Chance to choose, a new material for the Hone Type 15.

What material next for Hone...

  • Stainless Steel

  • Aluminium

Results are only viewable after voting.
MikeyJ said:
I really like the look of the type 15 however the maintenance of brass puts me off (cleaning). I think titanium would be a great choice. Other than Wolfman I can't think of another Ti DE razor. Just my 2 cents
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There are a lot of request for Ti. I am going to see what it will take... Would you be interested in made to order? i.e. it might take 3/6 weeks to deliver? I have genuinely no idea on cost at this point.
 
Yeah! we do that all the time! I think immediately of the Shavemac group buy - its a several week project. Many of us have backed Kickstarter projects. Made to order Ti Hones will attract several shavers in TSR. Count on it!

Hell - some of us even live in hope of receiving a new Rockwell!
 
As seen from a sellers view make 10 pieces in Ti, a material with bragging rights, sell for 100 each to make a profit of 1000 or make 100 in alu, a functional but maybe not very sexy material, sell for 10 each with an earning of a 1000

or make both using the 10 Ti pieces mainly to market the brand resulting in 200 sold in alu for a profit of 2000 plus 1000 for the 10 in Ti :)
 
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Ok this is a positive response and a bit of a change in direction for the thread. But I will seriously look at Ti - I have some ideas to make it viable that need exploration. I think due to cost it will be quite niche so Aluminium or Stainless will have to come first, that is still the core question for me at the moment :) I would love to just be able to start offering free choice of materials but that isn't feasible right now. I want Hone to survive and grow on a reputation of quality and individuality so I need to take each step carefully and make sure its the right one.

Just for clarity, In terms of pre-ordering (for specialist materials) I was only finding out if people would be willing to purchase something that then has to be made i.e. Something I don't currently hold stock in; as that is really a trust based transaction and I would need to be sure customers and myself are comfortable with that approach. There will be some development needed for this so its not going to happen for a little while, but it seems there is some demand so I'll go where the market leads.

For now though the choice is Aluminium or Stainless; One is going to happen and its these sorts of discussions that are helping make the decision so votes count. :)
 
Can see the ads already, sexy bikini girl ( tanned hunk should you prefer ) proferring bottle of a/s balm saying, " for the guy who's just been Honed ... ". Or than again, maybe not.

JohnnyO. o/
 
Andrew ....... I'll give you this ...... No one will ever be able to accuse you of not engaging with your target market!

I like that you're keeping your goals in the realms of sustainable growth. When your product speaks for itself, the world will eventually beat a path to your door. In the case of artisan shaving gear, you may find that the world will also eventually beat your door down ...... We're a demanding lot :D

I've said it before and I'll say it again ....... Best of luck to you!
 
Wishbone said:
Andrew ....... I'll give you this ...... No one will ever be able to accuse you of not engaging with your target market!

I like that you're keeping your goals in the realms of sustainable growth. When your product speaks for itself, the world will eventually beat a path to your door. In the case of artisan shaving gear, you may find that the world will also eventually beat your door down ...... We're a demanding lot :D

I've said it before and I'll say it again ....... Best of luck to you!
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Thanks @Wishbone I'm glad to hear that my approach is making an impression, its good fun which helps a lot. You can only engage with people that want to talk to you at the end of the day... :)
 
If it were me entering the market now, I'd want to offer a couple of options, to cater for both ends of the market. You have an exceptional design and I believe you can go a couple of ways with this. Retail markets almost everywhere are either focusing on low cost items, to sell more, or premium products for those that want something to aspire to, or want something that will last.
Aluminium is not really seen as a premium product, it's everywhere now, but with different colours of anodising an option, I'd also look at this route, especially in North America. This has worked to great effect with high-end fly fishing reels.
On the other hand, when your shop, machinery and tooling are set up for stainless, a run of titanium is much easier. You could offer low runs at maximum profit, something which again has worked well in high end fishing gear in North America and Europe. Hardy Bros. are a long established fishing reel manufacturer, and a few years ago they offered their Zane fly reel in titanium, they sold out very quickly, despite a quoted six week manufacturing time and a £6,500 price tag. It sold more of the standard reel off the back of it though. A limited run version of the Hone would be a showcase for the brand, in much the same way Volkswagen did with the Bugatti Veyron.
 
To be honest, I love the brass. If you told me I could have a more aggressive Hone, I'd bite your hand off for a titanium one, because it would be even more beautiful, and I'd be using it every day. As it stands, I love the brass, and I don't mind the weight at all, which is part of the "object" that is the Hone.

I have an aluminium Wolfman and an aluminium Mongoose, so I understand roughly what a lower weight razor would feel like. So I vote Stainless out of the options you have presented (but fancy Titanium because this thing is really an object of desire).
 
Hello all, thanks for the thoughts and responses, good reading and insights. At this point its like building a brick wall, I need to build the layers. I want to get to a range, and each one needs to build on the strength of the previous. So this is more about which one comes first rather than either/or. To form the Type 15 it takes significant time, there aren't that many flat or straight reference edges which is part of the reason for the effort over the decision...
 
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Hello, sorry for the radio silence, but I have a good excuse :) I have been sorting some interesting things out and here is a little sneaky peak... I should have some more information shortly.

DSCF1932.jpg
 
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