what model vintage razor to bring back?

If that comb can get about 160-170% funding I sure hope we do not have any issues.

 

I've had several thoughts around capturing the geometry and "what if we miss?" I push those aside as premature until my guy has reviewed and measured. As a precision machine shop he has tools and methods for dealing with tolerances far tighter than anything ever spec'd into a razor! He commented on the curve of my bakelight-handled Shake Sharp, noting it would be "tricky." But he's kinda cautious by nature, so I am not worried until he has reviewed.

I just can't express to you the nature of the parts these guys regularly make for my employer. They are tightly spec'd, highly engineered components of FDA regulated medical devices. Many shops just plain ol' can't do it.

My opinion: I think the fact that the original Shake Sharp hone moves is less important than the platform it presents to support the blade. Capturing the curve of the cap will be the first neat trick. Measuring the blade position in relation to all other surfaces should be just another work day. Mine has a bar style safety guard, but I suspect that copying EJ89 pseudo-combs might be easier to machine. If so, would this kill the Shake Sharp magic? Yaaah! Thinking about it freaks me out!

Back to waiting on Dude's technical review. That's the next step.

NOTE: When we get Ryan's Shake Sharp 2.0 (the bakelights were 1.0 and a pretty aggressive shave), I can send it and a couple others to machine shop #2. I already bounced the idea and saw some positive response!

NEW TIME ESTIMATE: After finishing Kickstarter school, I give it 3 months from launch to product: 30 days to launch the project, 6 weeks to make product, 2 weeks to pack and ship. I can't yet improve my guess on how long to project launch, so the ramblings above still stand.

 

Well, how aggressive are we talking? I wouldn't mind it being effective but I sure do not want any burn. And if it isn't 100% shake sharp does it really matter? No, if the guy has to tweak it to make it work that's fine. I have never used a Shake Sharp, but my preffered razor is a Weber if that helps.

 

Stand down there, pardner. 1.0 was too aggressive, which is why Ryan is rounding up and loaning the MUCH very friendly 2.0 (or 3.0..?... either way, much mo' bettah!) Not to worry! We will not be copying 1.0 -- it hurt my face! ... and Ryan's, too, as I recall.

EDIT: Here is Ryan's magnum opus on the Shake Sharp. VERY long, but excellent read.

 

ROUND 1... is nowhere near where I want to be and leaves out several variables, BUT... a first rough estimate for the hybrid with handle (both made of stainless, not brass) is $65.00 per razor. However, this is a LONG way from done and leaves out several details.

We talked it around a bit. I asked Dude to carefully consider his reverse engineering and a couple of prototypes (he had glossed it over a bit). I also asked him to address the lowest bar for the project: DE2SE heads of brass, no plating, no handles. I'll also have to add the KS fee and shipping overhead.

Price will go down by limiting to low bar approach. Price will go up as he more accurately considered the time to both measure Ryan's Skaey 2.0 and also create the 3D CAD model. These steps alone could run $2K. Running 2 pcs for a test shave could be another $200 - $500. Assuming the test shave from the prototypes is really close to the real deal, then the next 50-ish pcs might be as low as $20. Add 10% for KS fee and some slop for S&H and I get a broad stroke estimate of $4.5K. IF we pull 130 backers, that would be about $35 per DE2SE (brass head, no plating, no handle).

All of this is spit-balling and NOT based on any data! Think of it as a rough draft on a term paper (or maybe just notes taken so far!).

Personally, I hope we can launch this to at least the razor+handle level. However, I would participate at the "just the head" level if it were a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. If the project fails to launch, then it could mean that "head only" bar was too low. It might also mean that there are more comb lovers than razor lovers.

Hmm... if I started a new thread with an interest poll, does anyone think our collective TSD votes would be representative of actual KS backing when it is show time?

 

Well, I am highly disappointed in the reply from Liz at KS. I have appealed and asked for clarification, but here is what they sent:

Hi there,
Thanks for writing in. Unfortunately, what you're doing is outside of our scope.
If you have future project ideas that you think might be a better fit, don't hesitate to reach out!
Best,
Liz

I am feeling a bit dispirited, but will try to think of an alternative while waiting to hear about the appeal. I'm going to bed...

