Rockwell Synthetic

Most brands (PAA and RR) offer cheap razors on their site also so I don't see it as a big deal IMO.

It seems foolish to offer the R1. It waters down their brand, and the margins can't be worthwhile for such a cheap product.

If it actually works for someone, it will cannibalize 2C and 6C sales. If it doesn't, the customer is probably walking away from the brand entirely.

That's because the market "saturation" point for these boutique style razors is probably met within a few months. Far more people are buying either old vintage razors or cheap Merkur style clones. The percentage of wet shavers who buy these expensive boutique razors is a fraction of a fraction. No one will get rich selling these. Same principle applies here as did in the long artisan soap thread recently. The shave forums recently all went apesh$% for the cheap Chinese Merkur adjustable clones as a perfect example.

Most brands (PAA and RR) offer cheap razors on their site also so I don't see it as a big deal IMO.

PAA isn't known for their high quality razors. They are known for soaps and splashes. Their brushes and razors are nice, and different, and shave well, but they are not really the bread and butter of the brand.

RazoRock is such a diverse brand already that the addition of a few cheap, introductory level razors shouldn't impact their brand image. They are known for providing a very nice level of quality throughout the lineup from introductory to "high end". Not Paladin or Wiborg quality, but very decent offerings at many different levels.

Rockwell only has their razors, really. I mean, look at the negativity surrounding this little brush. Adding a cheaply-made razor alongside an over-priced brush is not a good recipe for brand positivity in the market, as far as I can see...

The thing I see is that the 2C is $30 and is a proprietary design. Are they going to sustain their business selling something much cheaper that is a generic design offered by others? I doubt it.

As a wild guess, I would think Above the Tie makes most of their money on razors compared to their 2 ATT soaps. If I am looking for a new shave brush, ATT would rank right behind "Acme Surplus" of sites to look.

Rockwell has excellent products and an excellent image in the shaving community. To grow sales, I would invest my time in the 6oc, 6al(aluminum), 6tab (titanium anodized blue). The 6t could really be a big seller.