REX Ambassador: My thoughts.

Excellence has landed.. Thank you Matt..


www.splitseven.com

Wanted to show some iphone 6 camera phone pics of the brushed finish - no fancy lights, in home bathroom.

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Beautiful razor Matt! Keep it up!

I stand corrected on the Timeless . Charcoal comment - apologies for any confusion.

But honestly- what is wrong with casting? Stainless steel or titanium metal injection molding can be incredibly accurate if done right. It is especially helpful in large volume manufacturing - something that needs to happen to the wet shaving world more and more if we want it to keep growing IMHO.

Gillette only became a razor giant because they were stamping metal parts out of solid brass. It was incredibly efficient and high quality at the same time- and Made in USA. That's how they could have a loss leader product like their razor handles and make it up in blade sales.


Don't you have better things to do than try to create drama between razor manufacturers on a shaving forum? I mean c'mon man...

Another thing, I'm so sick of hearing is this "gentlemen's hobby" crap. Is what you're doing right now very "gentlemanly"? I think not.

Folks, I had to remove a quote in Jeff's post that did not follow forum rules.  Jeff was responding to that quote and not to Matt of Razor Emporium.  I apologize to both Jeff and Matt for the confusion.

Also, just a reminder that it is okay to have a disagreement but it is not okay to be crude or to troll.

Thanks,

Freddy

Thanks Freddy. I'll just go ahead and delete that post now, because it doesn't make sense now.

Gosh, I spend a nice quiet evening with my wife and look what I miss! While I certainly understand the debate over materials and craftsmanship I also am a big fan of practicality. My list includes criteria such as How does it shave? How does it feel in my hand? How does it look? Do I like it? These are all subjective criteria and while I likely will consider What is it made of? If it checks all of the first boxes that last box might not be so important. I have razors made of stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, bakelight, zamak, brass plated in gold, nickel and rhodium. Some are new and some are old. Some shave better than others but I like them all. They're like my children, I don't care what what they're made of as long as they work hard and do their best. I think this phenomenon of razors as objets d'art is a sign of the times - razors have always been tools and consumer products. Of course there is variation in quality in tools and consumer products - as a carpenter back in the day I'll be the first to deny that a tool is a tool is a tool be it power tools or hand tools.

In any case I will default back to my view that what makes this hobby/pass time or whatever you want to call shaving today, great is that there is room for everybody and something for everybody too. High end, precision machined razors in different metals, entry level and everything in between. You can use Arko soap and love it or MDC and love it equally and then you can discuss the actual costs of either on a pennies per shave basis and then there are SE vs DE vs straights, method shaving pre shave treatments, post shave treatments, hot water, cold water, no water, and blades?? The discussion on blades can last for as long as there are countless different blades made.

I think I'll have to take a look at this Rex razor

Matt...There is nothing wrong with cast parts. I don't care if the whole razor is cast. My issue with your statement is you tried to make it appear as if you employed a manufacturing technique (milling) the others failed at and they settled on casting parts, a cheaper less precise method. When in fact, they employed the very milling techniques you failed at. Surely, you can see why someone would take issue with that? That's really not cool. Here in your circle surrounded by your friends or elsewhere.

I'm a huge adjustable fan. 5 of them hang by my head every day, one of which YOU replated. I would absolutely love to have a modern choice at my fingertips. But not if the company turning them out unjustly slammed other manufacturers when trying to explain issues with his own product. Make the REX as you see fit but let it stand on its own. There is no need for you to even type other companies names unless it is to appreciate. If they turn out crappy products/services, people on forums will point out their shortcomings on your behalf.

I, too, applaud the effort. At the price point you are at, you should deliver a head turning product and deliver exactly what you sold people.

Find yourself a competent machinist and then make sure he excels in the pieces he delivers to you. Personally QC every part if necessary and deliver something that sets forums on fire for the right reasons.









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LOOT - my statement about cast parts was not made in malice. I was mistaken about the timeless / charcoal like I said. I mentioned it not to bring them down or somehow disparage their product. Metal injection molding makes possible things that are not possible / practical with milling and turning. Also there are hybrid machining methods of doing a rough cast then final milling.

I only brought this issue up because I have watched companies like iKon evolve over the years, and casting is part of it. I own #43 original ikon open comb razor. The first model he made. I got it because we were the first retailer in the USA to carry them, back when he was in Thailand. Compared to what he makes now, it looks crude.

