Karve Shaving Co. A new DE Brass razor to market.

Which Blackbird do you have?

I have all three: Black Oxide (SB & OC), Machined SB and Polished SB (101mm handle).

If I remember the Blackbird is now your top razor or is that still the Weber? Where does the Karve fit in?

The Blackbirds are my most effective and used razors, but my Webers are the most comfortable.  
I am undecided on the Karve razor as I have plates C, D, E and F, and, although all of the plates are quite smooth, plates E & F are the most effective, for me, but I don't find them as comfortable as my Blackbirds, which I prefer more, for some reason.
I can't explain it and see it only as a subjective thing.
I have to say that the Karve razor is the better value if you are contemplating a razor and with the option of the different plates, it has much more variety when considering your shaves.

My impression so far is exactly same (C & E plate only). It is easier to get a close shave with E than C, but E plate isn't as smooth as BlackBird for me.

A quick update for those (myself included) that placed orders with Karve CB within the past couple of weeks until now.
This is an email that I received from Chris Kirchen and it seems like it's a general email to all with pending orders for their razors.....

Hello,

I have a bit of bad news for those of you with pending orders. I leave for holidays on Friday (June 29 to July 15 inclusive), and while I’ve been working my hardest to get the pending orders out before I go, I haven’t been able to catch up.

A good portion of the parts are already made, but they still need to be bead blasted, inspected, and assembled into razors. I'm am still working on fulfilling orders today and tomorrow, but I’m not sure which order number I’ll get to before I leave. I fulfill orders sequentially, so if your order is an older order, it may still get it out before I leave.

I do have an employee working with me, so the entire time that I’m away, he’s going to keep my machines running and making parts. When I get back, I will perform the final inspections and start fulfilling orders again. Also, he’ll keep making parts beyond the current orders so that I have some inventory so I can stop playing catch up.

You have been extremely understanding and I really, really appreciate it (seriously, I really appreciate it). If you’re still OK to wait, that is wonderful and I thank you.

If you’re not willing to wait, I completely understand. Please send me an email and I will process a refund. Although, I will focus solely on fulfilling as many orders as possible before I leave, so any refunds will be processed after I get settled into my holidays.

If you need to contact me, please start a new email and please reference your order number(s).

Cheers,
Chris Kirchen @karveshavingco

A quick update for those (myself included) that placed orders with Karve CB within the past couple of weeks until now.
This is an email that I received from Chris Kirchen and it seems like it's a general email to all with pending orders for their razors.....

Hello,

I have a bit of bad news for those of you with pending orders.  I leave for holidays on Friday (June 29 to July 15 inclusive), and while I’ve been working my hardest to get the pending orders out before I go, I haven’t been able to catch up.

A good portion of the parts are already made, but they still need to be bead blasted, inspected, and assembled into razors.   I'm am still working on fulfilling orders today and tomorrow, but I’m not sure which order number I’ll get to before I leave.  I fulfill orders sequentially, so if your order is an older order, it may still get it out before I leave.

I do have an employee working with me, so the entire time that I’m away, he’s going to keep my machines running and making parts.  When I get back, I will perform the final inspections and start fulfilling orders again.  Also, he’ll keep making parts beyond the current orders so that I have some inventory so I can stop playing catch up.

You have been extremely understanding and I really, really appreciate it (seriously, I really appreciate it).  If you’re still OK to wait, that is wonderful and I thank you.

If you’re not willing to wait, I completely understand.  Please send me an email and I will process a refund.  Although, I will focus solely on fulfilling as many orders as possible before I leave, so any refunds will be processed after I get settled into my holidays.

If you need to contact me, please start a new email and please reference your order number(s).

Cheers,
Chris Kirchen @karveshavingco

My order was June 2 with a "two week" lead ok ... then the first delay .... now this, pushing my order back until late July or maybe even Aug.  I am requesting a full refund as I don't like giving someone money for a product two or three months down the road.... very disappointed, I a may revisit Karve once he gets his act together.

A quick update for those (myself included) that placed orders with Karve CB within the past couple of weeks until now.
This is an email that I received from Chris Kirchen and it seems like it's a general email to all with pending orders for their razors.....

Hello,

I have a bit of bad news for those of you with pending orders.  I leave for holidays on Friday (June 29 to July 15 inclusive), and while I’ve been working my hardest to get the pending orders out before I go, I haven’t been able to catch up.

