Rockwell Model T

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Sabre, Mar 16, 2018.

  1. DanielB

    DanielB Member

    oldjoe, sorry to hear about what happened to your T - a huge disappointment I'm sure for you, for Rockwell, and for all backers who've received or will be receiving the 2-piece design. As explained in the April Update (May 4) on KS (that is annoyingly marked 'For backers only'), the 2 pieces (T-bar head and rod) are press fitted together. Two images of the pieces and how they fit together were posted in that update but I can't hotlink the images due to my KS sign-in key being required for you to view them so I've uploaded them to imgur. The 2 photos I'm talking about are this one and this one. [EDIT: links fixed - sorry!]

    As the T was designed to be able to be completely disassembled (see this post), Rockwell should be able to send you a replacement 1-piece once they have them and once you've disassembled yours, it should just drop right in. The ability to self service was a great design decision!
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2018
  2. oldjoe

    oldjoe Well-Known Member

    Once they have one sounds like their E-mails! One can hope and I hope to hear from Rockwell but So far I have not. Not from their web site, not from E-mail, not from anywhere. I do believe I could assemble the razor with a one piece T-bar assuming it fits and works properly? But, will it? So far I think the design is simply flawed! SO long a wait and so little produced! I thought the shave for 4 days was great. a disposable razor could do the same? And for a lot less wait and a lot less money!!! Not to pleased with the long wait for a reply from Rockwell either! Kickstarter beware, I say!!!
     
    stuartganis likes this.
  3. Spang

    Spang Member

    Wow, that is truly shocking to hear. As I posted earlier, I got my Model T this week and I did inquire with Rockwell as to whether this razor included the "new" parts described in their last update. The response I got was a little cagey, saying that the T-bar was one that passed specs and is therefore "the same" as the newer parts. But it's not the the newer T-bar, so I suspect that my razor has the same parts as yours. I'll be holding my breath.
    And just because it's KS, that doesn't give license to pass off a clearly flawed product as a pledge reward. Rockwell should absolutely make this right.
     
    stuartganis likes this.
  4. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    Either the picture has to be cropped, or download Tapatalk and it will post any size pictures.
     
  5. oldjoe

    oldjoe Well-Known Member

    Jimjo1031 helped me with the picture cropping idea. Here is a picture of the 2 parts now separated. You can just see the post in the razor body. Still have not heard anything from Rockwell as to how to proceed?
     

    Attached Files:

  6. Kypros Christodoulides

    Kypros Christodoulides Well-Known Member

  7. DesertTime

    DesertTime Well-Known Member

    Did you send this picture to Rockwell? Perhaps you should post it on the KS forum?
     
    stuartganis likes this.
  8. AverageJoe

    AverageJoe Member

    They are now currently making (or working on) a 1 piece T bar assembly. In the last update they mentioned it.

    Just to check, did you send an email to info@RockwellRazors.com? Please note the S on the Razors, some people leave it off and Rockwell does not get those emails. I am not sure if they are flooded with emails (likely) or if they did not get yours, but they will replace your razor. You will not be stuck with a pile of parts, but it may take time for a replacement. How long has it been since you initially tried to email them?

    From your pictures I would guess the parts were slightly off which resulted in the friction fit between the 2 pieces not being as good as it should be.
     
  9. oldjoe

    oldjoe Well-Known Member

    I received a reply from Rockwell and they assured me they will send me a replacement razor ASAP and they won't fix my current razor. They also said that they will test the replacement to make sure there will be no problems with the replacement. Sounds good to me! I hope the replacement razor shaves as good as the current razor I shaved with for only a few days before the T-bar came apart? Should be a winner when the T-bar troubles stop? The finish on the razor is very nice and as I first said it opened and closed with extreme smoothness. The seam on the doors when closed was/is very tight and hard to see. I don't foresee any future problems-----Sans the T-bar issue of course. When I receive the replacement razor I will try and post my impressions here.
     
