Karve Diem

[muzichead]

to me it sounds like you are saying you should have the right for him to sell you the razor at a margin you find acceptable.

I don't really have the expertise to doubt your analysis, so I will go ahead and assume you are correct. And I still don't think it's reached the gouging level at all given what other people are asking for.

He is asking about the same price as a blackbird, timeless, ATT windsor, etc. so I dont see how it's unfair given the design is already tested.

Not only that he's already said he's aiming to lower the price in the future.

It really makes it sound like people are crying wolf on **** like the 299 Carbon when you complain about what at least prima facie looks like a pretty reasonable price IMO.

I'm not saying he should sell the razor at an acceptable price for me at all... In fact I could care less as I don't have any interest to purchase one of his razors at all otherwise I'd have purchased the Brass version a long time ago!! I am saying however his price difference here is very suspect because material, tooling, and machining costs are nowhere near the $100+ price difference he is asking for is all and being someone from an industrial background, I would consider that price gouging!! From the looks of the above poll it would seem I'm not the only one that thinks the price is too high as well!!

What really makes no sense to me is him even putting it out there that he's aiming to lower the price in the future!! Why would anyone pay the inflated price now fully knowing that he himself is suggesting the price might be inflated? If anyone thinks this is going to happen, they will be waiting quite a while. The only reason a mfg'r lowers a price on a product in the future is if sales are stagnant or the product is being discontinued...

Lets also not get caught up in the fascination that his razors are in the same ballpark as Blackland, Timeless, or Above The Tie so that won't fly as an excuse to raise the asking price!! The quality is certainly not even close!!

As for Carbon Razor asking $299 for basically a copy of a Tech with suspect finish was price gouging as well, but that has already been hashed over and the owner basically admitted his pricing was out of line and lowered it but IMO, still asking too much for what is being offered!! Even at the $200 sale price for Fathers Day, this razor is overpriced... Pricing is just getting ridiculous with razors today as total unknowns to the industry think they can come in and charge the same price as known craftsmen of the industry have worked too hard for too long for!!

 

[bdehne]

The asking price is what it is no matter the maker. As consumers we have to decide what we are willing to pay. It is supply and demand. I have 2 Game Changers and am very happy with them. They are at a price point that I am comfortable with. Others have a higher limit on disposable income. I am sure the SS Karve will be built very well and will last a lifetime. We are spoiled for choice these days and that is good for us as consumers but makes it hard for the manufacturers to compete. Think about the early SS razor companies that are no longer in business.

 

[glm38]

Muzichead how would you know the stainless Karve isn't in the same category from a quality standpoint as timeless blackland, and above the tie? Personally I owned a timeless and still own a feather as d2. I find very negligible quality difference between those 2 razors and my 60 buck mamba. Certainly no difference in shave quality or quality of the actual stainless. Probably a slight difference in finish quality but to me that's subtle and that difference doesn't translate to lesser shave quality or durability. My Mamba with the barber pole handle is simply beautiful.

Even though I think the price point of the Karve stainless is a bit high i expect the overall quality to be very high just as it is for their brass version.

 

[RayClem]

When you look at the prices of luxury razors you find such things as: Feather AS-D2 $185. Hyperion $155, Rex Ambassador $250, Blackbird $185 -$215, Raw Shaving $375, Blackland $240-250, Timeless SS $210.

When compared to these other luxury brands, a Karve CNC Machined SS razor at $175 is reasonably priced.

There are less expensive SS razors available for those who cannot afford the luxury prices.

I do like my Karve D plate brass, but am not a fan of aged brass, so I may end up with one of the SS versions.

 

[gsurko]

After using my Karve exclusively for the last several months and enjoying it, I went back and tried my ATT Calypso M2. I love the lightness of this razor and it’s race car like handling, I might just dump the Karve. Not that the Karve doesn’t shave well but I can’t let go of the burr under my saddle about the poor sales practices of this company. I was considering waiting for the aluminum models to come out but the ATT works so well and I already have it, so why put myself through the indignity of begging to get the product I already paid for.

