Manufacturing process

Machinist skill that few poses,what are you talking about dude?

Have you seen Stork handles who is copying his handles with better craftsmanship? ( lol I don't think copying them is nice thing to do, but he surpasses Wolfman quality and changes the design a bit in order not to be a dead on exact copy)

https://www.ebay.com/sch/stork_razors/m....7675.l2562

Do you know that Wolfman tolerances are not in the same ball park as the $130 Wunderbar slant?

No one is undervaluing his work, do any of you Wolfman fanboys understand if there was no CNC machine in existence Wolfman razors would not exist? neither would any of the other machined razors on the market, you all should be cheering for the tech that's available to produce the razor on its own...

Before razorock started pumping all his new razor designs in high numbers, tight tolerances and affordable prices he openly said now he and his machinist can finally get serious with production because " they bought brand new high end CNC machine" See even a designer and machinist know that the praise goes to the tech.

Please show me in my post where I said "machinist skill".  I said skill set. Big difference.

You missed the entire point, as expected.

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Maybe I miss read that and I'm guilty of that, but here is another one of yours: " I don't care what his process is nor his business model. He is producing a product, by himself, that no other human on the planet chooses to replicate. That is fact."

Ask Joe if he can replicate Janus toggle copy.

Why the need to go personal? That'll get the thread locked and it does nothing to advance your argument.

As to the quote of mine, prove it wrong. You can't. All you can do it devolve the conversation to a 3rd grade level.

Try again Blago. I'll not respond again to your drivel.

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Just some thoughts of my own... And I am far from an expert on machining razors (or machining anything for that matter)... But, if what James does was so easy, he wouldn't be the only one doing it. There's a reason why many razor makers refuse to offer high polished razors (especially regularly)... Its because it's time consuming, tedious, and hell on your hands! I've heard quite a few machinists and razor makers criticize James' work/production until they started doing it themselves and said, "I don't know how he does it". It's not as easy as it seems or else his razors wouldn't be in as high of demand, as everyone would be capable of producing high polished razors, which is not the case. Criticize the business model all you want (I certainly have) but you can't argue with the finished product and what he does to produce it (regardless if it's assisted by machines).

The razor production is not only assisted by the CNC but produced completely by the CNC, you are correct the polishing does take time no doubt and James probably goes back and forth in his shop from the CNC back to the buffing table, rinse and repeat.

What you mean you have heard machinist saying they don't know how he does it because they tried it and they cant achieve those results? or maybe you have heard this from razor manufacturer who is in contract with machinist shop that is producing their razors? If that's the case of course they will say they don't know how James does it, because machine shop charges $80 per hour for polishing... Its doable and any experienced machinist can do it, its just time consuming and at hourly rate of $80, well you know the rest....

I agree that "it's doable and any experienced machinist can do it" (polishing that is) but some have flat out said, I'm not taking the time and putting my hands through it.

Because discussion was that James is an artist which OP assumed manually mills his razors AKA razor milled from scratch by his hands and that is not the truth, the CNC mills his razor and he is polishing them.

Me bringing my work is  an example of manually done work from scratch to finish. If I had a robot doing all the work and I just come in to grout and clean up then I would of not present my work as an example of product done from scratch, I would how ever still point out that 90% of the work is done by the CNC because that is the truth.

I think you bring up a valid point here between handmade and machined but who claims wolfman is handmade? Surely not James. His site states:

“Wolfman Razors are designed and machined in a small shop by a journeyman machinist with 17 years machining experience. From raw material to finished razors, everything is done on site by one man in Alberta, Canada.”

He then goes on to say how everything is hand finished and the process that involves.



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Apparently the way the conversation went some folks assumed he is milling them manually, he cant make them in the same tolerances as the CNC and if by some miracle he did I can only imagine the cost....

James gets huge props for making his razors look awesome with his polish, no one is taking away that from him. If there is any props that should be applauded it should go to new designs like the Rockwell, Razorock,Parthenon,Jarus,Supply Provision, Rocnel, Rex etc, innovation....

Funny how you talk about innovation... it was James and John who brought us the high end stainless steel DE razors that we all love and paving the way for new companies like those you listed. I love what other companies are doing, the price point on the Razorocks, 17-4 that Paradigm did, the beautiful antique brass Charcoal Goods is known for... if the Wolfman demand wasn’t so nuts do we see these companies doing what their doing?

Please show me in my post where I said "machinist skill".  I said skill set. Big difference.

You missed the entire point, as expected.

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Maybe I miss read that and I'm guilty of that, but here is another one of yours: " I don't care what his process is nor his business model. He is producing a product, by himself, that no other human on the planet chooses to replicate. That is fact."

Ask Joe if he can replicate Janus toggle copy.

Why the need to go personal? That'll get the thread locked and it does nothing to advance your argument.

