Carbon Shaving Company Ti & Carbon Fiber DE razor pass around

To all I hope you are safe and healthy...the world has gone a little crazy. I hope the pass around still gives you a small bit of joy in this world...I want to thank you all again for trying our Cx, commenting and providing feedback. It has been really helpful to hear...

We have received feedback from some folks who prefer a mild shave. We have designed a mild base plate for those individuals and for those who have sensitive skin or who are prone to irritation.


For this "Mild" plate we reduced the blade exposure(although still positive) from the original plate but increased the gap from .67mm(the original plates gap) to a .71mm gap.

I have attached a photo of where the "mild/-" plate is configured in relation to the other plates for your reference.



Some notes about the image:

1) The dotted or dashed lines represent what I have seen referred to as the "Shave plane"(Credit: @ShavingByTheNumbers) or the path the razor runs in relation to the skin. This could also be referred to as the "skin plane" or the theoretical plane of the skin

2) I have noted the blade (although slightly exaggerated in scale)

3) The red dots represent the end of the horizontal section of the base plates, where blade gap is measured.

Our philosophy is that blade gap is not the only measurable of a razor's "aggressiveness" but blade exposure is just as important. We also subscribe to having some element of positive blade exposure...

We have a Titanium and a 316L prototype to include in the pass around...these would also be included in the raffle at the end.

I would not expect everyone to like this configuration but it could be a good choice if you prefer a milder shaving experience. We intend to make a small batch for those folks who reached out but not sure if we will keep this as an ongoing offering...very interested in your feedback.

I'll follow up with andrewjs18 on how best to send.

Thank you again...

Sean

spoke to CarbonShavingCo. and he's going to ship the Ti plate to ALI and whoever is next up on the list for the stainless pass around.

I am very interested in trying the mild plate. I hope the blade exposure was reduced enough to offset the higher blade gap. Otherwise there will be more chatter and blade movement than in the original plate. The original plate was in the sweetspot range (exposure vs gap), which gave it efficiency and a very smooth shaving experience. For me, the + and ++ plates
had lost some of the smoothness for a minimal amount of efficiency improvement, due to increased chatter and blade movement. I loved the audio feedback of the plates but for me the + and ++ plates lost smoothness from the original. I may be in the minority with this observation, since many people love the new plates.
I still have 2 issues which Carbon has not addressed, since I brought them up:
1) Purchasing the cap and baseplate without the handle. Still not possible. Business model "ideology" versus probable increase in cash flow? Remember, cash flow is king.
2) Rounding the outer edges of the baseplate in 3 dimensions, per the 2019 original in the pass-around. In the pictures of the latest versions the outer edges of the baseplate are squared off, like every other manufacturer. Those super rounded edges were a defining difference between Carbon and everyone else producing razors. When you have something different and better, why eliminate it?

Thanks for commenting Captainjonny ...look forward to your thoughts on the mild plate. Also thanks for your feedback.... I really believe this sport does have different and unique preferences...I too am partial to the original design.

To add some insight, I am not sure it is blade chatter you are experiencing with the different plates as compared to the original. The reason I say this is the pinch or clamp on the blade is consistent with each plate. I have attached a drawing to illustrate:



Each plate comes into contact with the cap end at the same point. The +, ++ and - prototype are all held at the same point as the original. This by no means is to discount your experience or preference...there is a different feel with each plate.

Regarding your 2 other outstanding issues:

1) There are customer experience, design and philosophical reasons why we don't offer just the head a) We designed the head to balance and work with our handles b) We use a 10-32 thread, we have concerns with threads stripping when attached to other handles(higher returns) c) I'll admit it, it just doesn't seem right, from an artisan perspective, its not what we intended aesthetically, it feels like a "potato in a fruit bowl", but we do appreciate and respect our customers who do play with this. e) The biggest challenge with our business model is capacity and supply. We do all our final finishing in house, we like it that way, each Cx is hand sanded. We can't make enough product, nor scale the business and keep the finishing in house, it is critical we control finishing with the highest quality that we can. The head requires the most, of already limited, resources to make. We are just a small shop...

I think the opportunity is to expand our other handle designs, we are looking into customizing handle length, this is possible with our carbon fiber handles in both stainless and titanium. Open to different ideas...

2) Regarding the more rounded edges, this was done with our initial batch, product was tumbled to achieve this look, tumbling is inexpensive, but the challenge with tumbling Titanium and 316L is you need to outsource this, large commercial machinery is needed. It is also difficult to control critical dimensions consistently. Instead today we finish these corners and edges by hand which gives us more control. Aesthetically, to use a maritime term, I like the hard 'chines", but I definitely appreciate your preference. We didn't believe this was much of a sustainable, competitive advantage but it would be cheaper to tumble...however again with each small run we can adjust.

With regards to a more aggressive/efficient razor or a "+++", a few enthusiasts have expressed that interest...I need to look at that, my questions back to them would be:

1) More gap?
2) More exposure?
3) Does one remove remove the safety bar altogether?
4) Does one move to a straight razor at this point? By the way I am definitely looking at making a few...artistically they are very cool!

Can't thank you enough for the dialogue....

Sean

(*Edited 8:48 CST*)

The + plate with the original exposure would be a fun one to try out

Thinking that a +++ plate would be another great option.

would it still be possible to join this passaround?

Thanks.

Bob

would it still be possible to join this passaround? 

Thanks.

Bob

it'll cost you $150 to join the list.

nah, I'm kidding. I'll add you!

I meant to get a second shave in on video with the - plate today but I didn't have enough time this afternoon so I will probably upload a video tomorrow with some thoughts. First shave over the weekend went well but it was bit hard to describe right away since I have now tried all the available plates. The one note I could mention is that the contact with the blade felt quick or direct. Maybe that is my way of saying it didn't take much of an angle to get the blade in cutting fashion. First shave was with 36hrs growth and did a nice 3 pass shave with no nicks or irritations. More thoughts to come soon gentlemen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SyurqSca9c

According to USPS, I will be receiving the "-" plate by Friday. I will add this to the package and send to next participant on Monday. ppfingsten if you could PM me your address my friend that would be great. 

I will also post my thoughts on the various plates then. In short I think Sean has created a range of wonderful options with these base plates - one at least that will appeal to almost every wet shaver. 

CarbonShavingCo. Sean thanks for creating such an excellent piece of hardware and for allowing the pass around. And andrewjs18 thanks as always for all your efforts with these pass arounds.