Rockwell Model T update....... For those interested.

Not sure why so many piss on this razor and the material its .are of. Gareth has proved to put out solid product, in spite of challenges.

I have a 6S and a 2C. My 2C plate had a sharp burr on it and Gareth shipped me a replacment immediately.

Don't give the guy crap about not offering stainless. Buy something else if that's your requirment.

Sent from my VK815 using Tapatalk

I used to praise Gareth too when I first bought the 6S and still do speak positive of the 6S. For all those that joined the Model T KS and asked for refund got the refund including me, there is no reason to bash on Gareth he is an honest men no doubt.

Here where the problem was with the razor, no one raved for SS version, the very first original version was all brass except for the handle rod in coated zinc, but since KS exceeded numbers and people asked for Gareth to change the rod from zinc to brass he was more than happy to change it.

First prototypes hit Gareth hands, they were all brass, nice looking and precise fitment. What Gareth didn't knew at that time that the manufacturer sent those prototypes to him without telling him that he did some minor machining on them in order all parts to click together with precision.

So naturally Gareth was happy with the prototypes and not knowing regarding the CNC touch ups and only thing left to do is wait for big production to start along with the coating and then assembly.

When all was said and done majority of the razors didn't had good fitment and they were off, naturally then was when his manufacturer spilled the beans regarding the CNC touch up..... AKA bad news for him and us.

Gareth had 3 options at that time in my guess:

1. Drop the bullet,cancel the KS and refund all partially so the company wont take a big loss;

2. Ask the manufacturer how much extra will the CNC touch up cost lets say ($10-$30) more per razor and naturally since we know how people are they wont have it paying extra for whatever reason it is for them and I'm not blaming the backers that will back out but expect around 50-70% of the backers to have issue with this;

3. The option Gareth took, provide the zinc/brass/SS version combo parts, keep the same price and only lose the 10% who didn't wanted the latest version and were waiting on answers for the SS version, naturally the SS version flopped and 50% who were interest in the SS version asked for refund and the rest stick with the latest version.

From business stand point he made a smart choice by losing only 5% of the backers and no one ended up being bitter because all that backed away got refunded.


I personally am not bashing Gareth because I got the refund, I wish though he should of stick to his guns and instead of offering us SS version as last minute thing, he should of offered us the all brass version with the CNC touch up and we would of paid the extra cost. Would of cost us probably 100-120 for the razor but at least *** We all knew the all brass version was doable because he had 15 piece prototypes in his and his friends hands***

Its beyond my understanding why would you go starting a brand new razor with different metal construction and different molding method when you already had 15 working razors in first place. He would of keep the 90% by selling them the latest version and us the 10% giving us the all brass version at higher price.

I'm not mad with Gareth, have no reason to do so. Hope the Model T will be great success for every body and who knows maybe down the road he will work out the kinks and actually be able to offer either all brass or all SS version of the Model T, one can never know

Without question, everyone agrees Gareth is a very honest business person and the Rockwell 6s and 6c are excellent performing razors. The Rockwell 6s is a true bargain for a US/Canadian made SS razor.

For the Model T, the business model included a very low selling price and off-shore manufacturing. Appears both have had a negative impact on the end product. $10 more in cost would be a "deal breaker" and off-shore manufacturing has caused production delays/design changes.

Last year, I was really excited for an adjustable TTO razor. One year later, I would admit to being disappointed in the changes and delays to the Model T. I am still debating refund or B/S/T.

Just another quick update from Team Rockwell (Gareth) and their Model T razor. Directly from their website linked to the KS campaign. This is the October news update......


posted by Rockwell Razors
Oct 8, 2017 • 9:22AM
7 days ago
September Update - Assembly Continues


Dear Backers,

Thank you for your patience for this (slightly late) September Update. We’ve been focused on assembling as many Model T’s as possible while maintaining a detailed and open dialogue with our engineering teams, both in Toronto and at the manufacturing / assembly facilities. At this point in the process, we’re confident that we’re doing everything we can to assemble perfect Model T razors as quickly as possible. Despite not yet being ramped up to the speed we’re aiming for, we’ve seen some very encouraging progress. This update won’t be particularly visual (we’ll have plenty of great videos / pictures to share at the end of the month), but we wanted to keep backers appraised on our progress!

We’re now expecting to have the first round of razors shipped out by the end of October. To help increase production, we’re currently even in the process of manufacturing our own additional jigs to pair with additional assembly machines that we’ve purchased!

Finally, while I (Gareth) was unfortunately not able to attend the MenEssentials Meetup in Toronto back in September, Grigori (Rockwell’s customer service / web guru) and a Model T both attended the event. All the feedback on the fit, function, and appearance of the razor at the meetup was exclusively extremely positive and encouraging. Any Toronto-based backers who attended the event: please feel free to share your thoughts on the Model T in the comments of this update!

Thank you again for continuing have our back, and please reach out to us at info@rockwellrazors.com if you have any questions about production before the next update in late October!

Gareth
Co-Founder, Rockwell Razors

I want to add another gold star for Rockwell's customer support even when there are manufacturing glitches.  I bought a 2C and when it arrived the base plate was flopping loosely and the handle frozen on the cap shaft. I contacted the seller and explained that I feared either the handle was cross threaded or the threads were not fully cut on the cap or in the handle. I was told that there was no problem and a new razor would be shipped immediately.  I asked about returning the defective one but the seller said that would not be needed.  

Since a new one was headed my way I decided to try brute force on the defective one and got the handle off.  Sure enough once it was all apart I could see that the cap stud was not threaded past the first eighth inch or so.  I pulled out my tap and die set and cut new threads and also tapped the handle to make sure all was okay there and everything went together as intended.  All was right in the world.  I contacted the seller to let them know all was fixed but they again said "Just keep the replacement".  I still felt bad about that so the replacement will now be in a Saint Sue Auction package.