 

[ronald90]

I'm another one who was waiting for the SS Karve, expecting it to be cheaper than the brass versions (due to lower machining costs of SS), but I'll have to think twice now, especially as Razorock are releasing an OC game changer. As an owner of a game changer 0.84, I am more inclined to wait on the Razorock offering.

Although Rockwell was the 1st modern razor company to release a DE razor "system" with different baseplates, I'm glad to see other companies following suit and giving us the choice of even more customisation

 

[Bakker1964]

Isn't that ironic!! Almost 1/2 the people in the poll are in the NO camp... I'm guessing from the responses it would mostly be due to price... I have voiced my opinion as someone with 30+yrs experience in the industry that while SS is more difficult to machine than Brass and the tooling costs would be more, they aren't even close to being double+ what he charges for the Brass!! I could see maybe in the $99-129 range but at $175+ he gouging his customer base plain and simple!!

Except he's not charging "double" the price. It's $105.00 CAD for the Karve I own. At $175.00 that is CLEARLY not "double the price".

 

[muzichead]

Except he's not charging "double" the price. It's $105.00 CAD for the Karve I own. At $175.00 that is CLEARLY not "double the price".

Karve sells the Brass for $99CAD which translates to $74.10 US... He said on Facebook he was going to charge $170-185 US range so CLEARLY that is more than double...

Karve Shaving Co. Mike Lindner I’m working on figuring that out ASAP. Its sitting in the US$170 to $185 range, but I’m working on a couple of ideas that I‘ll implement after this first batch that should allow me to set the price a little lower from the start

 

[Earcutter]

Karve sells the Brass for $99CAD which translates to $74.10 US... He said on Facebook he was going to charge $170-185 US range so CLEARLY that is more than double...

Karve Shaving Co. Mike Lindner I’m working on figuring that out ASAP. Its sitting in the US$170 to $185 range, but I’m working on a couple of ideas that I‘ll implement after this first batch that should allow me to set the price a little lower from the start

Thats clearly ~ 2.5 times the price! Jeez!

 

[Bakker1964]

Karve sells the Brass for $99CAD which translates to $74.10 US... He said on Facebook he was going to charge $170-185 US range so CLEARLY that is more than double...

Karve Shaving Co. Mike Lindner I’m working on figuring that out ASAP. Its sitting in the US$170 to $185 range, but I’m working on a couple of ideas that I‘ll implement after this first batch that should allow me to set the price a little lower from the start

Thank you for the clarification. I had seen the figures online, but had not seen a "USD" notation, and assumed the figure was CAD.

 

[mrdoug]

After using my Karve exclusively for the last several months and enjoying it, I went back and tried my ATT Calypso M2. I love the lightness of this razor and it’s race car like handling, I might just dump the Karve. Not that the Karve doesn’t shave well but I can’t let go of the burr under my saddle about the poor sales practices of this company. I was considering waiting for the aluminum models to come out but the ATT works so well and I already have it, so why put myself through the indignity of begging to get the product I already paid for.

After much thought, I personally wouldn't buy a SS because I have the Bronze. I have my Rockwell 6s now, as well as various other razors in polished SS (or chrome to look alike) as well as Gold-tone. The Karve CB is unique for my collection. Even if he made the SS at the same price, it seems a waste to me... I like the variety. Of course everyone is different. Still, I have to be on to something here ... I've never seen a post that someone bought a dozen of the exact same brush. Why? Variety. [emoji16]

It's my understanding that he made the SS based on the overwhelming requests. Thus, I am sure it will sell well. His craftsmanship certainly is awesome.

 

[Leverspro]

The other way to look at it, is that based on the small niche modern razor market of today the Karve brass was under priced. It's a great value. I just spent twice as much as the price of a full Karve brass razor on a base and cap from another artisan maker. Obviously I didn't have to buy it, but I wanted to and that's the price of entry into that brand. If it's more than you want to spend simply go elsewhere.