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  10. oldjoe

    oldjoe Well-Known Member

    Averagejoe, I agree with your opinions. I E-mailed 2 days ago and posted on their web site with a chat entry. They did get back to me and they are replacing the razor. So far--still--so good! I have many razors. Far too many really and for the few days I shaved with the Model T I liked the shave and the razor as good or better than all my others. I could see it becoming my one razor for every days shaves until shaving boredom settles back in! Rockwell told me they didn't want to repair my current razor. I would think it would be possible as I only shaved with the razor for less than a week and there is no damage to the finish or any other parts on my current T-bar separated razor? Btu, replacement works for me especially when they assured me they would test the heck out of it to assure no future difficulties. Good customer support for sure-----so far!
     
  11. John Ruschmeyer

    John Ruschmeyer Well-Known Member

    Just curious... are they making you return the broken one?
     
  12. oldjoe

    oldjoe Well-Known Member

    They did not say? Not sure and the replacement time frame was not specific. Just told me I would be first on the list with a tested replacement?
     
  13. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I'm surprised they are not using red locktite on the two piece bars.
     
    stuartganis likes this.
  14. StephenC

    StephenC New Member

    The last update indicated an August delivery. The website shows October for new preorders. We’ll see. Staying patient and not backing out. ($99 for my purchase)


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  15. John Ruschmeyer

    John Ruschmeyer Well-Known Member

    I'm a bit surprised it worked as well as it did. If I'm understanding the design, they are basically using the friction between the two pieces of the rod to counter the spring tension of the blade. (Does a model T have a final quarter turn like a Gillette? If so, there is even more tension.) One could almost imagine a scenario where the entire door assembly launches itself off the razor.
     
    Frijolero likes this.
  16. DesertTime

    DesertTime Well-Known Member

    First, I know nothing about the properties of various metals, but it seems like you and @PLANofMAN do, so I have some questions for you. My understanding is the new Rockwell one-piece T-bar is made entirely of ZAMAC. Isn't ZAMAC a fairly brittle metal? Isn't the T-Bar assembly under stress, from pressure and perhaps torque? Finally, if the first two questions are true, is ZAMAC the best metal for a on-piece T-Bar?
     
    PLANofMAN likes this.
  17. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    We don't know if the bar is made from Zamac specifically. Zamac 3 is just one of the most common zinc alloys.

    Many of us are old enough to remember the die cast cap guns of our youth. The first part that broke was almost always the hammer, due to the shock, of well, always being hammered on. In this application, the t-bar is more like the trigger, though much more robust.

    I'm less concerned about whether the zinc is strong enough for the part than I am about the fact that it moves. Zinc holds up very well...until the plating is compromised. I'm concerned that there appear to be lots of spots where it can rub against other parts.

    Like everything else to do with this razor, I'm adopting a wait and see attitude. Merkur's vision 2000 relied on a piece of Teflon tape for tension/friction, so I don't see how the Model T could be any worse.

    As for your second question, "Is Zamac the best metal for a one-piece t-bar?" No!!! Even hell no!

    But from a manufacturer's viewpoint it's ideal. It's strong, cheap, and easy to work with, but from a consumer's viewpoint, almost any other metal would be a better choice, with the exception of aluminum and carbon steel. But they would have to be machined, rather than cast.
     
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  18. jwr3265

    jwr3265 Well-Known Member

    I had the same experience...more waiting...:angry019:
     
  19. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Your razor fell apart too?
     
  20. jwr3265

    jwr3265 Well-Known Member

    No but something is wrong. Second shave in, one side is more aggressive than the other.

    This is their response:

    “That sounds highly unusual and, as you mentioned, is clearly not up to our team's quality control standards. It appears there may have been a defect in the unit you received that slipped past our quality control team. I will work on getting a replacement shipped to you in the very next round of fulfillment (your replacement will be next up on the list of shipments). In the meantime, if the blade alignment issue is visible to the naked eye, any photos you could provide of the discrepancy for our engineers would be tremendously helpful.

    Although I don't have an exact ship date as to when your replacement will go out just yet, you can rest assured that we're doing everything we can to get your replacement to you right away. We will be in touch with a new tracking number once your replacement is ready to ship.”

    So I’ll try to be patient....


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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