This doesn't look good - Is my Slant corroding?

I happened to notice this tonight while I was shaving. It looks like the finish on my Merkur Slant is starting to flake off on the underside of the razor. I've been wetshaving for a while now, but I don't consider myself an expert in razors themselves by any means - this isn't normal, is it?

Daedalus207 said:

I've been wetshaving for a while now, but I don't consider myself an expert in razors themselves by any means - this isn't normal, is it?

Click to expand...

No, that is decidedly not normal. It does look like the plating is flaking away and the base metal is corroding on both ends of your guard plate. Is that a new Merkur doing that?

It looks that way. The same thing happened to my Futur. It started with plating flaking off.

Then some chunks of metal fell out while I was rinsing it. I wrote Merkur and they said it was a problem with my water.
I have not bought a razor from them since then.

xillion said:

Some chunks of metal fell out while I was rinsing it. I wrote Merkur and they said it was a problem with my water.

Click to expand...

Yeah... You know, your hydrochloric acid content must be a bit higher than normal there.

xillion said:

It looks that way. The same thing happened to my Futur. It started with plating flaking off.

Then some chunks of metal fell out while I was rinsing it. I wrote Merkur and they said it was a problem with my water.
I have not bought a razor from them since then.

Click to expand...

YOUR WATER?

That's CRAZY.

Did they replace it?

That's like saying you're tv went caput because you have bad cable or bad air in your house.

Scary...

xillion said:

It looks that way. The same thing happened to my Futur. It started with plating flaking off.

Then some chunks of metal fell out while I was rinsing it. I wrote Merkur and they said it was a problem with my water.
I have not bought a razor from them since then.

Click to expand...

Yeah I hate when my water eats metal plating off of things... I can't believe Merkur wouldnt stand behind their product.. They better watch out or they may become a banned vendor..

MacDaddy said:

Yeah... You know, your hydrochloric acid content must be a bit higher than normal there.

Click to expand...

Some other members received similar responses such as:

"Thank you very much for your email and the link to the photos.

The corrosion your razors show is part of the normal wear and tear that occurs

especially in areas with poor water quality and/or a high concentration of chemicals in the tap water.

I am sorry for not being able to give you more favorable news.

Best regards...."


Original thread here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=135882

bakerbarber said:

Did they replace it?

Click to expand...

No.

I received the razor for Christmas 2009, so it's fairly new. At least compared to my Gillette "Old Type."

xillion said:

Some other members received similar responses such as:

"Thank you very much for your email and the link to the photos.

The corrosion your razors show is part of the normal wear and tear that occurs

especially in areas with poor water quality and/or a high concentration of chemicals in the tap water.

I am sorry for not being able to give you more favorable news.

Best regards...."

Click to expand...

Wow... They might as well have said, "You used your razor in water?! What are you, crazy?" That's a pretty shocking response from a company that's supposedly making high-end wetshaving products.

I just can't get over that... "Our crap falling apart is part of the normal wear and tear that occurs." I swear, a thousand years from now space archaeologists will think that the Romans had developed the technology to make plastic bags, because everything else our generations have made will have crumbled into dust long before.

Another reason to buy vintage. They've withstood the test of time (aka real QA)

xillion said:

Some other members received similar responses such as:

"Thank you very much for your email and the link to the photos.

The corrosion your razors show is part of the normal wear and tear that occurs

especially in areas with poor water quality and/or a high concentration of chemicals in the tap water.

I am sorry for not being able to give you more favorable news.

Best regards...."


Original thread here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=135882

Click to expand...

Something to look forward to!

You know... my first reaction was to just shake my head. Why post to say that I think that it sucks and that Merkur sucks for their attitude? After all, that's already been said.

But then I decided to post and I think we ought to encourage everyone who reads this to post and say that it sucks. Then maybe someone will send the thread to Merkur.

So..... THAT SUCKS!

My 34C HD is doing the same thing after three years. Granted, it saw three years of dedicated service as it was my only razor at the time. My slant isn't (for now), but it's a fairly recent addition.

Since buying my 34C, I've added a few razors. It's noteworthy that my vintage Gillette's are not doing this. My Muhles, EJ's, Feather, etc. are not.

Brassing on a 90 year old razor is one thing. Surface metal spalling off of a 3 year old razor (leading to ugly razors or rough patches where it will touch my face) just doesn't work.

I don't know if vintage Merkurs (80's and before) suffer from this issue, but I'm not thrilled about the idea of purchasing another new Merkur at this point. There's way too many new and vintage razors out there that perform in my "harsh" water flawlessly.

Since yours was a Christmas present I'm sure it has some sentimental value. I hate that for you.

MacDaddy said:

Yeah... You know, your hydrochloric acid content must be a bit higher than normal there.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I certainly hope you aren't drinking the water there.

TYdeFan05 said:

I don't know if vintage Merkurs (80's and before) suffer from this issue, but I'm not thrilled about the idea of purchasing another new Merkur at this point.

Click to expand...

I have a vintage Hoffritz (Merkur made) slant that I have been using in my rotation for years and it is as pristine as the day I received it. I wonder if it is made of brass?

So you live near 3 Mile Island? Seriously, that is a terrible response from a company that isn't shy about asking you for a fair chunk of change for their product. All they had to do was exchange once, ask for your razor in return and study the possibility that maybe just maybe ...there's a quality issue with the product and not your terrible water. Any chunks falling off you and your family?

bakerbarber said:

That's like saying you're tv went caput because you have bad cable

Click to expand...

Good one!

I think Merkur has a pretty good reputation for trouble-prone finishes on their razors. I agree that vintage is a great way to go and barring some of their "gold" finishes, the Gillette folks mostly got it right back in the day.

The EJ folks seem to take a lot of pride in their razor heads if you prefer new. Don't know who makes a "slant" though.

xillion said:

I have a vintage Hoffritz (Merkur made) slant that I have been using in my rotation for years and it is as pristine as the day I received it. I wonder if it is made of brass?

Click to expand...

I actually bought a Progress from cooncatbob recently (as in, I haven't even received it yet). His correspondence with Merkur has it dated somewhere between '78-'83. Either way, if it has passed the CCBob test of time then it'll probably outlast me. I'm not ready to give up on new razors totally (the 2009 muhle/EJ head gives a fine shave and no signs of spalling), but the "vintage" models sure have a better reputation. If for no other reason than they haven't made it to landfills by now.

The heads are made of zamac and so without the chrome plating they will corrode.

I regret that Merkur no longer seems to stand by their products. They used to. I had a problem with a finish on a slant and they replaced the razor free of charge, they also replaced a cap that I damaged on another razor. Sad to learn that they've gone the way of other companies and that they no longer seem to stand behind their products.

Nope it is not normal. I hope that doesn't happen to my Merkur razors. Thanks for the post because I was about order a Merkur razor but now I won't! Instead I'll order a Edwin & Jagger.