 

[BradWorld]

I am perfectly happy with the brass one. I have 6 different plates. The allure of the karve for me was the brass construction. I have enough stainless razors. Probably wont get the ss one.

 

[Bakker1964]

Have to be honest . . . I was under the impression that the price point was going to be ~$180CAD. Was perfectly willing to swallow the increase to have a SS version in hand. Realizing that it's actually ~$180 USD has me giving things a serious rethink.

 

[Bakker1964]

The other way to look at it, is that based on the small niche modern razor market of today the Karve brass was under priced. It's a great value. I just spent twice as much as the price of a full Karve brass razor on a base and cap from another artisan maker. Obviously I didn't have to buy it, but I wanted to and that's the price of entry into that brand. If it's more than you want to spend simply go elsewhere.

Enjoy your Wolfman (guessing) . . . seriously thinking of saving my pennies for one of my own and passing on the SS version altogether. I mean, I have three working versions of the brass, plus spare plates besides.

 

[muzichead]

The other way to look at it, is that based on the small niche modern razor market of today the Karve brass was under priced.

If it had been underpriced he'd have gone out of business a year ago!! The brass was priced the way it should've been and now he wants his customer base to think its that much more expensive to mfg a stainless version!! As someone with 30+ yrs experience in the industry, stainless is not 2.5 times the price to machine as brass... I have no doubt he will sell stainless razors but it won't be at the same rate he was selling brass. For a few bucks more you can buy some great quality razors like Timeless, Blackland, and Charcoal Goods!! Why settle for a Karve stainless?

seriously thinking of saving my pennies for one of my own and passing on the SS version altogether.

Kind of eye opening when you finally realized the stainless was 2.5 times the price of the brass!! You're not the only person that will pass on the stainless version... There will be plenty others as well...

 

[Calm_Shaver]

If it had been underpriced he'd have gone out of business a year ago!! The brass was priced the way it should've been and now he wants his customer base to think its that much more expensive to mfg a stainless version!! As someone with 30+ yrs experience in the industry, stainless is not 2.5 times the price to machine as brass... I have no doubt he will sell stainless razors but it won't be at the same rate he was selling brass. For a few bucks more you can buy some great quality razors like Timeless, Blackland, and Charcoal Goods!! Why settle for a Karve stainless?

Kind of eye opening when you finally realized the stainless was 2.5 times the price of the brass!! You're not the only person that will pass on the stainless version... There will be plenty others as well...

Well said,... if these are the Karve Business practices, then like many I will forego the SS CB and get the Timeless Ss or Ti Razor. It’s really not about the price to me... it’s more about the Stainless Karve being 2.5x the price of the brass Karve.

 

[muzichead]

Well said,... if these are the Karve Business practices, then like many I will forego the SS CB and get the Timeless Ss or Ti Razor. It’s really not about the price to me... it’s more about the Stainless Karve being 2.5x the price of the brass Karve.

 

[snowman]

If you love your brass CB but want maintenance free have it plated. Its a stainless Weber bulldog handle, but the CB head has been plated. No change in performance that I could detect.

 

[trashcanmagic]

If it had been underpriced he'd have gone out of business a year ago!! The brass was priced the way it should've been and now he wants his customer base to think its that much more expensive to mfg a stainless version!! As someone with 30+ yrs experience in the industry, stainless is not 2.5 times the price to machine as brass... I have no doubt he will sell stainless razors but it won't be at the same rate he was selling brass. For a few bucks more you can buy some great quality razors like Timeless, Blackland, and Charcoal Goods!! Why settle for a Karve stainless?

Kind of eye opening when you finally realized the stainless was 2.5 times the price of the brass!! You're not the only person that will pass on the stainless version... There will be plenty others as well...

why are you so invested in this...