New SE razor - The General

My brass General arrived.  Totally disappointed!  Don't order unless you are desperate to have one.  It looked good at first glance, but when I disassembled it and saw the poor finish on the base plate and underside of the top cap I gasped.  I can't believe I paid 100 bucks for this compared to the DLC Hawk that cost me 60 bucks and is perfect.

Some of you might say no big deal, but not me.  This is almost as bad as that garbage Phil is pawning off as finished razors.

Colonial Razors I wish you would have included pictures of this on your website. I would not have ordered one. Is that why you launched on April Fools Day?

Nuki Man I would expect spotting with brass components, they will spot naturally with getting wet, and a non polished brass will spot and age quickly. Those circular marks leave a lot to be desired for me though. I know they are hidden under the cap where they won't be seen in use, still not a good look when changing blades.

Are they just swirl marks, or is that an actual indentation on the left side of that picture?

Those are all swirl marks from the machine. It looks like it's where the cutting tool stopped / started for it to work aroing the screw. All of these tool marks really drive me nuts. If you are making something and selling it, for Pete sakes do it right. For $60 bucks the Hawk is perfect. I think they are cutting corners to maximize profit. It's very disappointing.

We did have pictures on our website and never lied to our customers.  100% honest with what these razors are.  Please see your email Nuki.

It should be noted these are not "finished" razors. They were intended to show machine marks and give character.

Those machine marks should not affect the blade alignment nor the shave. Looks like it needs about 1hr more of work to get very good polish on it or about 2 more hours to get Wolfman quality polish and smoothness, naturally for this you need something like my Dayton 10" 2 speed buffer and different polishing/buffing wheels.

The Seygus brass razor I bought had the same rough finish underneath the top cap but honestly never bothered me because its only noticeable when I was opening the razor. I end up selling the razor but not because of the machine marks, sold it because was too damn mild, otherwise would of been a keeper considering was brass that was building up patina with every shave. The Seygus was more expensive also than the General, just wish it was at least medium+ aggressive, it would of been a keeper...

Those are all swirl marks from the machine.  It looks like it's where the cutting tool stopped / started for it to work aroing the screw.  All of these tool marks really drive me nuts.  If you are making something and selling it, for Pete sakes do it right.  For $60 bucks the Hawk is perfect.  I think they are cutting corners to maximize profit.  It's very disappointing.

Nuki I wonder how does the Hawk look like in the raw SS version AKA no DLC. The DLC tends to mask a bit of the imperfections. Although I do prefer no coating at all and waiting for the SS Hawk to become available on Joe's website, will be my first type of razor that uses the type of Kai and Feaather blades. Since I enjoy the Supply Provision injector and I also enjoy bunch of my Gem's I decided to give the Hawk a try to see how I like the other type of SE blades.

Question though, how does the Hawk feels in aggressiveness? I tend to like razors that are above medium or even down right aggressive in blade feel to the face.

Update:

Colonial Razors have really come through on customer service and have provided a refund.

You are correct that the swirl marks won't impact the shave, but the front of the top cap was rough like a nail file. I don't own a buffer and am not going to get one.

The Hawk SS in Satin does not show any imperfections on the one I have. Joe describes it a mid aggressive which I would agree with, but its just so damn smooth that I like it better than my Wolfman.

Update:

Colonial Razors have really come through on customer service and have provided a refund.  

You are correct that the swirl marks won't impact the shave, but the front of the top cap was rough like a nail file.  I don't own a buffer and am not going to get one.

The Hawk SS in Satin does not show any imperfections on the one I have.  Joe describes it a mid aggressive which I would agree with, but its just so damn smooth that I like it better than my Wolfman.

Aaron,

We are glad to hear that you are satisfied how we handled your situation. We will take a look at the top cap when it arrives.


Regards,

Kyle

Well done Colonial Razors .

Nuki Man I will say, when I bought mine, the first thing I read on the product description was "with machine marks". That one indentation looking spot on the cap is what I am questioning. Honestly those marks would have been barely visible very quickly with normal use. I used mine once and already there were one or two new spots on the brass. Fully polished brass takes far longer to age, and what makes this razor interesting is that it was made in such a way that it will age / darken pretty quickly. I am glad everything worked out for you.