Is there anyway to fix this razor top?

[WobblyHand]

I've been using this Merkur razor Model 180 since 2011. This morning, when unthreading the handle to replace the razor blade, the stud sheared off the top cap of the razor rendering it inoperable. Is there anyway to save it? I think the piece is die cast zinc which is chrome plated. Not sure how the stud was originally attached. Can't tell if it was just a pressed fit or epoxy. Perhaps someone can tell from the pictures. The stud is M5 and about 10mm long. Epoxy the screw back on? It is curious to me the head is slotted.

It turns out Merkur sells replacement parts. But I didn't see my model listed on their site. I did send them a message and showed pictures. Hopefully they will respond. Their website doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy, since they seem to be out of stock on most of their product line.

Pretty sure carving out a replacement cap in stainless steel would be a non-trivial undertaking. However, for the last 15 minutes I have been thinking about it... Guess one could press fit the guide pins in, as they are not heavily loaded. Maybe one could braze the stud to the cap. Properly brazed, that stud would never pull out. Could then use the stud to hold down the part onto a special mandrel. Then could somehow machine the cylindrical surface. I measured the chord to be about 19mm long and 3mm high, which gives a radius of 16.5mm. That is roughly 1.25" stock. So I could use 1.25" stock to make the mandrel. The stainless would only need to be a piece 0.5" x 1" x 1.6". Reading about stainless suggests one needs L, for low carbon, if one is brazing.

 

[Ken226]

I had the same thing happen to my Merkur about 6 years ago.

I decided to solder it back together.

don't!

It made of Zamak and melts at a out the same temp as solder. At the exact moment it hit the temp to start melting to solder, the entire part dissolved into a puddle. Literally a puddle! Not sure it was the same exact model as yours, but it sure looked the same

I bought a Feather ASD2. You could load that sucker into a shotgun and shoot it against a brick wall and I doubt it would break. It is made of Sintered powdered stainless and post forged, then plated with ptfe nickel. It's very heavy.



If you don't want to drop that kinda money for a razor, get a stainless steel Rockwell 6c




or an old nickel plated brass prewar Gillette Tech from eBay.




There are some steals to be had on the old pre-war fat handle techs on eBay.

Vintage Gillette Tech Fat Handle razor - pre-war | eBay

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I have one, but it's a little to aggressive for me. I love the mildness of the feather ASD2.

Ive never tried a Rockwell, but they have a good reputation.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

sorry, i don't have any suggestions as to how to fix the razor, but
i tried to use a similar style razor a few years ago.
for the life of me i can't figure out how folks didn't bleed to death regularly- i cut the crap out of myself

 

[Ken226]

sorry, i don't have any suggestions as to how to fix the razor, but
i tried to use a similar style razor a few years ago.
for the life of me i can't figure out how folks didn't bleed to death regularly- i cut the crap out of myself

These types of razors have wildly different geometry in the angle of the cutting edge and the size of the gap between the guide and cutting edge.

The ASD2 is the mildest I've used, and the pre-war Tech the most aggressive. The post war British made Gillette Tech's are somewhere in between.

My pre-war fat handle tech leaves me bleeding if I'm not really careful. The Feather ASD2 never so much as a nick.

A box of Feather blades from Amazon is about 40$ and lasts me about 5 years.
Feather Double Edge Safety Razor Blades 100 Count https://a.co/d/6YtcLkD

 

[RJSakowski]

To repair , I would clean up the hole to a larger size and make a custom shoulder bolt with a C/S head. Use C/A glue,red LocTite, or epoxy to fix the bolt in place. A bit of work but if you realty like the razor, a worthwhile excercise and satisfaction guaranteed.

 

[WobblyHand]

I read on the website that these heads are die cast, so I wasn't about to solder it. Might try JB Weld, because at this point I don't have much to lose. What's confusing is the plethora of models, and no marking on the parts, so it is tough to even know what you have.

Made my own handle out of 303 stainless about two years ago. A little longer and wider. Much easier to hold in my opinion.

Anyone sell a stainless head for razors? Bonus if it has an M5 thread!

 

[WobblyHand]

To repair , I would clean up the hole to a larger size and make a custom shoulder bolt with a C/S head. Use C/A glue,red LocTite, or epoxy to fix the bolt in place. A bit of work but if you realty like the razor, a worthwhile excercise and satisfaction guaranteed.

If I put the stud back it is a really tight fit still. Might try some epoxy. CA is tough to get right sometimes. I have to fiddle around to get the alignment right. Epoxy has longer set times.

 

[RJSakowski]

If I put the stud back it is a really tight fit still. Might try some epoxy. CA is tough to get right sometimes. I have to fiddle around to get the alignment right. Epoxy has longer set times.

My concern would be if it pulled out once, it will again. But not much to lose trying.

 

[WobblyHand]

sorry, i don't have any suggestions as to how to fix the razor, but
i tried to use a similar style razor a few years ago.
for the life of me i can't figure out how folks didn't bleed to death regularly- i cut the crap out of myself

It really depends on the head geometry - you know, like machinery tooling as well as the blades. Some blades slice my face off, like Feathers. Others, like Dorco Platinum are just fine. Advantage to the Dorco's, they are really inexpensive. I get 100 of them at a time. I can get 7 shaves from each blade. Checked pricing and they are $6.43/100. That works out to less than 0.92 cents per shave. Yeah, I'm a cheapskate. But it works for me. 100 razors last almost two years. Close shaves too.

 

[RJSakowski]

Regarding soldering Zamak, Zamak melts at around 750ºF, well above the m.p. of common solders. Providing you can get the Zamak surface tinned and control the soldering temperature, solder might be a choice for bonding.