

[email protected] there is no one better, nice guy too! [emoji106]1:

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Agreed he did my fat boy and I couldn't believe he made my fatboy into a like new razor

I looked at Chris' site but unfortunately he's not accepting any work until August.

Hello Jay,

If your razor is usable until Chris @ Razorplate can get to it, your wait will be worth it . He has done several for me & he is top notch. Great fellow and superb work. As to your choice of finish, since you use it a lot I would go back with the nickel finish. Rhodium would look nice but even Chris would tell you it is a more brittle plating.

Big Jay said:

I looked at Chris' site but unfortunately he's not accepting any work until August.

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He's worth the wait. Just go for the nickel, you'll get a razor back that will look factory original.

I sold my FB before replating, but Chris at RazorPlate did my original Superspeed that I've had for 35 years and a redtip Superspeed that I got a few years ago.

I'm happy I had them replated as there were some minor issues that Chris corrected that I had not noticed. He extended their life.

I went with the nickel coating.

I could have bought a new, lower-end razor for what I paid. And then I would have 3 or maybe 4 razors. As my mom gave me the first, and my dad gave me the second, sentimental attachment won out. Besides, the artist (Chris) is worth his wages for restoring the original. If you have ever restored anything, then you'll know what I'm talking about. (I put $20K into a 1968 Chevrolet C10 before I stopped counting. It was a beautiful truck.) I was glad to spend $40 for each razor and wait a few weeks.

I have had 6 vintage Gillette razors replated by Chris Evatt.

Every one of them came back way better than I could have expected. In fact, on a ball handled new, the plating was a little thin on a raised ridge, I think that I may have rubbed it a little hard cleaning it up after its week of rotation. Anyhow, I contacted him to see if he could fix it, immediately he told me to send it to him. I had it Back in 3 days and it was pristine. He stripped and replated it and sent it back for free with a note apologizing.

He he is a master and stands behind his work 100%. He is definitely worth waiting for and his nickel plating is really pretty.

Well I guess that is it then! I'm going to email Chris and reserve my place in the line. Thank you gentlemen!

I just received my two toggles and Red Tip from Chris Evatt and he did a fantastic job. My first replate I had done was a Fatboy that Razor Emporium did 2.5 years ago and they also did a fantastic job. In my humble opinion since I have used both services you cant go wrong with either one.

1kentj said:

Hello Jay,

If your razor is usable until Chris @ Razorplate can get to it, your wait will be worth it .

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I waited a few months to have Chris replate my Fat Boy in nickel, and it was worth it. It was returned to me looking brand new off the shelf. It is also my favorite of my vast collection of two razors.

ram57 said:

I just received my two toggles and Red Tip from Chris Evatt and he did a fantastic job. My first replate I had done was a Fatboy that Razor Emporium did 2.5 years ago and they also did a fantastic job. In my humble opinion since I have used both services you cant go wrong with either one.

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Should have noted that I was on the wait list for almost a year with Chris but again he did a fantastic job and with Razor Emporium total time was one month and I was able to pick it up at their storefront location will visiting a friend who had moved to Phoenix. I plan to use both of these two in the future with my 3 Aristocrats(34/46/48) and Rocket HD 500.

I'm a newbie here but I thought I would put in a word for Scott Hibbs at Hibco Shave Shoppe (www.hibcoshaveshoppe.com). I had him replate a Gillette New 17mm long comb in rhodium. It was done in a week, was the least expensive rhodium replating I could find on the web, and a beautiful job. He does not aggressively polish (and I wouldn't want him to), so deep scratches are still visible, but they are nicely plated. Great communication; I'm sure I'll use his services again.