Dark Holler Design Works preview
- Thread starter ChiefBroom
- Start date
For all gents waiting for the first Paladin batch I can report that my PK-47 is now fully broken in after about 20 shaves.
The knot is all loosened up and is delivering excellent control over the lather making process. This brush will seriously challenge my current favorite, the M&F Chief, for that position in my den.
Since I'm an old fogey this process will take time and contact with all my soaps and sticks...
I can assure you all that the wait will be worth it! Even in a very nice rotation the Paladin does stand out.
The knot is all loosened up and is delivering excellent control over the lather making process. This brush will seriously challenge my current favorite, the M&F Chief, for that position in my den.
Since I'm an old fogey this process will take time and contact with all my soaps and sticks...
I can assure you all that the wait will be worth it! Even in a very nice rotation the Paladin does stand out.
Good news for you guys across the Atlantic! You're going to be in heaven!
IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
Email sent hoping to get on board for a PK47. Looks outstanding in the ivory like that.
- Thread starter
- #525
Short update. Longer one to follow.
The remaining first-batch brushes, 74 in total, were finally delivered back to us over this past weekend. Another ten were sold to B&B members in England, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden, and a few Chiefs somehow went missing.
My son Cody sanded and polished all the first-batch handles shown in photos I posted here in October and November. What he achieved with those handles set a standard we intend to maintain for ourselves. Although the handles polished in England are generally quite good, they are not (in some fairly minor but to us not insignificant respects) on a par with the ones finished in our shop. That wasn't a judgment we could possibly make before we had the brushes back.
What we've decided to do is lower the price by $20 to $140. Of course, no one who requested to be on the first-batch list is under any obligation to buy a brush. And those in the EU who have already purchased brushes will receive a $20 refund via PayPal.
FWIW, the first-batch brushes will be unique. They were made with the first handles we turned in our shop and offered for sale. Lee had them all pad-printed in the same manner Rooney and Morris & Forndran handles are labeled. Starting with the second batch, which we currently have in process, we will finish and engrave our handles unless unforeseen circumstances dictate an exception.
Dark Holler’s first-batch was intended to serve as a trial run from production through communications, invoicing, and fulfillment. So far it has been a brilliant success in that regard. We've learned a great deal.
We’re highly appreciative of all who have posted supportively into this thread and are participating in Dark Holler’s first-batch offering of Paladin shaving brushes. Over the next few days I’ll work through the list and send individual emails to everyone on it. Those emails will include photos of representative first-batch brushes in both styles and each of the three materials we used. They will also lay out the available choices and purchasing process. That’s a lot of emails, so please continue to be patient a little longer. But if you haven’t received anything from me by the end of this week and believe you should have, please contact me at chiefbroom at darkholler dot com.
The remaining first-batch brushes, 74 in total, were finally delivered back to us over this past weekend. Another ten were sold to B&B members in England, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden, and a few Chiefs somehow went missing.
My son Cody sanded and polished all the first-batch handles shown in photos I posted here in October and November. What he achieved with those handles set a standard we intend to maintain for ourselves. Although the handles polished in England are generally quite good, they are not (in some fairly minor but to us not insignificant respects) on a par with the ones finished in our shop. That wasn't a judgment we could possibly make before we had the brushes back.
What we've decided to do is lower the price by $20 to $140. Of course, no one who requested to be on the first-batch list is under any obligation to buy a brush. And those in the EU who have already purchased brushes will receive a $20 refund via PayPal.
FWIW, the first-batch brushes will be unique. They were made with the first handles we turned in our shop and offered for sale. Lee had them all pad-printed in the same manner Rooney and Morris & Forndran handles are labeled. Starting with the second batch, which we currently have in process, we will finish and engrave our handles unless unforeseen circumstances dictate an exception.
Dark Holler’s first-batch was intended to serve as a trial run from production through communications, invoicing, and fulfillment. So far it has been a brilliant success in that regard. We've learned a great deal.
We’re highly appreciative of all who have posted supportively into this thread and are participating in Dark Holler’s first-batch offering of Paladin shaving brushes. Over the next few days I’ll work through the list and send individual emails to everyone on it. Those emails will include photos of representative first-batch brushes in both styles and each of the three materials we used. They will also lay out the available choices and purchasing process. That’s a lot of emails, so please continue to be patient a little longer. But if you haven’t received anything from me by the end of this week and believe you should have, please contact me at chiefbroom at darkholler dot com.
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Amazing Ken and Cody! The product and price can't be beat IMO. Congrats on your venture and thanks for putting this together!
Ken and Cody, I thank you for my first Paladin brush. My PK-47 is now fully broken in and very, very close to dethroning my M&F Chief as the favorite in my den.
Gentlemen of this board, I think we are witnessing the birth of a legend. The sum of the parts (handle and knot) make these brushes stand out in any den.
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sounds great, Ken. I'm thinking this will be a birthday present down the line. Can't wait to see what the next batch brings in terms of knots and materials. Looking forward to seeing a completed jade brush....or perhaps tortoise?
Looking forward the one I will own...
I look forward to mine as well. One thing I don't get is all the gushing from overseas, it's an M&F knot, of course it's going to be great. What makes any of us think it would not be? As far as the PK-47 handle goes, that's all Ken and Cody, and I tip my hat to them. They hit it out of the park with that design. I see them being very successful with their new venture. I look forward to seeing, owning one of their all Paladin brushes.
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Truly a superb project in the hands of people that aren't compromising on quality in any way. I look forward to using my own Paladin brush!
A tip of my hat to Ken and his son Cody on all the hard work they have put in so far.
A tip of my hat to Ken and his son Cody on all the hard work they have put in so far.
- Thread starter
- #533
I just sent out an email with blind copies to all who are currently on the First-batch list (along with a few others). I don't care much for mailings, and I've never blind-copied to a list before. But I'm going to have to make some compromises to manage communication efficiently. Most importantly, I want to make sure all who assume they're on the list in fact are on it. I've unwittingly fumbled a couple of names already. So this is an effort to make sure no one is avoidably disappointed.
If requested to be on the list but don't receive the email I sent this morning, please let me know (chiefbroom at darkholler dot com).
If you don't want to receive emails from us, just reply with "please remove".
Thanks.
If requested to be on the list but don't receive the email I sent this morning, please let me know (chiefbroom at darkholler dot com).
If you don't want to receive emails from us, just reply with "please remove".
Thanks.
I have no complaints about the mass email. Indeed, I welcome the communication. I just wish other vendors in my life (not just shaving vendors) treated me with the same consideration that I get from Dark Holler. The communications are transparent without being intrusive and the tone is honest and respectful.
... and the price just got lowered by $20!
Treating customers well may seem easy, but it isn't. IMO, Ken should teach classes in how it's done.
... and the price just got lowered by $20!
Treating customers well may seem easy, but it isn't. IMO, Ken should teach classes in how it's done.
... and the price just got lowered by $20!
That doesn't happen every day...the price goes down.
IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
Got the email just fine, ChiefBroom. I'm not picky about batches or anything, either. Sooner or later the brushes will build up some character from use anyway. 
Just wanted to check if my email reached you Ken? I am always worried it might end up in a spam folder as it comes from gmx.at
- Thread starter
- #538
Searched All Mail and checked my SPAM folder but didn't find one. If you sent it some time back, it might already have been jettisoned. I need to look in there more often. Did catch another one stuck there today.
Send me a PM with your email address, and I'll take it from there.
Thanks.
Feared as much - PM sent
Ken, I didn't get an E Mail. I just sent you another one. Thx.
