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New DE razor from Poland - Monocero Husaria

First Polish designed and made DE safety razor since 1989

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As bizarre as it might sound but it’s a fact. On our Polish shaving forum we have managed to manufacture a DE safety razor under a project named Monocero (nick of the author of the project) HUSARIA (Polish Hussars or Winged Hussars. The name recalls world famous Polish cavalry from the 17th century, known for their wings worn in battle on their backs which were meant to spread fear in the enemy lines by their look and by sound they made during a charge as shown in this painting:

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If you would like to read more about this military formation, you can do it in this link:

The idea first came up in December 2019 and sounded quite interesting. After all, there are a few niche companies making DE safety razors and a 3-piece razor is not a high-tech gadget, so a project like this didn’t look impossible. We decided to aim to the top from the beginning – the razor was to be made from 316l stainless steel. Reality verified earlier assumptions. First blueprints were hand drawn by Monocero in January 2020.

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They idea was to make a full set: razor head, matching handle and stand. We started off with the easiest part – handle and stand. These were inspired by the shape of a lance from the 17th century which was used by the cavalry as seen here in a reconstruction picture:

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Real problems started with the head. It was easy to draw but much more difficult to make. However a few guys on the forum helped with transforming the head drawings into AutoCad for CNC milling. This is when the project stopped for some time because of the costs which suddenly went sky high and we needed to check the market for alternative quotes or solutions. Finally the difficulties were overcome and we can proudly present the prototype for tests of the Monocero Husaria DE Safety Razor. After the tests and critical feedback from users their opinions will be applied to make the model ready for a production run. The original idea was to make 100 razors but rising costs will bring that number much lower and there is also a question of demand. 6 months after the initial idea, the first Polish DE safety razor designed and manufactured after the fall of communism has become a reality.

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To sum up, a couple of facts and figures:

Razor weight: 104g
Head weight: 42g
Handle weight: 62g

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Overall razor length: 102mm
Handle length: 92mm
Razor width: 43.2mm

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Razor material: 316L Stainless Steel CNC machined

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The blade gap is 1.21 and the razor is considered by us to be mild aggressive. On a 1-10 scale we would rate it “7” where:

“2” is Feather AS-D2

“3” is Muhle r89

“4” is Razorock 0.84P

“8” is Muhle r41

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Hi everyone,

It’s nice to see such a good reception. That certainly is a motivating encouragement towards doing something more then originally planned. Let me explain in more detail what we did, where we stand and what next.

This project is just a crazy idea a bunch of guys had on our Polish shaving forum, a same type of place anywhere in the world. It was more of another wishful thinking type of discussion when talking about names like Weber, Tradere, Wolfman etc. All of a sudden one guy (Monocero) shouted: „why not?” . Why what? - everyone asked. Why not make our own razor? We’ve had other ideas before like brushes, shaving bowls even straight razors all of which in some way materialized, but this sounded like a beer too many. :cool: So nobody even continued talking about it. Then out of nowhere Monocero starts a thread and presents a couple of drawings which were the shown blueprints of a custom DE razor. Before anyone could say anything, another guy on the forum carved a handle prototype. This was the point where we thought that this is something viable and keeping the design simple would keep a low cost.

This was also the time when things started looking different and a full forum cooperation was necessary to decide what next. We decided to name the project Husaria, the author got the privilige of using his nick for it. Then the inevitable question arised: how much this would cost? Basing assumption on the real cost of material plus the work on the handle we decided that we could do it below $100 for the set, having no commercial interest. That is still the case: the project is run and targeted to members of our Polish shaving forum, each member to cover only the cost of material and manufacture. For simplicity of calculation and further negotiations the numer of sets was agreed at 100. No more, no less. We wanted the best so we chose a 316L steel but ufortunately no member of the forum owns a 5-axis CNC lathe and this was when reality made us revise the numbers. The cost of subcontracting the head was way above of what we initially assumed.

The razor you see in the pictures is the only prototype marked as no. 001 financed from a private pocket and made about a week ago. From yesterday it’s in a test period with certain members of the forum after which we will see the feedback, apply some changes and start the 100 piece production run maybe around September. The overall design will remain. We want this initiative to be unique and limited to members of the Polish forum. We do not plan to sell the razor commercially. However as the cost factor is crucial we are flexible as to the final number of the run as this could significantly reduce the final cost per unit – the price we will ask everybody to agree upon. Any interest, will be taken into account. Have said that, to avoid any disappointment, the price whole set i.e. the head, handle and the stand will be priced according to the actual cost of materials and market pricing of CNC machining which is the most uncertain factor here. Everything will be locally made in Poland from 316L SS using state of the art CNC machinery ensuring finest detail possible. There is no involvement of third countries to lower costs (like China). We think this is not the case and the project has a special, patriotic and emotional feeling for us.

I will keep you informed as to the progress. Please be patient. ;)

In the meantime something to enjoy: video of the first ever shave with that razor. That crazy guy in the film is Monocero. :a14: The film is in Polish but with English subtitles.


Cheers

:a26:
 
Thank you all for a good word. It's really nice and encouraging to further work.
We will also write tests in English so that you can read.
 
An update of where we are with the Husaria project.

Thanks to everybody interested in this razor. Right now we have made two more protypes numbered 002 & 003 to speed up the testing proces. There roughly 6-7 testers to go for each meaning that this should end by mid July. Assuming some alterations will be made plus the final production, the razor should be available end September. Price level in US at this moment is presumed to be around $130 complete with stand. This is still an indication as we don’t know what the cost of the touching up will be and the total for 100 limited, numbered pieces. When the razor will be ready for sale we will announce this separately.

In the meantime some photos of the new prototypes to show the detail of the current stage of the project.

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