Karve Shaving Co. A new DE Brass razor to market.

I have the Karve razor in brass, and hands down, it's one of my favorite razors to use. Manufacturing quality and fit and finish are top-notch. Allowing people to customize their razor with different plates and handles is also a great feature they offer. The price for the products - undeniably reasonable for such incredible quality. When I ordered mine, I was well aware of the backlog, and I was willing to wait. For me, well worth it.

Having said that, what goes up my crawl is Chris seems to be exceptionally undisciplined with his business practices. Lately they have been teasing a titanium razor, and Jack (who works for Karve) has been shaving with one on his YouTube channel (basically advertising the latest and greatest). How about fulfilling your obligations to the folks who ordered your last offering first? He basically did the same with the aluminum razors. What he should do is put nose to the grindstone and concentrate his efforts getting the polished stainless razors into the hands of the customers who ordered them - pushing almost five months ago! If the polishing of stainless is an obstacle, then fulfill the orders already in place, then decide what to do about the polished version - continue to produce, and only put them on the website when they're ready to ship. Or discontinue offering polished. Or find a better/faster way to complete the polishing steps, still only offering them when ready to ship.

Most people who make a great product with a high demand focus on getting those stock levels built up. Only when there is a supply buffer do they switch gears and work on another product. Blackland does a wonderful job of producing enough product that they don't sell out quickly and leave people wanting. Yeah, not too long ago Shane was caught off guard and it did happen. But, Shane did his thing and fulfilled his promises by getting more made - and didn't take anybody's money until it was time to ship. He was also apologetic when it happened. Shane clearly understands customer service and good business practices.

I can only hope that Chris will get his crap together and change his business practices. He seems to be attempting to make a few amends by emailing those who are still waiting on their SS razors and offering $100 and giving some options. That tells me he's aware he's on thin ice with our hobby community. Will his blunders and the ire they've caused be enough for him to pull it together and change how he does business? I believe that's the question that many of us are wondering.

Chris should be humbled that so many folks love his razors. I'm sure that he's trying to be a "crowd pleaser" by offering razors in various metals. But, unless you can deliver several different products, you should hold your ambitions at bay until you can. And, for the love of all things holy, don't put out new products until you can deliver a previous one you've already promised (AND TAKEN MONEY FOR!).

I have a different, somewhat "back and forth" take on the situation.  First, I think this segment of our hobby will continue to grow and flourish with or without Karve razors. OTOH I do think the world would be better off by granting more shots at redemption than it does, including to Chris.  IMO humans tend to condemn quickly and forgive slowly, and we would be wise to do the reverse.  However, I do not think redemption necessarily means a shot at walking down the same road, and certainly not necessarily expecting others to walk down the same road with us.  Fortunately for me, I kept my money in my pocket this time.  So it may be easier for me to say that I wish Chris a happy and successful life - which I do.  TBH though, I don't much care whether Karve Razors stays open.  Redemption often goes hand in hand with reinvention and radical transformation, and unfortunately, many artisans will go under before the current smoke clears.

That thought brings me to one last point:  Many people budget this hobby - more people on tighter budgets now, with rising unemployment and/or life savings sitting in shrinking portfolios.  For these among us, every dollar given to Karve Razors is a dollar taken away from an artisan who has done the right things all along.  And until Karve establishes a track record of prompt delivery, it also represents a dollar put at risk.  I cannot bring myself to fault people for seeing Karve as a risk and not taking the risk, especially in these times.

I understand your point, truly I do. Hell, I could be wrong in my opinion and as a whole my complete summation of what I wrote. And trust me, I completely get it. But, I’ve always believed that for as careless as a situation that may arise, or as dark as a situation may and can be, we as humans are always looking towards the what could have been or in some ways the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. You do bring a valid point in terms of the times that we are presently living and it won’t be getting better anytime soon. Disease, famine, economic instability, wars and a slew of many other things have been around since man has roamed the Earth. And they will continue to be with us for as long as we are on it. I’m not trying to shed light on pessimism or preach that man is on a downfall, far from it. Even though this issue on backing a small artisan razor manufacturer is nothing but a spec compared to the global issues at hand, I look at as a microcosm on how we pin our beliefs or perhaps our expectations in one another. Of course, just seeing it in the wet shaving realm and not an exact translation to the current times.

I see it as having a bit of hope and faith that in the end Karve will come through. That perhaps he’s come to the point of no return in business terms and that he see’s the damage to his name and business entity that this long problem is presenting to him. This could be the “A-Ha” moment that snaps him out of the doldrums that his business model seems to be in. We are given two things in this world and they’re given to us at birth. And not to sound rude or crass and my apologies for sounding as such but, he’s put his word on it and his balls to see it through. As men, that’s all we have, that’s all we’ll leave with.

Will he come through? Your guess is as good as mine my friend. It all goes back to hope and faith as we regularly deposit it in many others aspects in our lives. Maybe you’re right and it’s not worth giving Karve another chance. Perhaps he’s wasted his opportunities at redemption or making things right at a wet shave level. I wouldn’t blame a soul for saying they’ve had enough and no more. A part of me agrees with that sentiment. But, there’s the other part that wants to believe that Karve will make things right. Foolishly perhaps but, I’ve done many a foolish things in my life. Giving a razor artisan a chance to make right is of zero consequence to the greater things happening around us.....

