Rockwell Razors AMA, April 4th, 2016

Good question Andrew! I'm curious as well.

Hi Gareth. Thanks for doing this. And Rockwell Razors!
I'm an Ultra Early Birder, also from the GTA! And you answered my question already on KS, yesterday - thanks.

On Reddit /Wicked_Edge, mantic59, who has used a prototype, wrote: "The T is slightly longer than a Progress (and slightly shorter than the long-handle Progress)."

Was that a conscious design decision or just coincidence?

I always wondered why Merkur didn't just make 1 razor with swappable -lengthed tips so the user could choose which suited them best, short or long - and thought "if they're not going to do it, someone else should". Of course, there might be a good reason why they haven't bothered. Still, razor handles with a removable handle end-cap and/or screw-on extension would be innovative.

GarRockwell, why did you decide to design a razor? did terrible shaves from cartridge/electric razors lead you down the path to finding a better solution, like so many of us have?

I told the story on the wet shaving podcast, and I probably told the story better there, but here it is: I met Morgan at university, while he was restoring old vintage straight razors, and we were both interested in starting our own business. We saw opportunity in shaving, because the industry was relying on such wacky marketing gimmicks. We were ultimately pointed towards safety razors as a potential entry point, designed a safety razor that was adjustable so it could theoretically be appealing to both new DE shavers as well as experienced shavers, and after a few more design iterations and 3D printed prototypes, we launched the Kickstarter campaign for the Rockwell 6S!

Here's the link to the Wet Shaving News' recent podcast (hosted on sharpologist.com):
http://sharpologist.com/podcast/the-wet-...er-model-t

I listened to it last week. It's about 1hr long but it was an enjoyable and informative listen.

"The T is slightly longer than a Progress (and slightly shorter than the long-handle Progress)."

Was that a conscious design decision or just coincidence?

I always wondered why Merkur didn't just make 1 razor with swappable -lengthed tips so the user could choose which suited them best, short or long - and thought "if they're not going to do it, someone else should". Of course, there might be a good reason why they haven't bothered. Still, razor handles with a removable handle end-cap and/or screw-on extension would be innovative.

First off, thank you very very much for your support! A swappable handle would be innovative, but my take on why it hasn't been done is that it's hard to gauge how much more customers would be willing to pay for it, and it would definitely add manufacturing cost. For us, our handle length was simply the result of a lot of testing and opinion sourcing from experienced and new classic shavers.

First off, thank you very very much for your support! A swappable handle would be innovative, but my take on why it hasn't been done is that it's hard to gauge how much more customers would be willing to pay for it, and it would definitely add manufacturing cost. For us, our handle length was simply the result of a lot of testing and opinion sourcing from experienced and new classic shavers.

This just got me wondering, and I understand if you don't want to share the information, but with the current design, how hard is it to remove the endcap and the handle? Could open up the doors for some aftermarket customisation from the machinists among us.

"The T is slightly longer than a Progress (and slightly shorter than the long-handle Progress)."

Was that a conscious design decision or just coincidence?

I always wondered why Merkur didn't just make 1 razor with swappable -lengthed tips so the user could choose which suited them best, short or long - and thought "if they're not going to do it, someone else should". Of course, there might be a good reason why they haven't bothered. Still, razor handles with a removable handle end-cap and/or screw-on extension would be innovative.

First off, thank you very very much for your support! A swappable handle would be innovative, but my take on why it hasn't been done is that it's hard to gauge how much more customers would be willing to pay for it, and it would definitely add manufacturing cost. For us, our handle length was simply the result of a lot of testing and opinion sourcing from experienced and new classic shavers.

Gareth your on fire dude, answering questions here and on reddit, I cant get enough from reading everythings that written. I have another question though and hope you will answer it.

As I said before I have the 6s and I cant get over how well is the razor presented in the tin can. I know people will laugh about this but I love how the tin can looks outside and how well is organized inside to keep everything in order, yet sturdy, looks presenting, keeps everything safe for traveling and I can fit inside 5-6 blades if I scatter them around a bit.

Will it be too much to ask for the same tin can and foam with the Model T, I know people like wooden boxes but to me the tin can its just so nice,neat and yet vintage like the Old Coke bottles or Altoids!!!! I think you guys are doing awesome job with the tin can and it should be standard offering for all your future Rockwell models I really hope you do consider the 6s in OC with brass and hopefully you wont shy off on trying to make a slant in SS MIM down the road.

thanks for spending the day on the forum to answer our questions, GarRockwell!!!

This just got me wondering, and I understand if you don't want to share the information, but with the current design, how hard is it to remove the endcap and the handle? Could open up the doors for some aftermarket customisation from the machinists among us.

It'll be doable, but it's all press-fit together so it may be somewhat risky. We'll be producing a care guide before the full version of the razor comes out, which will include disassembly tips.

Gareth your on fire dude, answering questions here and on reddit, I cant get enough from reading everythings that written. I have another question though and hope you will answer it.

As I said before I have the 6s and I cant get over how well is the razor presented in the tin can. I know people will laugh about this but I love how the tin can looks outside and how well is organized inside to keep everything in order, yet sturdy, looks presenting, keeps everything safe for traveling and I can fit inside 5-6 blades if I scatter them around a bit.

Will it be too much to ask for the same tin can and foam with the Model T, I know people like wooden boxes but to me the tin can its just so nice,neat and yet vintage like the Old Coke bottles or Altoids!!!! I think you guys are doing awesome job with the tin can and it should be standard offering for all your future Rockwell models I really hope you do consider the 6s in OC with brass and hopefully you wont shy off on trying to make a slant in SS MIM down the road.

I really liked the tin too, the issue with the tin (and the reason we unfortunately have to move away from it) is pretty straightforward: it gets damaged in transit all the time. Even if I wrap it in a ton of bubble wrap, I've seen it get scratched and dented. And people seemed to like the tin so much that if their tin had a scratch, they'd ask for a new one. And you only need to pay to ship an empty tin to Australia a few times before you realize that it doesn't make very much business sense for the time being. We're working on making the next packaging just as awesome though, albeit a little less scratch-able.