Ask the Artisan!

[Deleted member 1881]

Dear Artisans,

Why are you hiding from this thread?
Maybe the slickness of your soaps was so good that led this thread sliding from your attention..

Yours sincerely
Randy

 

[CarbonShavingCo]

Happy holidays every one...doing our best but I can contribute a few thoughts:

My 2 questions
- how or why did you start into making shaving items

Carbon Shaving/Sean: "For us, I wanted to combine something I loved with design, environment and business/lifestyle(Small business). This kinda pushed us into the shaving world...."

- how many batches or protypes were made before a final first product

Carbnon Shaving/Sean: "This was the biggest challenge we had, we went thru about 12 major designs before we started to refine the final dimensions, we then went thru 4-5 more. Whats interesting is we still think we have more designs to offer. Thanks for asking...."

Sean

 

[Hone]

Hello, please excuse the delay; Holiday season rush. I'm excited about this topic, and really pleased to answer questions on just about anything.

I'd like to ask all our Artisans, What led you into making Shaving items?

Nice easy one to start I am an Industrial Designer in my other life. I design surgical equipment specialising in cardiac surgery. Its a unique field for a designer in that its very focused on performance. And I wanted to try to use some of that knowledge to produce my own products. At the same time I wanted to give myself a creative outlet for the things that the medical world doesn't need, like the styling side of things, or branding etc. Due to other things going on in my life at the time I was very interested in products that get passed on, carry a level of connection, last a long time, and are useful! And for me shaving was that area. And the more I started designing and realising my ideas the more I learned about it as a whole the more I liked it. Its been a journey ever since.

 

[Hone]

My 2 questions
- how or why did you start into making shaving items
- how many batches or protypes were made before a final first product

Ahh prototypes! I purchased quite a few razors of eBay and Amazon when I started. And the thing I noticed was that many of the generics are just carbon copies. Thats not a bad thing at all. They shave well. But I had to start looking at the more specialist razors to start to find differences.

I decided I wanted a mild razor, with a sharp blade. It suited my preference, and I didn't want to copy someone else. So started working out how to make that from scratch essentially.... I can confirm that the first prototype could peel a carrot!

From there it was maybe 12 major prototype iterations, to understand the geometry and what the changes meant to the feel. There were tweaks in between, where I could maybe just adjust the cap, not the whole head. So maybe 20 steps in total.

And then there are production samples where you get into tolerances and actually trying to make that thing at scale... but that is another whole topic.

 

[Hone]

Do you use your own products? If you do, do you use your own products exclusively?

I do use my own products and I also sport a beard sometimes, which confuses people. I do use other razors, and its not just a comparison thing. Some of the other razors are beautiful and work wonderfully, in a different way to my own. So then it is a nice change.

Edit... That said this is what my sink top looks like at the moment....

 

[Wayne]

Hello, please excuse the delay; Holiday season rush. I'm excited about this topic, and really pleased to answer questions on just about anything.



Nice easy one to start I am an Industrial Designer in my other life. I design surgical equipment specialising in cardiac surgery. Its a unique field for a designer in that its very focused on performance. And I wanted to try to use some of that knowledge to produce my own products. At the same time I wanted to give myself a creative outlet for the things that the medical world doesn't need, like the styling side of things, or branding etc. Due to other things going on in my life at the time I was very interested in products that get passed on, carry a level of connection, last a long time, and are useful! And for me shaving was that area. And the more I started designing and realising my ideas the more I learned about it at a whole the more I liked it. Its been a journey ever since.

Very insightful thank you.

 

[Hone]

Which other artisans’ products do you rate highly?

The Rocnel stuff looks ace! Never seen one in person, but the finish they get on 316 stainless is impressive from their product pages and instagram feed. And I love how involved they are in their own production. That is a dream for me, to have the space to run my own mill and shop.

edit: there are lots of others too Just picking one.

 

[Hone]

Perhaps tagging some artisans will bring this to their attention?

This thread will not work if the Artisans don't bother reading it.

Dear Artisans,

Why are you hiding from this thread?
Maybe the slickness of your soaps was so good that led this thread sliding from your attention..

Yours sincerely
Randy

Apologies. I was traveling for work, and then with work and holiday season I haven't had the chance to sit down and just browse for a few days. But here now fire away.

 

[Batch300]

Has become an very interesting and educational thread

 

[Hone]

Has become an very interesting and educational thread

I think this whole forum is a great place for education and sharing. So I hope what I can bring back to the community is some background on what developing and making something takes. But also I want to hear how it is for other makers and artisans as well. Great questions so far, keep 'em coming!

 

[Deleted member 1881]

I think this whole forum is a great place for education and sharing. So I hope the bit that I can bring back to the community is some background on what developing and making something takes. But also I want to hear how it is for other makers and artisans as well. Great questions so far, keep 'em coming!

I think Batch was joking..

 

[Hone]

I think Batch was joking..

 

[Hone]

As recommended on another thread, feel free to ask questions that you want to be answered by manufacturers and artisans here. This is not for issues and problems, keep them to PMs etc... Go!

Perhaps to give some inspiration for questions I would be very happy to discuss the products and features too, maybe why certain product decisions were made, or about features, or development challenges, and even the tough topic of price... Obviously in a constructive way to Rowlers point about not being a place for issues and problems

 

[Rowlers]

Perhaps to give some inspiration for questions I would be very happy to discuss the products and features too, maybe why certain product decisions were made, or about features, or development challenges, and even the tough topic of price... Obviously in a constructive way to Rowlers point about not being a place for issues and problems

OK then, why was the first Hone made from brass? Some would argue that this is a "polarising" material and so may dampen sales? On the other hand where is the "stainless" version that I am sure would sell in bucket loads.

 

[Missoni]

Hello, please excuse the delay; Holiday season rush. I'm excited about this topic, and really pleased to answer questions on just about anything.



Nice easy one to start I am an Industrial Designer in my other life. I design surgical equipment specialising in cardiac surgery. Its a unique field for a designer in that its very focused on performance. And I wanted to try to use some of that knowledge to produce my own products. At the same time I wanted to give myself a creative outlet for the things that the medical world doesn't need, like the styling side of things, or branding etc. Due to other things going on in my life at the time I was very interested in products that get passed on, carry a level of connection, last a long time, and are useful! And for me shaving was that area. And the more I started designing and realising my ideas the more I learned about it as a whole the more I liked it. Its been a journey ever since.

Thank you for posting, your response has motivated me to consider your razor. If your time allows, a few questions, (1) did you secure feedback from others when tweaking the design (2) will you consider offering different base plates (3) was it worth it?