Rockwell though provided fantastic customer service and two days later the new one showed up.  Good folk regardless of what products or where the products are made, and after all it is Rockwell not the manufacturer and not the product itself that I support.

An update released from Rockwell Razors concerning their Model T adjustable. Looks like another delay in delivering to their backers and the masses......


posted by Rockwell Razors
Nov 6, 2017 • 8:59PM
10 hours ago
October Update - Assembly & Pictures of Production Finishes
Dear Backers,

It’s been an extremely busy month since our last update, full of developments that we’re pleased to share.

Domestic Assembly


As you know from prior updates, we have had full parts for some time but getting the parts assembled and validating that the design is robust and passes our QC tests in mass production has been our final bottleneck. I want to start with delving into the most significant product decision that’s been drawn since our last update: The Rockwell Model T razors that backers will receive are being assembled in Canada. More precisely, they’re being assembled in Canada, at our facilities, overseen by our Canadian engineering firm as well as the Rockwell Razors team.




The rationale for this decision is simple - the final bottleneck on getting all these products out the door and into our backers’ hands are the assembly and quality control steps. As you’ll recall, we’d made the original decision to have the Model T razors assembled at a professional assembly factory, but over the iterative process of dozens of test assemblies, with samples being shipped back and forth across the ocean for cross-examination throughout careful mass production, we realized that the final assembly steps are so critical to the quality of the razor that we need to have full control of this process in-house.




By consulting with the assembly factory, our own engineers, and assembly specialists, we’ve now put the assembly directly in the hands of a team that produced the Model T design and DFM files themselves, with ultimate quality control being executed by the Rockwell team. This is the strategy we employed to produce, assemble, and quality check the extremely popular Rockwell 6S, and we’re confident that it is the best choice for the Model T as well. This will ensure that Model T razors are assembled the way they were meant to be, consistently, and with stringent quality control checks.



All of the above pictures show a production White Chrome Model T razor being assembled, but we know many backers have been looking forward to seeing the production versions of other finishes - here they are!




This is a Brushed Chrome Model T in a Stainless Steel Stand, to show the slight difference between the appearance of the two similar-looking finishes / materials



The extremely-popular Gunmetal Model T!



Final Part Adjustments

In the process of testing the domestic assembly we also found two parts that individually were within tolerance but were still difficult to assemble while keeping overall tolerances (which directly affect blade gaps). This lead to a minor design change for these two internal parts that addresses the assembly issue and greatly improves overall tolerance when the razor is assembled. Given how important tolerance to specification is for a precision razor we have ordered changes to the molds for these two parts and will assemble all the razors with the two revised parts.

What Does This Mean For Backers?

While we’re behind schedule on when we hoped to ship out the first batch of Model T razors, we’re confident that this new assembly process and final part adjustments will get as many high-quality razors as possible in the hands of backers as soon as possible. We’re now hoping to receive the two adjusted parts and assemble a QC passed first batch by the end of the month, with the remaining razors soon to follow. Once assembly here is fully up-to-speed, we’ll be able to provide a better timeline for you all - we expect that timeline will be coming in the next update!

Again, we understand that these delays can be frustrating but thank you for your support and patience. This is not our first razor and the lessons we learned with the Rockwell 6S, 6C and 2C is that we need to do the hard work to get it right upfront and cannot compromise to send out an inferior product. You, our backers deserve excellence, and that’s our commitment to you.

Thank you for all your ongoing support while we do everything to make the Rockwell Model T the best razor in the world. We can’t wait for you all to receive your pledge rewards and be the first people in the world to try it! We’re confident you’ll be very proud of having been a part of the creation process of the Model T. Thank you again!

Gareth
Co-Founder, Rockwell Razors

Wow. Thanks for the update. Perhaps they have gone from one extreme to the other, with the first Rockwell getting released too early and now the T, which they want to achieve perfection on before releasing. I'd be shocked if it came out this year. I was going to contribute to this a few months ago but thought better of it and I'm now glad I did.

Wow.   Thanks for the update.  Perhaps they have gone from one extreme to the other, with the first Rockwell getting released too early and now the T, which they want to achieve perfection on before releasing.  I'd be shocked if it came out this year. I was going to contribute to this a few months ago but thought better of it and I'm now glad I did.

I sincerely do hope that they come through to be honest. I desire no failure for any manufacturer that is trying to produce a product for the wetshaving community and a hobby I truly enjoy and engage in with others who share our passion. But it is a little disconcerting to read at every update that a procedure has to be changed. Or even more troubling that a component has to be made of a different material of inferior or superior properties, whether it be for good or worse. Some won't be phased by this, what's another month or 2 after waiting for more than a year? Some will be perturbed. I pulled out of it a few months ago with the announcement that the SS version was a no go, but if the razor is a success and production tolerances are kept in check, I might acquire one in the future.....

Looks like another delay for the Model T.

"While this means that we unfortunately won’t be able to begin shipping as planned at the end of January, we’re confident in beginning shipping at the end of February and still aim to be finished fulfillment by the end of May."

Looks like another delay for the Model T.

"While this means that we unfortunately won’t be able to begin shipping as planned at the end of January, we’re confident in beginning shipping at the end of February and still aim to be finished fulfillment by the end of May."

that's 4 months from now for them to fulfill all the orders, that will be 2 years since the project started? You can also read that the price hike of the razor after the KS will be quite high, probably in the 120 - 150 range, I have a feeling that as time goes by and he realizes that the Model T don't sell he will be left with the popularity of the 6S and 6C

Yeah, I got tired of waiting and cancelled the order. However, once they start shipping that razor I’ll probab buy one. ?