A good portion of the parts are already made, but they still need to be bead blasted, inspected, and assembled into razors.   I'm am still working on fulfilling orders today and tomorrow, but I’m not sure which order number I’ll get to before I leave.  I fulfill orders sequentially, so if your order is an older order, it may still get it out before I leave.

I do have an employee working with me, so the entire time that I’m away, he’s going to keep my machines running and making parts.  When I get back, I will perform the final inspections and start fulfilling orders again.  Also, he’ll keep making parts beyond the current orders so that I have some inventory so I can stop playing catch up.

You have been extremely understanding and I really, really appreciate it (seriously, I really appreciate it).  If you’re still OK to wait, that is wonderful and I thank you.

If you’re not willing to wait, I completely understand.  Please send me an email and I will process a refund.  Although, I will focus solely on fulfilling as many orders as possible before I leave, so any refunds will be processed after I get settled into my holidays.

If you need to contact me, please start a new email and please reference your order number(s).

Cheers,
Chris Kirchen @karveshavingco

My order was June 2 with a "two week" lead ok ... then the first delay .... now this, pushing my order back until late July or maybe even Aug.  I am requesting a full refund as I don't like giving someone money for a product two or three months down the road.... very disappointed, I a may revisit Karve once he gets his act together.

You are exactly right and quite frankly I feel the same way... Disappointed to say the least! I purchased my Karve razor on May 31... At that time, the website said my order would take 2 weeks, but could be faster if plates E and F were not ordered (as they were still being made at that time)... So I purchased C and D plates with the intentions of not having my razor held up and based on the websites statement on time frame, I expected my razor in 2-3 weeks. Well, it's been nearly a month and still no shipping and based on today's "group email" he's going on "vacation" in 2 days (off from June 29th until July 15th) which pushes my razor back at the absolute earliest 7 weeks (when it was supposed to be 2 weeks). To me, this is unacceptable and poor customer service! I emailed him today making my dissatisfaction known, while also informing him that if my order comes up within the next two days (before his vacation) and I receive my shipping confirmation, great, I'll proceed with the shipping of my order, but if my order doesn't come up within the next 2 days before he goes on vacation, I'm certainly not waiting around until July 15th for his return and will proceed by cancelling my order. The other shitty thing is that if I cancel my order (in the event my razor is not ready within the next two days prior to his vacation), I can't even cancel my order/get my refund until he returns on the 15th of July which is unacceptable! So most likely I'll be cancelling my order as I highly doubt it will be ready within the next 2 days... I did mention however if he expects me to wait 7 weeks (and that would be assuming he ships it the 15th immediately upon returning from vacation, when in reality it'll probably be much longer) after being told 2 weeks, the only way I would do that would be if my order was discounted, as I believe that is the fair thing to do. Anyway, sorry for venting guys but this is my experience with Karve and it's not a company I'd recommend! At this point, I don't even care how the razor performs, but I was always a bit skeptical anyway. Hope he figures out a way to serve his customers better!

I agree this is getting a bit nutty. I emailed a question and the sad part is that I doubt I’ll even get a response.

I think we need to give Chris a break. He's realising that he is a one man show and he's adding a tooling man which he didn't have before. Hes added WCS as a retailer so all be can focus on is spending his time with his skills of craftsmanship then dealing with logistics and payments and order tracking.

It's a fine razor - believe you in me and the cost paid - pays for itself even if it's two months considering the price and quality of the product.

He's got overwhelmed as he didn't anticipate that his product would get so much acclaim and response. He's now making systems to cope with it. Let him create the eco system and enjoy the razor as it gets delivered !

My two cents !

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If I remember the Blackbird is now your top razor or is that still the Weber? Where does the Karve fit in?

The Blackbirds are my most effective and used razors, but my Webers are the most comfortable.  
I am undecided on the Karve razor as I have plates C, D, E and F, and, although all of the plates are quite smooth, plates E & F are the most effective, for me, but I don't find them as comfortable as my Blackbirds, which I prefer more, for some reason.
I can't explain it and see it only as a subjective thing.
I have to say that the Karve razor is the better value if you are contemplating a razor and with the option of the different plates, it has much more variety when considering your shaves.

My impression so far is exactly same (C & E plate only). It is easier to get a close shave with E than C, but E plate isn't as smooth as BlackBird for me.

I had the same experience. I had a Karve with D, E, and F Plates, and none of them were as smooth for me as my Blackbird. The Blackbird was also much more efficient for me. I sold the Karve and am planning on getting a Polished Blackbird in its place.

Can you post a photo of the C and D plates next to each other? Another poster received a C labeled plate he said was identical to his D.

