Paradigm 17-4 SS Razor

I have an idea about what may have happened. They were listed as a new item, not a restock. So apparently Shopify did not send restock notifications. For the record, I supply Bullgoose, I don't run the place.

That's speculation. Did anybody receive a restock notification, or just ordinary email?

Andy,
I had gone into the Bullgoose site and added my email to notify me when the Paradign Titanium came back into stock.  I also signed up for the Bullgoose Newsletter.  When the razor came back into stock it was listed as a Titanium II therefore the back in stock notification for the Paradigm Titanium never went out.  So no notification there.  I do understand why as this is a completely redesigned razor, sharing some similarities looks wise, but it's going to shave totally different.  But I was watching that page thinking that it would be available there.  A bad assumption on my part.

I was however sent an email with a notification about the new item.  It was titled "Something New From Paradigm Shaving".  In this email there was a link to the new Paradigm II item that you could click on and it would take you to the page where you could purchase it.  Not a bad way to do it at all but looking for the razor on the site, without the email, it would be either terribly difficult or impossible to find.

When I saw people posting that the Ti II was available, I went to the "New Products" page on the Bull Goose website and it was/is the first item listed....

Yeah, I looked for it under the Paradigm razors section and didn't find it there.

For those that missed the Paradigm Titanium II or want to purchase razors direct, the Hone Type 15t Full Titanium razor is still available. Per the website, only 22 were made. Looks like price now at £500 including shipping.

The original price of the Type 15T was about double that amount and there are still 10 left. I wish Hone would make a more aggressive/efficient razor. I really like the design/looks of the razor but I can't do anything with it, shave wise.

It looks like if there is another batch of the 17-4 Paradigm it might be called 303 or 316. This type of steel (17-4) is particularly hard on the machinists tooling equipment and will be very expensive to make and probably not worth it.

A lot of talk of 17-4 being scratch resistant but that’s inaccurate. Apparently someone bought a scratched one at a discount from the vendor.

I signed up for the SS email notification but didn't receive one. Perhaps this is limited to X number for sale to X number of next in line?

I have an idea about what may have happened. They were listed as a new item, not a restock. So apparently Shopify did not send restock notifications. For the record, I supply Bullgoose, I don't run the place.

That's speculation. Did anybody receive a restock notification, or just ordinary email?

Andy,
I had gone into the Bullgoose site and added my email to notify me when the Paradign Titanium came back into stock.  I also signed up for the Bullgoose Newsletter.  When the razor came back into stock it was listed as a Titanium II therefore the back in stock notification for the Paradigm Titanium never went out.  So no notification there.  I do understand why as this is a completely redesigned razor, sharing some similarities looks wise, but it's going to shave totally different.  But I was watching that page thinking that it would be available there.  A bad assumption on my part.

I was however sent an email with a notification about the new item.  It was titled "Something New From Paradigm Shaving".  In this email there was a link to the new Paradigm II item that you could click on and it would take you to the page where you could purchase it.  Not a bad way to do it at all but looking for the razor on the site, without the email, it would be either terribly difficult or impossible to find.

The roll out of this (small) release was not handled very well. I had to notify Bullgoose that the Ti II was not appearing on the Paradigm page. Usually there is some time to correct glitches, but in this case they sold out first.

It looks like if there is another batch of the 17-4 Paradigm it might be called 303 or 316. This type of steel (17-4) is particularly hard on the machinists tooling equipment and will be very expensive to make and probably not worth it.  

A lot of talk of 17-4 being scratch resistant but that’s inaccurate. Apparently someone bought a scratched one at a discount from the vendor.

Here is the story of the selection of 17-4 material. It was originally intended as a substrate for an advanced chromium nitride coating, which required a heat treatable and dimensionally stable steel. Three hundred series steels are not heat treatable. The coating would have made the razor virtually impervious to corrosion and scratching. Ultimately the coating turned out to be too expensive, but the razors had already been made. Otherwise, indeed, 303 or 316 would have been used.

Regarding the claim that 17-4 is not more scratch resistant than three hundred series stainless. It is more scratch resistant, much more so. 17-4, when heat treated to H900 condition, is about 43-45 Rockwell C. In fact, it is so much harder than 303 or 316, that an apples/apples comparison is not possible. 303 and 316 are measured using the Vickers scale; they do not register on Rockwell C. Both Vickers and Rockwell are indentation tests, but I won't get into the details here.

Regarding the claim that 17-4 is expensive because it is hard on tools. True, but an inadequate explanation for the high price of using the material. Mainly, it's an issue of feeds and speeds — machine time. We machined from the solution treated (also called "as annealed") condition. It's about as time consuming to machine as titanium; the cost of tools is incidental. 17-4 can be heat treated to a more easily machined condition, but then it cannot be used as a substrate for chromium nitride.

Hope that explanation clarifies the facts.

It looks like if there is another batch of the 17-4 Paradigm it might be called 303 or 316. This type of steel (17-4) is particularly hard on the machinists tooling equipment and will be very expensive to make and probably not worth it.  

A lot of talk of 17-4 being scratch resistant but that’s inaccurate. Apparently someone bought a scratched one at a discount from the vendor.

Incidentally. Bullgoose did resell a razor, but it was returned because of lack of polish on the underside of top cap.

I'll go even further, in the interest of full disclosure. We have had an issue with the thin wall section of top caps. They don't scratch so much as get little dings or chips, probably because the steel is so hard it is a bit brittle, like ceramic. I regard quality control as a very serious matter, and anybody that had an issue is getting the top cap replaced.

Andy,
Thank you for the explanation and I have to admit I learned something today about metals. I love my 17-4 and think it was worth every penny. I’m very excited to see what you have in store when it comes to SE razors!

Wonderful explanation and description behind the 17-4. You cleared a lot up about a unique razor. I had never heard of 17-4 steel before. Great stuff!

Andy, would you make another razor from the 17-4 SS?