Chrome Plating Vs. Stainless Steel in a Razor

Again dealing with writer's block this morning, I was browsing Amazon, looking at a Rimei-razor listing, reading the reviews, questions and answers.

A stainless-steel sink.

The sole question asked was about the plating, if any, on the razor. This particular razor is usually advertised as being made of stainless steel (I haven't seen any sales ads that say otherwise; CORRECTION: I've seen only one). Yet it is made of metal unknown to me that has been chrome plated. The unknown metal is NOT stainless steel, however. I can say that because no manufacturer is going to go to the trouble and expense of making a razor from stainless, which is more expensive and more difficult to work that mild steel, then chrome plate it, and then sell it for $6 to $20 dollars (which is the price range that I've seen for a genuine Rimei razor [UPDATE: specifically, the model RM2003]). This makes NO sense.

Kitchen sinks, if they are unfinished/uncoated steel, are made of stainless. Stainless has more chromium in it that other steel; it's the extra chromium that makes it resistant to water-induced stains and rusting.

So if a razor is made of stainless, it will not have a chrome finish; there is no need. Yet if someone wants to sell a razor with a chrome finish for aesthetic reasons, they would make it out of less expensive, easier-to-work materials and then chrome plate that. Chrome plating is not only attractive; it is, like stainless steel, unlikely to rust or stain when intact and undamaged.

So I couldn't resist, and weighed in on the answers to the is-the-Rimei-actually-stainless question. I couldn't help myself.

One goofball actually answered yes, it is stainless, and then went off on a tangential review of the Rimei product. Oh well, everyone has an opinion; it's just that some opinions are more valuable than others.

Happy shaving!