C Plate yesterday and D Plate today. Now that I have a good number of shaves under my belt, I think this is my smoothest razor in the den. Just a joy to use.

I could but you would not see the difference...what you DEFINITELY notice is the increase in blade gap. That was at least what struck me right away.

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Let me add my 2 cents, I don't blame you for feeling the way you do and you are 100 percent right. I didn't order this razor, I have enough Gillette adjustables.
I'm sure Criss is doing the best he can, he probably never thought his business would take off like it did.
Put up with me just a little bit more, it's 1963 I am 21 years old, just ordered a 1963 Chevy super sport, 409 4 speed trans. They told me 2 months I would get the car.
2 months came and no car, maybe 3 weeks I was told it would be in.
I told my father I'm going to cancel my order, I was just as mad as you are. My father told me to think about it, (I was surprised my parents didn't want me to buy that kind of car) he said you want that car if you cancel your order you might regret it. I listened to him and the car came in 2 weeks. General motors has a few more employees than karve Shaving and they couldn't keep up.
Relax don't think about it and your razor will be in your mail box before you know it. I will be looking for your post when your razor comes in.

A quick update for those (myself included) that placed orders with Karve CB within the past couple of weeks until now.
This is an email that I received from Chris Kirchen and it seems like it's a general email to all with pending orders for their razors.....

Hello,

I have a bit of bad news for those of you with pending orders.  I leave for holidays on Friday (June 29 to July 15 inclusive), and while I’ve been working my hardest to get the pending orders out before I go, I haven’t been able to catch up.

A good portion of the parts are already made, but they still need to be bead blasted, inspected, and assembled into razors.   I'm am still working on fulfilling orders today and tomorrow, but I’m not sure which order number I’ll get to before I leave.  I fulfill orders sequentially, so if your order is an older order, it may still get it out before I leave.

I do have an employee working with me, so the entire time that I’m away, he’s going to keep my machines running and making parts.  When I get back, I will perform the final inspections and start fulfilling orders again.  Also, he’ll keep making parts beyond the current orders so that I have some inventory so I can stop playing catch up.

You have been extremely understanding and I really, really appreciate it (seriously, I really appreciate it).  If you’re still OK to wait, that is wonderful and I thank you.

If you’re not willing to wait, I completely understand.  Please send me an email and I will process a refund.  Although, I will focus solely on fulfilling as many orders as possible before I leave, so any refunds will be processed after I get settled into my holidays.

If you need to contact me, please start a new email and please reference your order number(s).

Cheers,
Chris Kirchen @karveshavingco

My order was June 2 with a "two week" lead ok ... then the first delay .... now this, pushing my order back until late July or maybe even Aug.  I am requesting a full refund as I don't like giving someone money for a product two or three months down the road.... very disappointed, I a may revisit Karve once he gets his act together.

You are exactly right and quite frankly I feel the same way... Disappointed to say the least! I purchased my Karve razor on May 31... At that time, the website said my order would take 2 weeks, but could be faster if plates E and F were not ordered (as they were still being made at that time)... So I purchased C and D plates with the intentions of not having my razor held up and based on the websites statement on time frame, I expected my razor in 2-3 weeks. Well, it's been nearly a month and still no shipping and based on today's "group email" he's going on "vacation" in 2 days (off from June 29th until July 15th) which pushes my razor back at the absolute earliest 7 weeks (when it was supposed to be 2 weeks). To me, this is unacceptable and poor customer service! I emailed him today making my dissatisfaction known, while also informing him that if my order comes up within the next two days (before his vacation) and I receive my shipping confirmation, great, I'll proceed with the shipping of my order, but if my order doesn't come up within the next 2 days before he goes on vacation, I'm certainly not waiting around until July 15th for his return and will proceed by cancelling my order. The other shitty thing is that if I cancel my order (in the event my razor is not ready within the next two days prior to his vacation), I can't even cancel my order/get my refund until he returns on the 15th of July which is unacceptable! So most likely I'll be cancelling my order as I highly doubt it will be ready within the next 2 days... I did mention however if he expects me to wait 7 weeks (and that would be assuming he ships it the 15th immediately upon returning from vacation, when in reality it'll probably be much longer) after being told 2 weeks, the only way I would do that would be if my order was discounted, as I believe that is the fair thing to do. Anyway, sorry for venting guys but this is my experience with Karve and it's not a company I'd recommend! At this point, I don't even care how the razor performs, but I was always a bit skeptical anyway. Hope he figures out a way to serve his customers better!

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