 

Bugger, bugger, bugger
Still interested in being $ involved so hang in there as there are plenty of freaks on this forum and other shaving forums who will support your project.

 

Well, Kickstarter isn't the only game in town.

Indiegogo.com is very popular and very legit - and their tagline reads:
"No Application Process: Indiegogo doesn't choose who can or cannot crowdfund so you could get started today!"

There's also rockethub.com but I don't know much about them.

 

Yep! The dream isn't dead... merely delayed. I was familiar with KS and really like its interface. I am now slogging through various hit after searching "crowd funding."

Thanks for Indiegogo (I dub it "IG"). I hadn't hit that one yet.

Because I am having to ramp up from disappointment and because I have to filter the fine print, this is slow going.

So where does that leave us? To quote Jason Nesmith:
Never give up. Never surrender!

Slogging through fine print, looking for the proverbial needle,
S

PS
I'm looking for the most "KS-like." I think the all-or-nothing approach is a MUST. I've crossed a couple off my list but have http://www.pozible.com/ as a possibility. Their down-n-dity looks pretty close. »Here«

 

I think another factor that comes into play when selecting a crowd sourcing site...is the size of the 'crowd'.
I use alexa.com a lot to get a high-level understanding of how popular a site is.

Examples of world-wide rankings;
Kickstarter: rated #653
Indiegogo: rated #1,265
pozible: rated #45,541

TheShaveDen: #272,707


And yes...the #1 site in the world is Google.

 

Yeah, I think the only two crowd sourcing sites worth considering are KS and IG. Both because of the "size of the crowd" issue and because of name recognition/trustworthiness.

 

Any news on this little project or is it dead ?

 

Black Beauty adjustable, made as close to original Gillette specs as possible, maybe with one safety bar made open comb to allow the quick removal of the facial hair which is still pretty common these days.

 

Project is NOT dead. My machinist hit a really busy period and emerged just last week. I also learned that he did not fully understand what I was asking him to quote. I redirected, which sends him back to the quoting board.

Ryan is still riding heard on the Shake Sharp v 2.0 loaner. It seems the real world is interfering there some, too, but no cause for alarm. In any event, I don't think it a deal killer (though I really hope we can copy a Shakey v 2.0!).

Kickstarter has excluded the project as a "personal care" item. Fortunately, Indiegogo.com has essentially the same features (even if a little less popular).

and so it goes...

<sigh>

The oxen are slow, but the Earth is patient.

 

Slow and steady wins the race

 

so.................

 

How coincidental that you should ask. Yesterday, my guy essentially backed out of the project. I've picked up the razors I loaned to him and will go to my next machine shop starting next week.

Yeah... I'm a little disappointed. However, I already broached the subject with shop #2. He was receptive to the idea. I wanted to give shop #1 a little more time. His mother recently died in an accident and I certainly see how a "maybe-money" project might fall off of his priority radar.

Shop #2 is an excellent shop, too. They are just further down the road. I won't be able to pop over during lunch, so will have to send him razors to measure. (It would be considerably easier if these guys were wet shavers! ... and, yes, I've made some efforts to convert them.)

I've been thinking about a way to attach the DE2SE head to a standard razor handle while keeping the costs down. Since I have no skills in CAD, I may sketch it on a napkin to show my new guy. My sketching skills are pretty dang rusty, but if I produce something semi-decent, I'll scan it and post a pic.

NOTE: Ryan came through on the Shake Sharp 2 (Yay, Ryan! and THANKS!). We can now copy geometry from the real deal.

 

Hey maltedmilk, is there any recent progress on this project?

 

Well... it isn't DEAD, but it's moving like pond water. My machinist has owed me a quote for a couple-few months and I am still nagging him**.

Also, I moved to a different thread >here<.

**Though he only needs 10 minutes to complete the quote, his business has entered a very busy period. He has been working a packet of 1300 drawings to quote, representing a million dollars a year in new sales to his company. I have a hard time faulting him for not quoting a "maybe" order hinged on a successful Kickstarter campaign. <sigh> However, it sure is dragging out, isn't it? I am confident he will finish it... eventually! Then I can crunch in the overhead from the good folks at KS and FINALLY learn a price!