I ordered a Bison on 3/29/24 and I just looked at the tracking, it's due to arrive today! I don't mind waiting (same as Yates) but Karve said ship date was 4/5/24 that's the only thing. If it said 3-4 weeks lead time, like Yates specifies, I wouldn't mind as much. I got nervous too when it said ships in a week and then didn't hear anything for several weeks but it seems to be working out now.
Karve not responding
- Thread starter Constantino
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Pride of Ownership is what ever small business person experiences if successful, or failure. Ion my case it was 70-90 hours as vendor and suppliers got paid on time, or cut you off. You were person responsible for everything that business did good, bad, or so so.
I use to hear other small business owner discuss all the fust, and many realized a Federal Job with Benefit, and Pension was a lot less exciting, and in some cases better in long run.
Chris make great product, they do not show up for sale or trade often, no one is perfect, and Chris admits he is no great at answer e-mails. Man is honest, he did not BS me, he just said it how it is.
Yates missed my Ti razor ship date by probably 8 weeks... so this is much less
I have a Yates Winning on order.
I have no problem being patient because it is a two person shop. That is part of what makes them special.
They do, as you noted, have approximate lead times on their website.
I cancelled my first BYOR order since it was over 8 weeks when that dumb feature became the standard way to order a razor at a higher price and longer wait. Now you have to pay an extra $10 just for the engraving of what the actual baseplate is???? Hard pass, hard fail. I'm done with Yates. Having said that I love this razors. I own like 5 of them.
Well maybe I can shed some light on cost of doing business, since COVID cost of everything from lumber, metal, shipping cost have gone up. So I do not see price coming down on Metal Razor, if the particular company is offering FREE SHIPPING. Shipping cost have gone up. Free means someone else pays your shipping cost, if the cost of delivering a Razor goes up to person building or reselling, they either have to eat the extra cost, or pass along to end user.
I get the idea of inflation since we're living in it right now. My point with Yates that turned me off and several others on here was that you have to now pay extra just to engrave the actual model of the baseplate you order??? He already increased the price of the baseplate $10-$15 when he moved from the Individual Components to the money grab BYOR "feature" then added another $10 fee just to engrave the actual model of the baseplate whether it's M, H or EH. I had to order my baseplates after he implemented this increase wisely, since my brass OC plate is H and my machined SS OC plate is EH. I now need to make that mental note as there is nothing saying what it is. I say it's BS. Just raise the price accordingly but don't act like you're doing an extra service when you've been doing it that way for years prior, and not charge extra for service you've always provided.
8 weeks Canadian is only 6 weeks American. 
Admitting you are poor at communication doesn't make it right or any easier for the person ordering. Especially if they don't know that before ordering or the general consumer online.
If a vendor doesn't reply in a week (max) I'd look to take my business elsewhere. Unless their website or auto reply states special circumstances (sick, vacation, etc).
Admitting you are poor at communication doesn't make it right or any easier for the person ordering. Especially if they don't know that before ordering or the general consumer online.
If a vendor doesn't reply in a week (max) I'd look to take my business elsewhere. Unless their website or auto reply states special circumstances (sick, vacation, etc).
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Karve is a great product, but saying they do not come up for sale or trade often is not a true statement. Karve are one of the most sold bought/sold/traded manufacturers on shave_bazaar for years.
Basically when you lose customer connection, you can lose trust and business. Some can get away with this for awhile but eventually it will bring them down. Loyal connected customers are key to long term success.
BFX
BFX
Well I look at this Forums WTFS Section all the time, Karve is not being offered all the time, not very often. Reading comments from most owners they seem to be happy with product. I am commenting onnwhat my eyes see, and am making an observation.
There are a lot of options out there other than Karve. If you’re not getting the right amount of customer service, then move on. If he can’t keep up with the demand and provide good customer service, then he shouldn’t be in business.
I won’t say he shouldn’t be in business - but I don’t think a lot of people will line up for his razors this way.
They are not inexpensive for their metal and finish composition. I’m not prepaying for a razor at a premium and waiting 2 months for a razor.
But that is me, everyone is free to spend their money the way they want to.
They are not inexpensive for their metal and finish composition. I’m not prepaying for a razor at a premium and waiting 2 months for a razor.
But that is me, everyone is free to spend their money the way they want to.
Would be the same pay n wait with Wolfman, but the price point of the Wolfman is higher..
I’ve owned more than 6 less than 12 Wolfman razors. There is no comparison.
Ask Chris to make you a dual comb multi gap razor and polish it in Titanium. Ask him to polish SS. In fact just try to contact him.
