Wolfman Production Pushed Back.

Im fortunate to own some of James razors, the BBS-1 and SB razors and have to say that the quality is outstanding. They truly are works of art and worth the wait IMHO.

Got on the wait list December 2015, have yet to make a final order. Don't know when James will get back to me. But I just bought the entire Ikon Shavecraft and B1 DLC line (8 heads total and 3 handles & 1 stand) and will buy the entire ATT line in 3 weeks time (8 heads and 3 handles & 1 stand also) - so have good patience.
I told James not to rush my order.
I'm calm. Just looking forward to getting myself 4 TOPLINE WOLFMAN razors. Whenever James is ready.
Don't want to stress the man.

Like I said, don't like the wait, go elsewhere, no need to be bitter about a razor. To question James business practice is childish and shows the lack of business management knowledge some of my forums friends have.

Sure, Wolfman might not be the only game in town and he does use modern machining equipment but the amount of hand finishing he does is second to none.  

Mark has touched on what could happen in this situation. We're taught that "nature hates a vacuum". There is a vacuum developing in the ultra high end of DE razors. Actually, James is the only game in town when it comes to the
ne plus ultra in DE razors. The market, as demonstrated by his product, is larger than he can or is willing to fully service.

Capitalism can and will service that market when it is discovered by other craftsmen that the market is there. As good as James is, he is not unique! Equally talented machinists, if convinced of the profit potential will move in and begin fulfilling the pent up demand. Maybe Stan, at ATT, will put a man on that will solely do the fine finishing work necessary to command the price of the finished product. Or, an entirely new entity might spring up to compete in the field. As I've previously mentioned, James himself, might take on a finishing person and train him to do the job the way he wants.

Pampered consumers that we are, all we have to do is sit back and see what shakes out!

beamon , I completely agree - lets see what happens. I'm actually surprised that knock -offs haven't cropped up.

James is not unique to hand polishing finishes. Mongoose 'used' to do it, so did Weber, so does OneBlade, among others...

The rest of the work is automated, as with the rest of the razors...

I can't really comment on everything I've read here, but I'll address the concern about the main topic of pushing back the schedule.

There are several reasons I'm running later than expected.  

First, my estimates were based on my ability to produce, not the actual rate taking into account the realities of working alone.   So, I was wrong about the initial time estimates last May and June, and I have been wrong plenty of times since then.    My output is simply lower than I expected it would be.   Rather than rush the work, I am forced to delay.    I understand that may not be the typical business strategy.

Second, I have had many requests from existing customers.   For example, sometimes a customer from early on will want to add a handle or stand, or sometimes an entire razor.   Although I can certainly ask them to wait several months, I usually do not feel right about this so I work to get this request fairly quickly.   I'm not really sure what the best practice is, but I'm just trying to balance the situation.

There are several other things that have contributed to this, but I won't bother with too much detail.   Let's just say that I now have a new air compressor (my machines need compressed air, or they won't run) and I ended up with a rotary screw compressor.   It's been here for about a week now.   I now have multiple backup piston (reciprocating) compressors.   Maybe some folks will understand what I'm talking about.    At one point I was studying compressor pumps a little too much.   I eventually gave up and got a new, highly reliable compressor.

Since I've been wrong so often about the actual time estimates, I've decided to just stop guessing.   This is why I am now saying "2016" instead of a specific month.   My goal is to serve everyone who emailed before July 1 of last year, and then begin taking orders in a new, organized and efficient way.   I don't plan to make any other changes, but I'd like to get the ordering sorted out.  

I appreciate the interest, and it's been the best time I've ever had with production work.    Normally it's not very much fun making the same thing every day, but when it's your own product it's entirely different.   Customizing things makes it even more enjoyable work.    I was hoping to get into new designs by now, but obviously that will be later as well.  

For those who don't want to wait, I totally understand.   Machined safety razors are available from other companies and I would say they are all excellent alternatives.  

If there are any specific questions, technical or otherwise, I'll be happy to answer them here in this thread.  

James

I can't really comment on everything I've read here, but I'll address the concern about the main topic of pushing back the schedule.

There are several reasons I'm running later than expected.  

