Superior Shave TU???

[Acmemfg]

The Superior Shave...
Straight Razor Design...
Two fine B&M operations now no longer.
Truly a pity.
Let's hope this trend does not continue.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Superior Shave is not closed!

Jarrod has been saying for months that he planned to close his brick and mortar, walk in the door and shop, retail store. He's done so. No surprise.

He's also been saying for months that he would continue in business but just not as a retail, brick and mortar store.

His online business is ongoing...

Notice what he says about the retail store and soaps. LOL.

I will continue to do business with Jarrod. He's a good guy in my experience with him. He's also not the easiest person sometimes, but so what?

Good luck to Jarrod and you, as you seek happy shaves,

Jim

 

[RayClem]

The Superior Shave...
Straight Razor Design...
Two fine B&M operations now no longer.
Truly a pity.
Let's hope this trend does not continue.

Unfortunately, there are likely to be other casualties, just as there have been in many market segments.

You cannot rent movies at Blockbuster stores anymore.

Many bookstores are closed and Barnes and Noble is struggling to survive.

Toys 'r Us, HH Gregg, Payless Shoes, The Limited, Radio Shack, Sears/KMart and many other retailers have closed storefronts as shoppers have flocked to make purchases online without having to leave the comforts of home.

P&G recently took a $8 billion write-down of the goodwill on the books since P&G purchased Gillette for $57 billion. Although it is a tax-saving move for P&G, it is also an indication that they do not expect Gillette to be as profitable going forward as it was at the time of the purchase. Social changes are affecting the entire shaving industry as beards have become fashionable. If global giants like Gillette are impacted, small businesses are likely to be as well.

I visited Maggard Shaving in June for their meet-up. As I wandered the store the day before the event, Brad indicated that nearly all of his sales come from online sales. They get very little foot traffic, even though they have a wonderful facility that even my wife enjoyed. I loved exploring the inventory and smelling the soaps and interacting with the staff in person.

 

[Hyloworks]

The Superior Shave...
Straight Razor Design...
Two fine B&M operations now no longer.
Truly a pity.
Let's hope this trend does not continue.

Luckily I had the the chance to visit them both. Since I am from Cleveland and currently reside in Florida. SRD was in Medina, OH and TSS in Jacksonville, FL. I will purchase of ebay, but I will not buy anything From Amazon as long as I have other options.

 

[kcb5150]

He's not gone or anything, you can still buy online at tss. Lynn retired afaik. Idk how amazon has gotten so out of hand when their prices are almost never the best if you do some research. Laziness rules, I guess.. A brick and mortar shaving equipment shop probably needs parallel business running within its doors to stay viable.. Or own their property... The ones that sell stuff here either have barber shop functionality, or have pharmacies/are full blown drug stores as well. It had nothing to do with product selection imo.. If you went in the tss b&m shop you either knew what he had there and lived close enough, or maybe wanted to get into wetshaving and lived close enough.. If you're new, idk how you wouldn't find something to your liking in his stock... Plus, the new charging of out of state sales tax to internet buyers in the states had to hurt the smaller vendors of almost everything moreso vs the octopuses and if you are small and have a retail location to pay for, there has to be knock on effect...

 

[kcb5150]

Also, if you're new and buying a straight razor online, getting it from a smaller vendor that really makes sure the thing is shave ready out of the box is almost like a baked in $15 coupon..

 

[Ice-Man]

To be honest I bought a straight razor from Jarrod, and it did come 100% shave ready with his famous coticule edge.
Yes I will buy from him again but sadly I live to far away, I would love to go into his shop and buy in person to meet the guy......

 

[Acmemfg]

I visited the Jacksonville shop once a couple years back. Well organized and had a great inventory. It will be missed.

 

[Gman60]

Yes, I find it sad. I have bought a couple of bouts and other gear from him over the years. Always very honest, if you asked him, he gives a square answer. Integrity. Glad he is still selling on the net. I find his thinking helpful, He pretty much tells you what he thinks of his products, straight up. And if you ask him, ton of new info. Good wishes to him and his family!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Yes, I find it sad. I have bought a couple of bouts and other gear from him over the years. Always very honest, if you asked him, he gives a square answer. Integrity. Glad he is still selling on the net. I find his thinking helpful, He pretty much tells you what he thinks of his products, straight up. And if you ask him, ton of new info. Good wishes to him and his family!

Exactly so. The man has integrity.

He's given me information which convinced me not to buy an item he knew I would otherwise have purchased. I'm not saying he was trying to talk me out of buying it, but he had to know what he told me might very well have that effect.

However, the overall longer term effect is to his benefit because I will buy from him whenever he has what I want at a competitive price. I trust him. Plus, here I am telling you you can trust Jarrod.

Integrity is vital. It may or may not be important to the majority of customers but it is to me.



As far as I know only Jarrod sells the razor cases which I use to store my straights. I've also purchased several stones from him.



In addition I have one of the fine horsehide strops he sells (the one that's 3.4 inches wide); mine came from a member on the BST (and they were out of stock at Superior Shave when I got mine), but it's a fine strop in my opinion.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Venetian]

I have been a client of Jarrod for a while, and I still am. I have learned a lot from his videos and the description of the merchandise he sells. I have started shaving with straight razors two months ago and have purchased the blades from him for a good price. I could have spent a lot of time on the web to find the same items for a little less money (not often when I looked), but I am glad to support people like him, because he has been occasionally generous with me, and always there when I needed his advice. I have always treated him like a friend, not a "vendor", and felt I have been treated also like a friend.
Nuff said

 

[ackvil]

I visited his store a number of times years ago when I had some friends who lived in St. Augustine, FL. He was always courteous, helpful, and friendly. In fact, I bought a Merkur Progress from him that he shipped to have made into a Mergress.