For me it’s simple - I wouldn’t. I also won’t concede they are the same. A Skoda is not a Porsche.
Never seen a Wolfman in person, so all I have seen is photos.
Have seen & touched 4 or 4 Karve’s at AZ Shave Meetup. They appeared nice, not polished, but non polished would not stop me from buying.
Have Vintages that shave me to my satisfaction. All old Gillettes.
Do I need another Razor? NO. Might I buy a modern Razor? Yes. Would I consider an Overlander, or Bison? YES
There are some valid arguments presented in this thread and for what it's worth, here's another.
Quality of product is everything and company reliability through the customer experience/journey is nearly as important if not more so. While the owner admitted to being weak in communication is perhaps laudable, it is also perhaps analgous to admitting "x" problem in a relationship and then not doing anything to fix/mitigate/ameliorate said issue.
I'm not indicting the owner of doing this, but knowing and admitting one has an issue with "x" and then does nothing to fix it, either doesn't completely value the issue at hand, may have some underlying resistance to the issue for some deeper reason(s), or possibly at worst doesn't truly care (I don't believe this last is at play in this case.)
Again and to be completely clear, I do not know the man and not accusing him of anything, just sharing based upon previous experience(s) a few possible scenarios: Nothing more.
As part of my former career in public education, my current job and my private coaching practice I deal with customers and clients regularly. Dealing with the public, knowing what to say and how is not for everyone. This is a skill set that must be intentionally developed and quite frankly for some personality types something that would preferrably be avoided at all costs, because it is an exhausting quagmire some would happily exchange for a swim with an alligator.
I'm not seeking new razors at this point in my wet shaving journey. I really love the Gillette new long and new short combs I acquired earlier this year and I rather enjoy my Techs. On the other hand I do have something of a bug regarding my acquistion/collecting at this point for knives made by Mr. William Collins:
www.wcknives.com
I've two (2) semi-custom knives from him and a couple of production knives that had fixed finish parameters. The most recent acquistion i have is not a custom knife but a fixed finish offering I waited 10 months for. As a side note, he recently showed off a new variant and unless he does this as a 1st run through a pre-order arrangement he has, I could wait again for 10-12 months depending upon his current work order load. I will happily be patient waiting for this knife.
Mr. Collins is a one man shop. He does everything except the waterjetting of the blanks. He also has an arrangement with Great Northern Knives to sell his knives (also amazing retailer to deal with). If you've questions regarding details please don't hesitate I'll share what i know. (I have an uncarried brand new semi-custom I obtained through GNK that I'm selling. It's a unique and gorgeous example of Mr. Collins' work.)
I share this as an example of something other than what you've experienced with Karve. Mr. Collins has a very active YouTube channel. He's been posting videos since the beginning of his professional knife making journey. Mr. Collins uses the platform to provide 2 week shop updates, providing customers with order number ranges regarding progress to completion. He announces new releases, coming sales, other project updates that he deems of interest to his audience. You get the idea.
In doing this Mr. Collins does something that many small business owners fail at: setting/managing expectation. Through this level of candid honesty Mr. Collins can effecitively mitigate/control disappointment and frustration while maintaining a high level of transparency which builds deeper trust and confidence. He is exceptionally responsive to emails. I've emailed him several times providing feedback, suggestions, questions regarding a model, my order or something he's asked about in one of his videos. Without fail he has responded within 90 minutes each time answering directly and always courteously. I don't do "social media" (not counting this forum and another priivate coaches community I belong to.) I believe he has an FB community and perhaps something else: nothing I'd partake of.
I offer this last thought and based upon my short time in this community, I'm preaching to the proverbial choir. I believe we do well when we keep small business owners in business. It's worth paying a bit more, especially when craftsmanship and quality are provided, as well some inherent level of reliability in receiving what you're paying/waiting for.
Communities likes this, supporting small quality craftsmen is a mutual boon and knowing the quirks of an individual producer, made known in such a forum, alert the potential customer/client regarding what to expect so the one newly acquiring is appropriately educated and aware.
Maybe a tad more than $.02 worth.
Enjoy your respective weekends, I'm off for a meditative shave and a hot shower!
Quality of product is everything and company reliability through the customer experience/journey is nearly as important if not more so. While the owner admitted to being weak in communication is perhaps laudable, it is also perhaps analgous to admitting "x" problem in a relationship and then not doing anything to fix/mitigate/ameliorate said issue.
I'm not indicting the owner of doing this, but knowing and admitting one has an issue with "x" and then does nothing to fix it, either doesn't completely value the issue at hand, may have some underlying resistance to the issue for some deeper reason(s), or possibly at worst doesn't truly care (I don't believe this last is at play in this case.)
