Yet another razor-related crowdfunding project on Kickstarter! This one is the Hone Razor, a razor made out of Bronze.
Hone
From their Kickstarter page:
“The Hone razor was designed to focus on the experience of ownership and use, not just in the short term, but for years of service. Made from Bronze it is designed to age with you, gaining patina through endeavor and personal connection. The Hone razor won’t distract you from the task in hand, and won’t contain extra features or gimmicks; instead focusing on quality and individuality as well as improving with time.
“The Hone safety razor has taken many prototypes and improvements to get here. The goal was to make a razor that has a great balance and shaving feel without being too aggressive. Each prototype slowly refining the feel of the shave and the overall form to create an experience that is great for those new to safety razors to grow into, whilst making something with depth for more experienced users.
“The Hone Razor is deliberately balanced around the neck of the handle, giving confidence and control over the razor, and allowing you to use the weight to your advantage.
The Hone shaving brush is designed to compliment the razor. The handle is turned from solid bronze giving it a distinctive weight. The bristles are high quality nylon. Although I considered a natural material such as badger hair, finding a humane and reliable source of quality bristles is a challenge, and I didn’t feel I could guarantee these aspects. The brush builds a rich lather quickly, and holds it well. It also looks great with the razor.
“Both the Hone safety razor and Brush are made from solid bronze. Copper alloys such as this and brass are time honored materials for a safety razor, and match the Hone values of uniqueness, traditionalism, and ‘wearing in’, whilst at the same time providing balance against the contemporary form. The surface of bronze changes over time, shining and mellowing in line with the habits of use. This creates a unique patina for every owner of a Hone razor. In addition bronze is a great thermal conductor, so warming the razor before shaving and handling the Hone razor and brush provide a great experience of touching ‘real’ materials. The bronze chosen for the Hone products is more corrosion resistant than a standard brass, providing longevity and also make it lead free.
“CNC machining is used to make every aspect of the Hone razor. This offers a unique surface quality and finish that are hard to achieve with other manufacturing methods. It also offers great control over tolerances and repeatability to ensure quality.”
Check out their page to learn more.
A razor designed by a person with a beard!!! Hmmmm, makes you wonder…
I’d be curious how the patina (read: oxidization, aka rust) impacts the head of the razor. Handle you can adjust to, but if the head looses its smooth surface, that could be unpleasant…
Only iron rusts, which attacks the underlying metal. Patinas, like those in the copper alloys are usually sulfide salts which are harder than, and protective of the underlying metal alloy. Aluminum has an oxide that does the same. Alumina is a rust that does not attack the underlying alloy. The shaving question is, how smooth will that patina remain?
What is that price in USD $ ?
Looks like it converts to just over $200 – spendy!
Spendier than you think! At the current exchange rate that’s almost $350. Yowza!
Plus $32 shipping.
Beautiful razor.
My question is about the “nylon” brush. Do most of the newer synthetic brushes use nylon for their bristles? I admit I don’t think I’ve ever read a review of a modern synthetic brush where the precise material is mentioned. The few brushes I have seen brushes labeled as “nylon” have been some of the lowest quality brushes available.
And, if indeed nylon is used in the better synthetic brushes, it might be good to say to which generation of synthetic hair this brush belongs. A synthetic material might be the right choice for a bronze brush, as theoretically the bristles should last longer than a natural fiber brush. But with so many choices available, I can’t see buying a brush this expensive that doesn’t use the latest in synthetic hair material.
I have a HIS synthetic brush and I love it. The bristles are super soft, you dont have to soak them, and they dry quicker. I also feel like I have more control of the moisture in my lather with it because the bristles dont retain any water. It is capillary action that retains water in the brush.
The biggest issue I had when I switched was just getting used to the way the bristles splay. The newer bristles that they have are actually tapered to mimic the shape of a badger hair and work well for me. YMMV.
Hope that helps.
Understood and that’s my point. Is the brush the newest and best synthetic? If so, then maybe it’s worth a look (if you are interested in spending far too much for something unique and stylish). For some reason (and maybe this is just me) saying the brush is “nylon” without further description just doesn’t convey the quality aspect. He goes on to point out it is cruelty-free. That’s all well and good, but fairly irrelevant if it doesn’t lather worth a damn.
BTW, I have the Kent Silvertex, which is nice, but a generation or two behind the HIS. I use it on occasion, but for the most part I stick with my Finest Badger brushes. YMMV
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