We recently had a Timeless titanium razor come in for polishing because the owner wanted a shiny finish. The finish on it looked to be media blasted by my best guess - and that is a guess because it looks similar to the Rockwell 6s which we retail and provide refinishing / plating on. That was the basis of me saying that it was cast. I am sincerely sorry if I made a mistake in that statement - I am part of the razor community and would never disparage a company or member.

Rockwell has done amazing with metal injection molding. Their 6s system is a bargain at it's retail price - and it can be wholesaled to retailers like me and they still make a profit.

We have been hearing lots of feedback on the Ambassador - overwhelmingly positive. Yes there have been some issues - and those are getting worked out much to the satisfaction of the customers. I chalk it up to a lesson and we will continue to strive to put out high quality products that meet and exceed customers expectations.

Thanks,

Party on, Wayne.

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I must say that the actions of a vendor speaks volumes however when excuses for poor workmanship of a razor and then selling that product to a customer is no means acceptable in my opinion.  At the moment I am still waiting for the issues that have been presented to me in the rex razor ambassador to be taken care of however it has been so silent I can hear the crickets in the background. I would hope that any vendor/merchant that produces razors would take their customers seriously and not use excuses for poor workmanship.


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So for a couple of hundred dollars some people in the wet shaving world expect museum quality perfection - finely machined and polished works of art to be applied to their daily shaving ritual for which they previously used a $2 disposable plastic razor. Those are pretty high expectations. I'm not saying that we have to settle for garbage but seriously, a couple of hundred dollars for a hand made tool crafted by a skilled machinist - yes even CNC machines have to be operated by someone who knows what they're doing, and then hand polished to a mirror finish. Thats after all the work to design the device so it efficiently and comfortably removes your beard. There are some high costs involved here and some challenges when you add "made in USA" on to your want list. No matter, some people like Razor Emporium have stepped up to try to meet the demands. They've done a pretty good job too and when the finish has fallen short of some folks expectations (reasonable or not) they've offered to fix it for free including shipping both ways - seriously, what more can you ask for? When explanations have been given for why the finish can sometimes be less than perfect they've been accused of making excuses. To my mind an explanation is not an excuse. When they may have misspoken about competitor's products they've been accused of being rude and disrespectful (hello pot meet kettle). I've read throughout this entire thread and from what I've seen Matt of Razor Emporium has been courteous, informative and helpful. He's acknowledged and apologized if he's made errors and he's generally bent over backwards to be respectful and helpful. We should all strive to do the same.

One of the strong points of DFS is that we've been able to have a free, open and sometimes lively dialogue with many of the merchants and artisans active today that make the whole wet shaving experience what it is. Most of these merchants and artisans are wet shaving enthusiasts just like we are. The key to maintaining this feature is that we keep our posts respectful. We can still raise issues and problems but we insist it be done respectfully. Here's some advice, before you write or send your post to another member, be they a merchant, artisan or regular member, imagine that you are sitting across the table from that person. Would you say to their face what you are writing in your post? If you can't unequivocally say yes, then don't write that post. Sometimes its obvious that a person writing a post only means to troll - they're rude and offensive. Other times its just in the tone of the post, they appear to be respectful but they're not, they're subversive and they think they're being clever. Posting in this manner will draw warnings and ultimately bans from the DFS moderators - while there are relatively few rules at DFS, there are still rules and members must abide by them.

I felt the need to write this post because I want to maintain the cordial and respectful atmosphere of DFS and I want to encourage merchants and artisans to continue to engage with DFS members both as merchants/artisans and as members as well as to encourage new merchants and artisans to sign up. If we can't extend them the common courtesy of respect then I fear that many of these people will stop being active on DFS and new merchants/artisans will look elsewhere. We've already seen one artisan step back from all social media / forum activity because of disrespectful treatment - I'm referring to Will of B&M who has been a member on DFS for over 2 years and if you look at his merchant thread you will see a high level of participation and a wealth of information. Its been a loss to the community to have Will step back and we'll surely lose more artisans / merchants if we don't take steps to self-moderate and keep our posts respectful. Double check what you've written before you post it. Keep you mind - mouth filter operational. Don't post publicly what would be better dealt with in a PM. Consider the impact of your words. The trolls we'll deal with in short order, but its the rest of the well meaning members that occasionally get carried away that can become a problem.

Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to remind everybody to do their part in keeping DFS the enjoyable, relaxing and informative forum that it has been. Our merchants and artisans are doing their best and if all of the members do their best as well then I think everything should be fine.

Marko