Thread: TI can't make razors fast enough.

if i remember right Sal is a fan of straight shaving so maybe i can nudge a bit

I think it was Kees who contacted Puma to see if they would do a one off batch, but their last hollow grinder had broken down several years ago, and the grind master had retired a couple of years later.

I think the reason that artisans are overworked has more to do with renewed interest, rather than people not wanting to be craftsmen anymore.

10 years ago, the world was at the peak of consumer oriented economy. Everything was throw-away.
My first razor was a dovo shavette from a hair stylist shop, because I simply could'nt find a real straight anywhere (this was before we had internet). These days, any knife shop has at least a couple of razors.

What I see is that people are more and more going back to using tools that were made by a craftsman.
For us it is razors, but for others it is pipes, canes, clothes, ...

I don't think we are going to see gillette make straights, and perhaps we will never see commercials for straights, but the combination of being green / being cost efficient in the long run / being traditional might make it for companies like spyderco to get back in the game.

Queen Knife Company produces high quality pocket knives with under the Robeson name. It would be cool if if they could be convinced to re-introduced the Shuredge line with the distinctive hammered tang design!

I have just bought 2 of these from De koorwinkel razor & shave shop in Antwerp & they both have issues See my post about Hard thiers .I am at present negotiating with them about the substandard razors they supplied me .They want me to deal with Thiers directly but I am now thinking I want a full refund& that as The Thiers agents whom have my money that they should give me a refund & take the matter up with Thiers themselves.
these are the first razors Ive got that are Thiers with quality issues.I'll keep you posted Paul

Originally Posted by Sharp&Shiny

I have just bought 2 of these from De koorwinkel razor & shave shop in Antwerp & they both have issues See my post about Hard thiers .I am at present negotiating with them about the substandard razors they supplied me .They want me to deal with Thiers directly but I am now thinking I want a full refund& that as The Thiers agents whom have my money that they should give me a refund & take the matter up with Thiers themselves.
these are the first razors Ive got that are Thiers with quality issues.I'll keep you posted Paul

The reason I sent the Super Gnome directly to Thiers rather than back to Classic where I bought it is because classic told me I should. I didn't have a huge problem with that. TI told me that within the next few months when they're able to handle my return, they're going to send my return back to Classic and then TI will give me instruction on when and how to contact Classic to have Classic mail my replacement back to me.

Chris L

Originally Posted by Bruno

I think the reason that artisans are overworked has more to do with renewed interest, rather than people not wanting to be craftsmen anymore.

I think you may be right. I'm looking around at my peers and several of them have craftsman hobbies, are turning out professional-quality work, and one or two have expressed the wish that they could do that full-time rather than be network jockeys/ graphic artists/ purchasers/ whatever, but the money wasn't there. (Or, I suspect, the jump to setting up their own business and all the issues seems daunting.)

I wonder if we're going to see a renaissance of handcrafted items as people turn their hobbies into second careers over the next ten years or so. It would make sense -- people are willing to pay a premium for unique, top-quality items (eg, a week's pay for a custom razor), desk-job companies are less willing to hire people over 50, the Internet brings folks together and suddenly there's a professional workshop doing razors (or furniture or tools or whatever).

Of course, to really hit the quality potential of yesteryear, we need about three or four generations of this... or we need to take advantage of the folks who are now retiring.

Oh, look, I'm rambling. See what happens when you get me thinking about old times and a bad economy?

Originally Posted by Sharp&Shiny

I have just bought 2 of these from De koorwinkel razor & shave shop in Antwerp & they both have issues See my post about Hard thiers .I am at present negotiating with them about the substandard razors they supplied me .They want me to deal with Thiers directly but I am now thinking I want a full refund& that as The Thiers agents whom have my money that they should give me a refund & take the matter up with Thiers themselves.
these are the first razors Ive got that are Thiers with quality issues.I'll keep you posted Paul

You could not be more right. De koorwinkel should take responsibilty for the product they sold and collected money for. At a minimum they should offer to send you standard razors from stock. I don't understand why razor vendors don't do a quality control check before sending a razor out.

Originally Posted by CloseShave

You could not be more right. De koorwinkel should take responsibilty for the product they sold and collected money for. At a minimum they should offer to send you standard razors from stock. I don't understand why razor vendors don't do a quality control check before sending a razor out.

I know the koordenwinkel. When I was a complete noob to honing I followed a honing course there.
In the months after that I spent a lot of time unlearning bad habits.

And while I haven't spoken with the owner since then, I came to the conclusion that he and I have a serious difference of opinion about factory edges.
In their eyes, if dovo or TI says it is shaveready, it is shaveready, end of story. and dovo does not sell warped razors at all. If you cannot hone it because it is bent, you obviously did something to damage it.

Do a forum search for posts under my name which mention the koordenwinkel and you'll find some more novel ideas about honing.

Their problem (imo) is that they have been one-eye in the land of the blind for so long that they don't realize that some people now actually have 2 eyes, and know more than they do.

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

our children here want the easy life behind a desk.

Tony

Along with the salary that our culture has taught them goes with it.
My original trade was working with my hands and I can remember the salary potential going way up as soon as I transferred to a desk job. With few exceptions (these forums being one of them) people arent willing to pay an artisan attractive wages for what it costs to create these things. I hope it changes someday because I still believe skilled hands and the ability to work and produce something are what saves the day when the shtf.

Dave

Originally Posted by Bruno

I know the koordenwinkel. When I was a complete noob to honing I followed a honing course there.
In the months after that I spent a lot of time unlearning bad habits.

And while I haven't spoken with the owner since then, I came to the conclusion that he and I have a serious difference of opinion about factory edges.
In their eyes, if dovo or TI says it is shaveready, it is shaveready, end of story. and dovo does not sell warped razors at all. If you cannot hone it because it is bent, you obviously did something to damage it.

Do a forum search for posts under my name which mention the koordenwinkel and you'll find some more novel ideas about honing.

Their problem (imo) is that they have been one-eye in the land of the blind for so long that they don't realize that some people now actually have 2 eyes, and know more than they do.

That's really disappointing to read. They have an impressive website. I was hoping Paul's experience was an oversight. I just ordered a hostorical TI from Laguiole in France I am now holding my breath for what's delivered.