Again and to be completely clear, I do not know the man and not accusing him of anything, just sharing based upon previous experience(s) a few possible scenarios: Nothing more.
As part of my former career in public education, my current job and my private coaching practice I deal with customers and clients regularly. Dealing with the public, knowing what to say and how is not for everyone. This is a skill set that must be intentionally developed and quite frankly for some personality types something that would preferrably be avoided at all costs, because it is an exhausting quagmire some would happily exchange for a swim with an alligator.
I'm not seeking new razors at this point in my wet shaving journey. I really love the Gillette new long and new short combs I acquired earlier this year and I rather enjoy my Techs. On the other hand I do have something of a bug regarding my acquistion/collecting at this point for knives made by Mr. William Collins:
WC Knives LLC
Knives designed and made to work in quality and function for the outdoorsman, survivalist, and woodsman.
www.wcknives.com
I've two (2) semi-custom knives from him and a couple of production knives that had fixed finish parameters. The most recent acquistion i have is not a custom knife but a fixed finish offering I waited 10 months for. As a side note, he recently showed off a new variant and unless he does this as a 1st run through a pre-order arrangement he has, I could wait again for 10-12 months depending upon his current work order load. I will happily be patient waiting for this knife.
Mr. Collins is a one man shop. He does everything except the waterjetting of the blanks. He also has an arrangement with Great Northern Knives to sell his knives (also amazing retailer to deal with). If you've questions regarding details please don't hesitate I'll share what i know. (I have an uncarried brand new semi-custom I obtained through GNK that I'm selling. It's a unique and gorgeous example of Mr. Collins' work.)
I share this as an example of something other than what you've experienced with Karve. Mr. Collins has a very active YouTube channel. He's been posting videos since the beginning of his professional knife making journey. Mr. Collins uses the platform to provide 2 week shop updates, providing customers with order number ranges regarding progress to completion. He announces new releases, coming sales, other project updates that he deems of interest to his audience. You get the idea.
In doing this Mr. Collins does something that many small business owners fail at: setting/managing expectation. Through this level of candid honesty Mr. Collins can effecitively mitigate/control disappointment and frustration while maintaining a high level of transparency which builds deeper trust and confidence. He is exceptionally responsive to emails. I've emailed him several times providing feedback, suggestions, questions regarding a model, my order or something he's asked about in one of his videos. Without fail he has responded within 90 minutes each time answering directly and always courteously. I don't do "social media" (not counting this forum and another priivate coaches community I belong to.) I believe he has an FB community and perhaps something else: nothing I'd partake of.
I offer this last thought and based upon my short time in this community, I'm preaching to the proverbial choir. I believe we do well when we keep small business owners in business. It's worth paying a bit more, especially when craftsmanship and quality are provided, as well some inherent level of reliability in receiving what you're paying/waiting for.
Communities likes this, supporting small quality craftsmen is a mutual boon and knowing the quirks of an individual producer, made known in such a forum, alert the potential customer/client regarding what to expect so the one newly acquiring is appropriately educated and aware.
Maybe a tad more than $.02 worth.
Enjoy your respective weekends, I'm off for a meditative shave and a hot shower!
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We have a lot of apologists here that are willing to forgive poor service, often citing innovation and creativity, and intimating that somehow owning one of their razors is a privilege.
I say: bunk, especially when any $10 vintage Gillette razor will easily give the same shave.
IMO, if you commit to operating a business, part of the commitment is customer satisfaction, period. If you can't keep up with demand, and don't have time to respond to the people providing your livelihood, get more help.
It used to be that a business couldn't survive by treating customers poorly but nowadays expectations have been lowered, certainly among enthusiasts, and the market seems to bear it.
Personally, I had no problem with Karve, and patiently waited for my Overlander, though I can't remember how long it took to arrive...still there is no excuse for not responding to a customer inquiry.
Im pretty confident Karve is managing their business that suits them, and those that don’t like it are free to move on, ask for a charge back or go find whatever YouTube vendors do waitlists and video updates better to their liking.
They’re likely not a great fit for the “buy a razor need a pen pal crowd”. I can’t imagine not having just a bit of patience to let the guy finish your product. What a fine world we live in if these are things we write pages to complain about!
They’re likely not a great fit for the “buy a razor need a pen pal crowd”. I can’t imagine not having just a bit of patience to let the guy finish your product. What a fine world we live in if these are things we write pages to complain about!
I've bought at least 10-20 different Karve razors or parts from the BST in the last couple of years. There's 2 for sale within the last week alone. Funny you say they are hard to find on here for sale and I see them literally all the time.
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