Either way, you brought up a valid point and a compelling argument amigo. Kudos.....

Thank you Gus.  I can return the compliments, and I hope to explain why.  

My overriding wish for Chris is that he succeed, by which I mean that when the time comes for him to look back on his life, he looks back on it with contentment and pride.  The extent to which he looks back on it as a razor maker is secondary IMO.  I did not intend my remarks to spark a referendum on his or anyone's character, whether that be about doldrums, gumption, or anything else.  Hope is always good, and redemption is always beautiful.  I believe that is why your remarks have struck such a powerful chord with many members - and that is a good thing!  You obviously understand that when we zoom in on anyone's life and situation - when we do our admittedly limited best to walk in their shoes - we are likely to dig up an extra dose of compassion out of our own souls.  I get that, and I had Karve's business performance in mind as something related to, but very distinct from, Chris' character. 

I see your thoughts and mine as running at different "zoom levels", yours close in and mine wide angle.  At a wide angle, there are many people to think about, including competitors and potential customers.  A great many of them are likely running their budgets on a knife edge these days, and they deserve equal consideration.  And at a wide enough angle, Karve Razors and Chris Kirchen the proprietor are minuscule.  Why?  Because every artisan and their business are minuscule when the angle is wide enough.  OTOH Chris Kirchen the person will never be more or less minuscule than you, me, or anyone else reading this thread, at least not at any zoom level I care to be a part of.  I'm glad you called that to everyone's attention, and my guess is that pretty much anyone who ever wanted or needed to triumph over adversity will be glad too.

Very nicely put, GlazedBoker and HighSpeed , thanks for your input and help with perspective!

I was not participating nor lurking on any shave forums when the polished SS was offered. Just curious as to how much more was it for the polished  version version the regular SS. Thanks.

Well, I have been lurking, since I am very interested in the Karve razor.  I decided to go ahead and order the “brass daily shaver kit” with the stand.  It was ordered yesterday, Easter the 12th  of April,  so we will see how long it a takes to arrive at my Florida (USA) address.  The order is for the wide body head, plates B, C & D.  Unfortunately, I do not have one of those discount codes, so I am paying full price.  I will post when it arrives.

Hello, it was around 75 $ canadian more than the regular SS model.  So around 55 $ USD.

while I don't own a karve nor do I have an order pending with Chris, put me in the camp that would be pissed off if someone took my money for a product that was assumed to be in stock and ready to ship immediately, only to find out that it's not actually in stock and definitely not ready to ship....for quite some time. he could of easily fixed this, I think, by putting up a note that the product was not ready to ship and that the CC/payments would not be processed until they're ready to be shipped.

I switched the loaner karve razor from the OC F plate to the OC D plate (I believe) 2 days ago for my shave and it was much less harsh than the F plate was. I'll give this plate a few more shaves to see how it goes. I may bump it up to the OC E plate after that, just to see how it is. I may also give the OC C plate a go too.

I switched the loaner karve razor from the OC F plate to the OC D plate (I believe) 2 days ago for my shave and it was much less harsh than the F plate was. I'll give this plate a few more shaves to see how it goes. I may bump it up to the OC E plate after that, just to see how it is. I may also give the OC C plate a go too.

The OC D plate is nice, but I ultimately kept my Gamechanger 84. I never tried the SB but from everything I’ve read the last few years, they seem to perform smoother.

The people who love their Karve typically have an SB, making me wonder what slight change to geometry may have occurred in creating the OC. Who knows.

I switched the loaner karve razor from the OC F plate to the OC D plate (I believe) 2 days ago for my shave and it was much less harsh than the F plate was.  I'll give this plate a few more shaves to see how it goes.  I may bump it up to the OC E plate after that, just to see how it is.  I may also give the OC C plate a go too.

The lowest gap I've tried with Karve was E, and I preferred F in an SB. Different strokes for different folks 

I switched the loaner karve razor from the OC F plate to the OC D plate (I believe) 2 days ago for my shave and it was much less harsh than the F plate was.  I'll give this plate a few more shaves to see how it goes.  I may bump it up to the OC E plate after that, just to see how it is.  I may also give the OC C plate a go too.

The OC D plate is nice, but I ultimately kept my Gamechanger 84. I never tried the SB but from everything I’ve read the last few years, they seem to perform smoother.

The people who love their Karve typically have an SB, making me wonder what slight change to geometry may have occurred in creating the OC. Who knows.

Here is what Karve says about the OC versus the SB ... I think he may have something from my own comparisons, or ... I'm influenced by his postulate ... 


SELECTING AN OPEN COMB PLATE
Since the plate levels are based on the actual blade geometry, not shaving performance, a given level OC plate is not going to feel identical to as the same level SB plate.

Use the following rule of thumb to select an OC plate level:
[font=Roboto, sans-serif][b][i]If you want to maintain a similar level of aggressiveness, drop down one level when moving from SB to OC.[/i][/b][/font]
For example, an SB-C plate will be similar to an OC-B plate.

And, for you wet shavers that didn't think that the SB-F plate was aggressive enough, the OC-F plate is effectively an SB-G plate!