As to the quote of mine, prove it wrong. You can't. All you can do it devolve the conversation to a 3rd grade level.

Try again Blago. I'll not respond again to your drivel.

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I'm the 3 grader? and all I read is that he is the best on the planet, people dream to have his job and what not else pedestal talk and I'm the 3rd grader for saying CNC machine does 90% of the work.... that's the truth. I'll back out from replying so the thread can continue.

Oh and 1 more thing, if James from Wolfman reads this thread, raise your razors price to US $1000 you know people will pay, take advantage while you can.

To answer Fargo question Wolfmans brushed finish is first highly polished then he puts a brushed finish on the razor, this is why his brushed finish is still time consuming.

This guy James at Wolfman Razors seems to be a perfectionist with a high level of skill and craftsmanship capabilities. He also has a great mind with high level of knowledge and expertise when it come's to making razors.Like any craftsman James may use tools,machines,computers,etc. to make his products, but he and only he deserves 100% of the credit in my book. Since he makes the razors from start to finish he is also the dreamer, the engineer, the conductor, the expert craftsman, and the expert finisher! The end result is an EXTRAORDINARY piece of ART that happens to be a razor. If you take James out of the picture the machines and tools do nothing but sit in the shop and collect dust. Again all credit goes easily to James in my opinion.



Happy Shaving!
49erShaver

I am really enjoying reading these posts - with a smile on my face. Better than most daytime soaps and scandal sheets at the local supermarket checkout. Waiting for threat of legal action or Stormy Daniels comparisons.

I never had a Wolfman and I don't envisage ever owning one unless it's a trade. I'm sure the polishing and finishing that goes into them is second to none and time consuming thus the high price. I can see why people like these razors on account of the high shine. Do they shave better than a Timeless or a Paradigm though? If they do, then I can see why people spend half their lifetime waiting with their finger ready to pull the trigger when a few are available every time. As for me, I respect the choices people make and have no problem with them. Maybe a collection of DE's is not complete without a Wolfman.

It’s difficult to believe we’ve made it to page 4 of a Wolfman thread without having to close it yet… (I hope we can keep it that way.)

I know very little of these matters, but here are a few thoughts:
• Yes, a machine does much of the work for James. Otherwise, I don’t think it would be possible to “mass produce” those razors on any level, or keep the tolerances acceptable.
• To me, then, the design is a big part of the work. If you’ve seen how the BBS-1 came to be, that wasn’t just one or two different prototypes — there were probably at least half a dozen varying razors, before the design was perfected and finalized.
• From what I understand, James is currently interested in developing some new designs (in addition to still producing some current models).
• After the machine does its work (producing that design that was programmed into it), there’s still the finishing. Even if this were only 10% of the work (as has been assumed), it seems to me that it’s a very tedious 10%, and not many can do it at the level Wolfman does.

Blackland was also brought up, and from what I recall, getting the polished razors out has truly been an arduous task for Shane. Recently, he said that they’ve found a new polisher whose finish exceeds that of the previously polished razors. To me, that’s an indication that it’s a tough job. Many could probably do it, but the best results seem to take a lot of time, effort, or both.

Personally, I don’t need a razor to be shiny to like it, and I’ve gotten by just fine without a Wolfman so far. But I’ve handled several of James’ razors, and even the brushed Guerrilla looks unusually good. We’re all free to assign value to what matters to us. Sometimes I do wish, though, that we weren’t so eager to think that the value we assign to something is the only correct value.

Do they shave better than a Timeless or a Paradigm though?

I don't have a Paradigm 17-4. That model seems to be the Paradigm everyone raves about. They were a limited run, 125 worldwide from what I've read. At $230 new, I expect those to increase in value to the $1,000 range. I am not a fan of the handle though...at all.

As to Timeless, I do have a .95 OC scalloped head. They sell for $250. No...my Wolfman .80 OC does not shave as well. It's close, the difference in shave is negligible IMO. I did a side-by-side and could be totally satisfied with only Timeless from a shave quality standpoint. It is slightly more efficient and smoother. The Wolfman can be had for $330 and totally worth the additional $80 from a fit and finish standpoint, IMO. Also, it's a 1 man vs Team distinction.

I also have a polished Blackbird/ Matsilainen did a great sales job in PM's over the span of a couple weeks. His recommendation sold me on it. They run $215. Even though it shaves way above it's .58 gap, it's just not as efficient as either a Timeless or Wolfman. It does trump both in terms of blade feel. Again, there is the 1 man vs Team distinction. The finish on the Blackbird is very, very nice.

I could easily select any of those 3 and use them exclusively. In fact, I have limited my moderns DE's to these 3 with no real plans to add more, unless I can get a 17-4 for a decent price.

Were I forced to select just one, Timeless without a doubt. They are readily available and shave just as good as anything I've tried.

if I were to choose only one, it would be a BlackBird on a 101 mm handle.