#41
there hasn't been innovation since the bonded blade was released by Wilkinson in the 1960s.

All the Single Edge feather/kai/injector bladed razors are based on one of two patents from the 1930s. The Occam razor is based on a patent from 1964 I believe. The one blade is based on several patents from the 1930s and 1940s.

Their is no interest in creating new razor styles or desings, when what you have sells like hot cakes, and double and triple the price it was 6 years ago simply because you claim its stainless steel

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#42
(This post was last modified: 03-31-2017, 07:17 PM by KAV.)
The late Donald Crabtree was the father of knapping in North America. Crabtree had open heart surgeries and pioneered the use of glass blades. His doctor had to get in considerable practise as the greater sharpness actually requires retuning the hand and finger muscles. Another advantage aside from lesser scarification is a faster healing time. I tried obsidian blades back on SMF, learning to knapp with Don while a archaeology student. The problem is they microchip and require refacing. You can make large blades but they are extremely brittle.
I fall into the " If it works,don't fix it" school of thought. We can make wheels of new materials but round is round. When I taught wilderness survival everybody wanted a Jeremiah Johnson steel and flint, divots on 'survival knives' were a short fad for bow drills or Zippo Lighters you could flip light like a Film Noir detective. Yes, I can do all that stuff and it's fun. But if I'm wet and cold I want a fire now and pack a road flare, pound of fatwood and magnesium shavings and about 12 liquor store disposable lighters, lifeboat matches and a SPARKLITE in my kit. Some guy boasted of polishing a coke can with a chocolate bar to start fires with sunlight. I told him it was a damned wste of a coke and hershey bar.
I believe any innovation, true innovation beyond cosmetics or wow factor will come with increased wetshavers and competition.

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#43

Member
Nashville, TN
This is a good topic.

My take is this, I like the history and shave quality of straight razors and double edged safety razors. I don't want anything new. No doubt, there will be a laser based shaver sooner or later that provides a perfect BBS every time in all places of the face with razor burn or cuts. I won't be getting one.

Heck, classic wet shaving is way too cool. I enjoy the challenge of building skill and the ritual of whipping up soap and shaving.

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#44

Administrator
Philadelphia, PA
I don't know..I just don't know how many different ways you can try to reinvent the wheel. how many different ways can you make a screwdriver or hammer?

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Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito.
#45
(This post was last modified: 04-01-2017, 04:57 AM by jagardn.)
The Wright brothers propeller was 82% efficient. Even with today's technology, propellers are only at 90%.
They had it damn near perfect from the beginning.
If they created a push button device that just made all the hair on your face disappear, what would we do with all of the soaps we have stockpiled?
#46
I'd find the inventor of this push button and push a puck down his esophagus. I would argue the revival of wetshaving, while not a true innovation is at least reversal of degenerating product.
#47
Because way too few people have any really great & functional ideas. Consider that millions of people watch sci-fi movies whereas we glide around universes with aplomb, but few know that in reality we are stuck using the same technology today of the 1920's, i.e., the rocket engine. We may never get off this rock for long or far.
Secretary Ramsey put his foot into it yesterday . . . in the course of his remarks he said that California “needs water and better society.”  “So does h-ll,” yelled someone in the crowd.  
#48
(04-01-2017, 03:40 AM)BPman Wrote: Because way too few people have any really great & functional ideas. Consider that millions of people watch sci-fi movies whereas we glide around universes with aplomb, but few know that in reality we are stuck using the same technology today of the 1920's, i.e., the rocket engine. We may never get off this rock for long or far.


Really great and functional ideas are not that hard to find. They simply take time. And when the resultant idea doesn't match your idea of what should be done, hostility comes up fast.

When I started discussing my razor design projects last year on TSR, I had instant friends all over that site. Until they learned that it would take time. For some reason it was ok for an established company to demand 80,000 and 3 years in a kickstarter project. But for a private person with a job and a life and family, it was totally unacceptable I could not give them a fully functional prototype in 4 months.

I even did a design discussion thread to guage users interest in the project itself. IT was fun, as one of my questions asked if their participation in the whole discussion was because they actually wanted to see a new razor come to market, that was made for shavers by an actual shaver with input from shavers. 28% of the votes for that question came in yes. The rest were solid NO.

Thus I realized that unless innovation makes "sense" to the viewer, its worthless and dead on arrival. Now I knew people who felt that gold plating the handle on a 30 dollar Edwin jager razor, was innovation. But a 10-15$ adjustable razor was merely something to discuss in a manner that would lead to nothing.


And yes I did indeed design my 10 dollar adjustable razor. Two design variations. One for traditional 2 piece razors, and one for 3 piece razors.

A few spots need some revision but that's the fun part. It only took me about 14 months start to finish. I also have my family of razors intended for people with physical disability.

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#49

Administrator
Philadelphia, PA
a razor is a razor...it can only be designed so many ways. most people simply improve on previous iterations of a design that's already in the market.
Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito.
#50
(04-01-2017, 07:12 AM)andrewjs18 Wrote: a razor is a razor...it can only be designed so many ways.  most people simply improve on previous iterations of a design that's already in the market.

WE live in a world where anything is called innovationg. Change the color of the handle and youll be called a hero of design, and get to charge twice as much for it.


But since I started perusing shaving forums. the main fret was that it was impossible to design an adjustable razor that could be made at a price point that could be sold for less then what a standard merkur 3 or 2 piece DE razor currently sells for.

SO I set out and came up with the design. Yes its an improvement because the adjustment system attaches to traditional razors that were first patented in 1904. But the innovation comes in the fact that if I wanted to release the plans, anyone on this forum could make own in their garage or basement if they had enough hand tool knowledge.

If you partnered up with Baili or Rimei or Weishi or Ming Shi in china, and using my thoughts and observations. You could produce a really nice nearly identical copy of the SLIM in STAINLESS that could retail for under 50$ and give you a rough 20-30 dollar profit simply based on international shipping and shipping taxes.

When a true innovator like me comes along, there are not many people who get happy


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