On my last visit there we had a nice discussion about brushes. He had an extensive collection of Simpson brushes on hand and was a nice experience to see and feel the difference in grades.

 

[sanookd]

I visited his store a number of times years ago when I had some friends who lived in St. Augustine, FL. He was always courteous, helpful, and friendly. In fact, I bought a Merkur Progress from him that he shipped to have made into a Mergress.

On my last visit there we had a nice discussion about brushes. He had an extensive collection of Simpson brushes on hand and was a nice experience to see and feel the difference in grades.

I wholeheartedly believe in supporting vendors like that because what they provide is service related to the products they sell. Mega vendors just ship something out to you hoping it arrives in one piece and that you’ll be satisfied with it to the point of that being the end of sale.

 

[BigJ]

Glad that his online shop is still open for business!! Great vendor!!

 

[spectragene]

Jarrod's customer service sucks. Never ever buy anything from this crook. He sold a warped razor (Dovo Bergischer Löwe 3580 German Straight Razor) and then used foul language in his response to the customer. Can you imagine, he accused customer of stepping onto the razor (just nuts).....:

"You’re a ******* *******, you stepped on the goddamned razor and have the nerve to do this? The Germans LAUGHED at the notion it would’ve left there warped it is VERY EASY to bend a hollow ground razor if you hone it like a ******* moron melting off steel like a madman. I will have to address this during my vacation, too. **** YOU ******* AND QUOTE ME WITH SCREENSHOTS ANYWHERE YOU WANT. I ******* hate customers who steal. You have zero ability to judge honing or edges if you melt off 1/16″ of steel chasing God knows what."

 

[musicman980]

Jarrod's customer service sucks. Never ever buy anything from this crook. He sold a warped razor (Dovo Bergischer Löwe 3580 German Straight Razor) and then used foul language in his response to the customer. Can you imagine, he accused customer of stepping onto the razor (just nuts).....:

"You’re a ******* *******, you stepped on the goddamned razor and have the nerve to do this? The Germans LAUGHED at the notion it would’ve left there warped it is VERY EASY to bend a hollow ground razor if you hone it like a ******* moron melting off steel like a madman. I will have to address this during my vacation, too. **** YOU ******* AND QUOTE ME WITH SCREENSHOTS ANYWHERE YOU WANT. I ******* hate customers who steal. You have zero ability to judge honing or edges if you melt off 1/16″ of steel chasing God knows what."

You must be full of passion right now to create an account just to badmouth TSS. I get it, he can be as sharp as his edges sometimes, but it looks like the “stepped on the razor” comment was just hyperbole. He’s known for being very verbose, which makes for good reads on his site, but his response is certainly out of line. I definitely can’t condone his attitude or language, but you can definitely bend a hollow ground razor if you push too hard... I don’t know both sides of the story, so I’ll leave it at that.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

You must be full of passion right now to create an account just to badmouth TSS. I get it, he can be as sharp as his edges sometimes, but it looks like the “stepped on the razor” comment was just hyperbole. He’s known for being very verbose, which makes for good reads on his site, but his response is certainly out of line. I definitely can’t condone his attitude or language, but you can definitely bend a hollow ground razor if you push too hard... I don’t know both sides of the story, so I’ll leave it at that.

I've dealt with Jarrod enough to respect him and believe he's honest to a fault. Not that he's perfect. He can be abrasive, etc. However, dishonest? I strongly doubt it.

 

[Hyloworks]

Jarrod's customer service sucks. Never ever buy anything from this crook. He sold a warped razor (Dovo Bergischer Löwe 3580 German Straight Razor) and then used foul language in his response to the customer. Can you imagine, he accused customer of stepping onto the razor (just nuts).....:

"You’re a ******* *******, you stepped on the goddamned razor and have the nerve to do this? The Germans LAUGHED at the notion it would’ve left there warped it is VERY EASY to bend a hollow ground razor if you hone it like a ******* moron melting off steel like a madman. I will have to address this during my vacation, too. **** YOU ******* AND QUOTE ME WITH SCREENSHOTS ANYWHERE YOU WANT. I ******* hate customers who steal. You have zero ability to judge honing or edges if you melt off 1/16″ of steel chasing God knows what."

I am going to have to side with Jarrod from TSS on this one. At least until you provide more information. I certainly am not in support of speaking to others in this manner, however he is most likely correct and the customer is most likely at fault even if the customer is unintentionally at fault. I also agree that "stepped on" is hyperbole and not to be taken literally. Cheers.

 

[stone and strop]

How about showing us the entire conversation and maybe the razor?

One side of something is not the view anyone wants.

 

[Ice-Man]

How about showing us the entire conversation and maybe the razor?

One side of something is not the view anyone wants.

Yes, I agree to the above we cannot just see one side of the conversation we need to see it all. I have dealt with Jarrod and find him to be a great guy to talk to and put me right on a few things, yes I have bought a straight razor from him and it did come with a great edge on it, as he honed it for me that was my first coticule edge.

But why join make one post on here then not seen, you have not made any other post only this one. So I could be wrong but I think there is more to this than meets the eye.

But yes you can warp a blade while honing it just by adding pressure, yes I have done just that when I first started honing. That's just for the record that's how we learn.