Will it work? Will it sell? BornSharp - self sharpening, 2000 shave razor blade

In the past few days I've learned of a fascinating new development in the world of shaving: BornSharp. It's a patented, automatic sharpening razor system providing 2,000 (5 years) of shaves on one blade.

I got into traditional DE and SR shaving over the past 10 months, after I finally woke up and realized I was a blade-slave to ever rising cartridge prices and ever less quality. I'd long ago realized that more blades mean crappier shaves; but now I realized that I was being forced to pay ever more for ever less, and felt trapped and used. Anyway, I started educating myself about traditional shaving: the tools, the tech, the businesses, their history. And, from what I can see, this is one of the more interesting developments in shaving technology and business models to come out in recent years.

I'd love to get a sense of what others think about BornSharp: the tech, the idea, it's business prospects. So, I sat down and worked out my take on their technology and prospects. While ShaveNook is really about shaving tools and techniques, not really the business, in the case of situations like this, both need to be explored -- it's a question both of what do we think of the tools and technolgies with respect to how they may work, but also with respect to how they may appeal to the marketplace -- their prospects for success.

I think if King Gillette were alive today, he'd be here on The Shave Den having exactly these types of discussions, trying to figure out what will work for people technically as well as economically, practically, and from a variety of other perspectives.

Anyway, I'd love to get people's feedback and thoughts.

 

Seems to me to be a re-invented Rolls Razor basically to me. If $500 is going to be the price point. $500 in NOS Rolls Razor parts would be enough shaving for a lot more than 5 years. But wouldn't have the nifty UV sanitation that seems to be overkill to me, anyway.

And.....The handle looks way to long.

Just my opinion.....and you know what they say about those.

 

I saw this a week or so ago and I think it's a neat idea but I can buy 5 years worth of DE blades for under $100 (maybe closer to $50).

 

Hmmm. According to Wikipedia Rolls Razor seems to have been somewhat successful, at least, for about 20-30 years, enough so to spawn a knock-off-ish competitor, Darwin.
Anyway, that was a purely mechanical, hand driven honing and stropping frame. BornSharp has what appears to be a fairly up to the minute, professional strength (ie, from what I understand their sharpened techniques are similar to what razor blade manufacturers use to sharpen blades) with computers, etc. What I'd like to see is more feedback from leaders in the field. If Mike Hamm (Leisureguy) and Lynn Abrams have used these things, I want to see some video testimony of them shaving with it and commenting. How's it shave? How's it feel? What do THEY think?

 

I am sorry I thought you asked for our opinions. I did not realize you were only wanting two peoples opinion of your product.

I kind of like the idea of purely mechanical. I think computers run our lives to much now, don't really want to have them to shave my face!


Why did you delete 60% of your write up?


EDIT: I did a quick search of leisureguy comments, He seems to make a very similar comparison as mine. Expect seems to be misinformed on the life of the blades in the BornSharp.

http://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/born-sharp-todays-version-of-the-rolls-razor/

 

I'm smelling a bit of a rat.....

So, for one thing, I couldn't help but feel like the OP was a canned post intended for several different forums (even referenced the Shave Nook directly looking like it was poorly edited) perhaps specifically intended to solicit feedback from the aforementioned individuals.

And, opinions were solicited from the entire forum.

Lynn and Mike are available on their respective forums. Seek them there. I haven't seen Mike post here in a while in fact.

If you are "shave star" hunting, then go where the stars you are interested in are. It may mean you have to learn more, but go. Your website seems to intimate that you have already garnered support from most of the shave scene's higher profile folks anyway, so I'm at a bit of a loss.

As far as the product, I like the old style, whether it be new gear or vintage. I don't like the new stuff. The less bells and whistles the more I tend to like it lately. The product looks cool and I'm sure you will sell some; there are lots of people out there wanting a better shave and many fear DEs.

To the OP, if you wish to get genuine feedback, just ask directly for what you want. We here at TSD are very candid and you will get what you ask for without any thinly veiled attempt to tease out the shave celebrities.

End of rant.

Welcome to The Shave Den.

 

Looks to me like self promotion to raise $100,000 http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bornsharp-self-sharpening-razor-system. Doesn't appear they're doing that well raising funds. It is more than a blade, you also have to like the proprietary razor as well. The stainless steel blade may or may not be compatible with other razors.

IMHO this product is not targeted toward us.

 

Yup. I think this system won't really be targeted at the traditional SE/DE/SR shaving market. First, it's too small. Second, people who've been in the traditional shaving scene for any appreciable time have educated themselves about tools, techniques, prices, and already have invested in what's typically a small collection of tools. BornSharp would be too limited for most of them, especially to sink that much money into. And, it wouldn't represent any cost savings. Although, then again -- no one else is offering a blade automatically custom honed and stropped fresh every day. Depending on how well it shaves and feels, I can imagine a number of DE enthusiasts who might be willing to sink $500 buck into that, just because it's cool. Just because no one else can do it, and so its, literally, the cutting edge of shave tech. But, they won't save any money with it. It's the doctors, lawyers, bankers, accountants, anyone making at least about $80K/yr, young professionals, techies who're currently using cartridges at the rate of 1 cartridge per week -- that's the crowd for whom this tool (if it does what it says it does) will be both cool, cutting ege, gadget chic AND will save them about 50% of what they would have spent on new cartridges over five years.

And, to respond to some other posts, I have absolutely no financial interest in BornSharp whatsoever. I've never worked for or invested in any grooming products or shaving companies. But, since I realized cartridges were a rip off last year and switched, I've realized the shaving industry is ripe for disruption and innovation. I think these people could be the most interesting thing to come along to wet shaving since Dollar Shave club. I might wanna work with or for a company with great growth prospects. So, I'm interested that way.