First, my estimates were based on my ability to produce, not the actual rate taking into account the realities of working alone.   So, I was wrong about the initial time estimates last May and June, and I have been wrong plenty of times since then.    My output is simply lower than I expected it would be.   Rather than rush the work, I am forced to delay.    I understand that may not be the typical business strategy.

Second, I have had many requests from existing customers.   For example, sometimes a customer from early on will want to add a handle or stand, or sometimes an entire razor.   Although I can certainly ask them to wait several months, I usually do not feel right about this so I work to get this request fairly quickly.   I'm not really sure what the best practice is, but I'm just trying to balance the situation.

There are several other things that have contributed to this, but I won't bother with too much detail.   Let's just say that I now have a new air compressor (my machines need compressed air, or they won't run) and I ended up with a rotary screw compressor.   It's been here for about a week now.   I now have multiple backup piston (reciprocating) compressors.   Maybe some folks will understand what I'm talking about.    At one point I was studying compressor pumps a little too much.   I eventually gave up and got a new, highly reliable compressor.

Since I've been wrong so often about the actual time estimates, I've decided to just stop guessing.   This is why I am now saying "2016" instead of a specific month.   My goal is to serve everyone who emailed before July 1 of last year, and then begin taking orders in a new, organized and efficient way.   I don't plan to make any other changes, but I'd like to get the ordering sorted out.  

I appreciate the interest, and it's been the best time I've ever had with production work.    Normally it's not very much fun making the same thing every day, but when it's your own product it's entirely different.   Customizing things makes it even more enjoyable work.    I was hoping to get into new designs by now, but obviously that will be later as well.  

For those who don't want to wait, I totally understand.   Machined safety razors are available from other companies and I would say they are all excellent alternatives.  

If there are any specific questions, technical or otherwise, I'll be happy to answer them here in this thread.  

James

James I have a question that I think might end the forum banter. Your razors are arguably the most sought after razors on the market. Why not not make this your full time job and hire more help? Clearly there is a high demand and you are not meeting that demand and this is alienating some people. Why not address this? Either make this your full time job or hire a craftsman with your skillset to do the work or both.

James I have a question that I think might end the forum banter. Your razors are arguably the most sought after razors on the market. Why not not make this your full time job and hire more help? Clearly there is a high demand and you are not meeting that demand and this is alienating some people. Why not address this? Either make this your full time job or hire a craftsman with your skillset to do the work or both.

This is now my full time job.   When I began making razors, I was still working a regular job.   I went from full-time to part-time, and then eventually I quit the other job and now I'm at my shop every day.  

My preference is to work alone, although I do understand the situation with demand.    The question of whether to continue working alone or to hire some help is on my mind most days.   I'm still sorting it out mentally, as I've got concerns about both scenarios.   I suppose I should hurry up and decide, but I'm not there yet.   I like the idea of a small shop where I can do technical things without having to explain it to anyone.    But of course I could have some employees doing all the work and I could just train and manage.   But these are very different scenarios and I like the current one so far.

With machining, they say you are signing your name on every piece you make.   I can still say this now, and I consider this to be a positive aspect of the current situation.    It's something I enjoy very much.

James, IMO I really do not mind the wait. I just missed the July 2015 order period and did not contact you till around December. You were very polite and explained that the wait list would not open till February 2016. I doubted that would be the actual date but an estimate on your part. Your product and workmanship has an excellent reputation so as such I will wait with happy anticipation that I will get on your list and finally receive a razor. To rush you or push you to change your work practices IMO is an insult to the artisan that you are and the end result that you create. But thank you for the updates.

James, IMO I really do not mind the wait.  I just missed the July 2015 order period and did not contact you till around December.  You were very polite and explained that the wait list would not open till February 2016.  I doubted that would be the actual date but an estimate on your part.  Your product and workmanship has an excellent reputation so as such I will wait with happy anticipation that I will get on your list and finally receive a razor.  To rush you or push you to change your work practices IMO is an insult to the artisan that you are and the end result that you create.   But thank you for the updates.

Thank you, I appreciate your patience.

I don't consider it an insult at all when changes are requested or if the situation is questioned.   I think that's just demand for something not readily available.   I'll keep making more, and shipping them out.    Also, I feel like I keep getting better and better at these, so it's not really a bad thing to wait if you look at it that way.