Thread: What is your definition of a custom razor?

A grumpy self-righteous old man once said that you're all ignorants who can't make up definitions as you like and must learn to use his definitions because they were already accepted for knives.

I say what you chose to call it doesn't matter nearly as much as the razor itself.

When I look at a razor I consider how good the design is both from functional as well as my personal aesthetic criteria, and how well it is executed, how much skill, effort and care has gone into it. Rarity, uniqueness in design as well as materials certainly play some role. My input is probably a fairly small part; for example a certain razor by Charlie Lewis is perfect and I suspect that any contribution from me would have only made it less.

Several years ago a friend of mine worked with a custom razor maker to create a unique design, after six months of back and forth they got to something close, but my friend got fed up with the process being too difficult and decided he doesn't want a razor from that custom maker as a result of it. So he cancelled the order, lost his substantial deposit and the razor maker started making the razors in that new unique design which were quite popular. The point is that, not every story has a happy ending for both sides even when there is substantial customer feedback.

Well-Said, Ivan and completely to the point. Some think they know what they want, yet are ignorant of facts/constraints.

Some just plain like what they see and hear about. All about the shave!

Originally Posted by gugi

A grumpy self-righteous old man once said that you're all ignorants who can't make up definitions as you like and must learn to use his definitions because they were already accepted for knives.

I say what you chose to call it doesn't matter nearly as much as the razor itself.

When I look at a razor I consider how good the design is both from functional as well as my personal aesthetic criteria, and how well it is executed, how much skill, effort and care has gone into it. Rarity, uniqueness in design as well as materials certainly play some role. My input is probably a fairly small part; for example a certain razor by Charlie Lewis is perfect and I suspect that any contribution from me would have only made it less.

Several years ago a friend of mine worked with a custom razor maker to create a unique design, after six months of back and forth they got to something close, but my friend got fed up with the process being too difficult and decided he doesn't want a razor from that custom maker as a result of it. So he cancelled the order, lost his substantial deposit and the razor maker started making the razors in that new unique design which were quite popular. The point is that, not every story has a happy ending for both sides even when there is substantial customer feedback.

A friend went to a tattoo shop with their own design. She was told that the tattooist owned the final design that was used and they could reuse it at their will. So much for a custom tattoo!

Maybe this is our problem in this discussion.

slang

noun
1.
a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.

In my last post I got the wrong fellow: I confused Substance with 32t. Sorry, to clear things up when I say that Substance is the wrong fellow I do not mean that he is wrong in his thinking, but that he was not the chap I was replying to. So 32t would have been the right fellow, not because he is right in his thinking, though, if so he would be the wrong fellow and substance would be the right fellow, but not because I confused them. Sorry.

Incidentally, 'bespoke' was originally 'bespeak' meaning to order or commission, first used in that form in 1583, the verb bespoken first being used in 1607. This is still used in England - in the 1970s there were no end of bespoke tailor shops, but 'customize' is much younger - 1923 - and was mainly used in the US, but it has now travelled the Pond.

OTT (me?!) my eyes were getting a bit wonky - have been for a while, so I went to the laser-surgeon and asked for my lenses to be altered so I could see better close-up. Lordy, what do you know - now I am customeyed myself!

I have to go now because I just heard my wife Bea call from the kitchen. Once Beaspoke and I ignored her to my cost...

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by feltspanky

So 32T; Why is PRC's business model any different from (for example Brian Brown's business model).

I can answer that!
First, it depend what line your talking about.
If you're talking about my BRW line, I don't have the options PRC has. My BRW is a "production" series razor. It more similar to a Dovo or TI (ie: they are made, then sold)
If you're talking about my custom razors.. that's a different story. Each customer has a say in what the razor looks like( design, size, length, steel, scales... just about everything)
I consider PRC to have a artisan/production series and then a semi-custom razor. With the semi-custom you have some say in what you want but the main shape, size of the razor is going to be the same a artisan/production series. From what I've seen they are using the same blank, you just get to pick some nonstandard options.

MileMarker60. I have two custom razor's from PRC. The second blade for the second razor is larger. Scott said he had to order a larger jig to accommodate the making of the razor. So if that's the case he changed his normal manufacturing process to meet the request of his customer.

Just from talking with Scott, he uses 01 tool steel to make his razors. If you want a Damascus Razor it's manufactured from 1095 tool steel. Again, just other option available to a customer.

Originally Posted by feltspanky

MileMarker60. I have two custom razor's from PRC. The second blade for the second razor is larger. Scott said he had to order a larger jig to accommodate the making of the razor. So if that's the case he changed his normal manufacturing process to meet the request of his customer.

Just from talking with Scott, he uses 01 tool steel to make his razors. If you want a Damascus Razor it's manufactured from 1095 tool steel. Again, just other option available to a customer.

So the second razor is not a standard spec and was made to your requirements? If that's the case then that would fall into custom I would have thought. If Scott then goes on to make a series of identical razors then I don't know. ...

PRC's normal razor offerings consist of 6/8's blades, similar design lines for the blades and scales, point options for the tip of the blade, and a variety of scale choices. PRC sells those razors at similar price points. I do not consider these models customized razors.

The PRC razors built for me have 8/8's blades. I sent in the drawings and blade dimensions, also selected my preferred scale materials and sent it to PRC. PRC also charges more to build these razors due to the extra time and materials required.

So my question to MileMarker60 is how does PRC's process to build a (semi custom razor) for a customer differ from your quote (full custom razor).

All I know is, I like my non-mass produced, artisanally crafted, somewhat customized razor. I hope I have not bespoken in error.