And, I specifically wondered what Mike Ham and Lynn Abrams would say because they're thanked by BornSharp on their website, and quoted very briefly. I'd love to see more detailed thoughts and reviews of the tech, of the actual prototypes, of the company.... I'd like to see thoughts and opinions from everyone, which is why I'm discussing this in a forum instead of simply contacting people directly. But, people with credibility and knowledge and recognized brand names as experts in the scene, I confess, their opinions carry further.

 

Wow, PLANofMAN/Ryan, I stand educated as to some of the leading lights of TheShaveDen! Thanks. That's exactly one of the key attractions of joining in the conversations here, one of the great values of TheShaveDen -- concentrated, diverse experience, talent, knowledge, even wisdom, offered in a convivial, passionate, diverse, multitalented, multi-perspectival, collegial environment. I greatly value the opinions of all those personages (all the more so with your kind and informative introduction), and would hope they're inspired to engage and share. Hate it, love it, anything in between it, for whatever their highly experienced, articulate reasons -- these are all valuable voices and perspectives.

 

I saw that it was not a great way to begin an open conversation, a bit overwhelming, and could too easily create the impression I have a pre-determined, set perspective, which I do not.

 

One of the signs of wisdom is to appreciate how much one doesn't know, and to show appreciation for those who do.

All the more impressive, then, that he learned so much so quickly and has done so much with it! If only more schools and students were that successful.

I would be surprised if you don't get a reply. They give the impression of being businesslike. I hope they have prototypes for reviewers -- that will help them make their case, and the sooner the better. I can't wait to read (and view?) your review. It is too important to be ignored. It seems a significantly new technology, and certainly this is the first these features and benefits have been offered in the marketplace, with a promising vision. How much an improvement in razor design and how well realized remains to be seen. On their website they feature a quote from just a few days ago from another shaving forum, so they're clearly following discussions. Someone ID'd himself in a discussion (since deleted) as a BornSharp team member.

 

It's an interesting razor but the price is going to severely limit the interest here. It seems to me to be a Brookstone/Sharper Image type product. It's too big an upfront outlay to have strong appeal to cartridge users as a money-saver. To get interest here, it's going to need a reputation as a great shaver, that's what gets people to spend the money to buy the Cobra.
If the company is interested in the wetshaving community as a market, PLANofMAN would be anexcellent choice to provide a sample to for testing and review but I think the company should look into providing just the razor, with a freshly honed blade to forum members, perhaps some sort of passaround. If the blade/razor combination is not good enough to provide two or three good shaves, no one's going to care whether it can be honed or not.
I didn't see anywhere any mention of the expected cost of the replacement blades or honing mechanism or life expectancy of the base.

 

I feel it's more of a gimick than a wet shaving revelation...We already have the Rolls Razor, the "BornSharp" is basically just a modern electric version of it..Just "WAY" more expensive,complicated and so more prone to breaking...
What happens when all those little gizmo's and gears break or get jammed? Who fixes it and at what cost?
You arm strop a blade be it DE,SE,Injector or cart now and gain longevity out of it without investing a ton of money...I've gotten a month out of a store brand twin blade cart doing this...
We already have various adjustable razors(both vintage and modern) on the market now "ONE SIZE DOESN"T SEEM TO FIT ALL"...
Will "BornSharp" take nicks/burrs out of the blade?
How do you increase handle weight and/or knurling?
How much do replacment blades cost? 5 years isn't that long of a time..How much will it cost for say 10 blades?
What happens when this "WONDER RAZOR" company bellies up in a couple of years?
I've been "traditional" shaving for probably over two years now and in that time I've spent way more than $500 on it... "BUT" I could easily get double my money if I chose to put what I have on the market right now..Will the "BornSharp" be worth double your investment in 2 years?
How is this company going to make money?

I'm sure someone will buy it, just not me.. It's neither interesting or fun and how well it shaves is still going to be a "YMMV" kind of thing, only finding out if "BornSharp" fits your face is going to cost you an arm and leg.....It's cost prohibitive and there is "ABSOLUTELY" no guarantee of a smooth, irritation free shave " it's one size fits all just like any other cartrige razor" sorry guys "BORING"!! I've already been there, done that and bought a t-shirt!!!

 

The hones/strop last same amount of time as the blade 2000 shaves.

http://bornsharp.com/faqs

Q: What are the smaller blue and yellow lights in between the larger red (do not touch) and green (ready to use) lights for?
A: The blue light at the top of the unit indicates that the blade needs replacement. While you will see this light blink at start-up, generally you should not see the blue light lit solidly until you’ve used the razor approximately 2,000 times.
The yellow light indicates that the honing and stropping cylinders need to be changed out. While you will see this light blink at start-up, generally, you should not see the yellow light lit solidly until you’ve used the razor approximately 2,000 times.

 

My vintage straights cost me less than $20.00 each and will last me a lifetime, like they did for the previous owner. In fact if taken care of they will last several more lifetimes of shaving. I saw the Indigo video for this razor and I was a bit insulted when companies like this interview Professional Barbers and they insinuate that a man can't shave himself with a straight razor. One other note, is the base unit looks rather cheap and I wonder how long the motor will last. I don't see it lasting as long as the razor and blade combination.

 

There are always a few who try the latest and greatest. They will buy no matter just to say they did so. Even if the system delivers ... sharp blade with a close and comfortable shave ... the economics will not make sense for an average user, the vast majority of us. Unlike razors, electronic gear loses value over time, it seldom appreciates in value. Most of us would like to own and use a Darwin but most of us will never have one. Hardware that will only increase in value. Look at used TVs, toasters, radios, gps units & etc. None gain value over time. Wet shavers are not the target market for this particular gee whiz gizmo.