(07-08-2016, 12:41 AM)Forged Wrote: When you ask if it's really that hard to produce a decent SS safety razor, what specifically do you mean?
What I mean is, its not like anybody has to re-invent the wheel, its basically machining steel or some other form of manufacturing like the metal injection moulding process that Rockwell eventually stumbled on. There's SE or DE. open comb, closed safety bar and slants and combinations of open and closed. The dimensions are pretty well standardized and there's only so many handle variations you can come up with.
I've read the ATT story and I get that production machine shops in North America (what few are left) are either not interested or incapable - which I find hard to believe. These shops make machine parts that operate to much greater design tolerances than a mere safety razor which is comparatively a crude instrument. I think they just aren't interested in a low volume low margin niche item. Its not personal its business.
I also understand Wolfman's model - its just him and he does a high degree of finishing work. But seriously , you'd think that some of these razors are made from the rarest metals on the planet - go to ikon or IB and look at safety razors - most of them are sold out and have been for years. Some I've never seen actually in stock. I sit here and speculate as to the whys and hows of the goofy business of safety razors but I suspect there is a lot more going on than I know. Is the market so small that producers aren't able to achieve economies of scale to be profitable? Is it all a hoax to create the perception of scarcity thus justifying $130 price tag for an item that would otherwise sell for $19.95? At the end of the day we're putting a 15 cent blade into the darn thing. Maybe somebody ought to put a little time and effort into making a better razor blade. Don't anybody suggest multi-blade cartridges.
Thats generally what I mean.
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