The price is due primarily to three factors: the design and its required method of manufacture, the hard Type II anodizing, and wholesale plans. The vertical cuts require a lathe that also has CNC mill internally to mill the slots while it's turned. Axing that feature would save a fair chunk of money, but the design just wouldn't be right. Same with the anodizing. We could cheap out and go with a basic anodizing to cut costs, but hard anodizing is the right choice for longevity and protection against wear and tear. Finally, we need enough meat on the bone to be able to wholesale these. As Blackland grows, I'm leaning more and more into wholesaling because it benefits you guys internationally so much. It makes ordering one of our products a more pleasant experience and that's good for all involved. But that benefit doesn't come free.I agree, I think if it were $30 less, I would have bought it already. It's a bit high, even for anodized aluminum.
Thanks, Shane. It's always helpful to know what goes into these designs when we make our decisions. Ultimately it's your design, and you get to do what you want with it and charge what you feel is right. I don't begrudge you that at all. You make great products and you have plenty of fans in the shaving world that will buy these. I might eventually pick one up myself.The price is due primarily to three factors: the design and its required method of manufacture, the hard Type II anodizing, and wholesale plans. The vertical cuts require a lathe that also has CNC mill internally to mill the slots while it's turned. Axing that feature would save a fair chunk of money, but the design just wouldn't be right. Same with the anodizing. We could cheap out and go with a basic anodizing to cut costs, but hard anodizing is the right choice for longevity and protection against wear and tear. Finally, we need enough meat on the bone to be able to wholesale these. As Blackland grows, I'm leaning more and more into wholesaling because it benefits you guys internationally so much. It makes ordering one of our products a more pleasant experience and that's good for all involved. But that benefit doesn't come free.
So ultimately I'm confident that these were all the right choices in order to create a quality product that looks beautiful, performs well, and is as accessible as possible. Of course, none of what I just said makes the brush any cheaper or magically puts that extra $30 in your pocket, but I at least hope you guys can see the pricing rationale and understand that it's not egregious and was done with as much respect for the customer as possible.
Shane,The price is due primarily to three factors: the design and its required method of manufacture, the hard Type II anodizing, and wholesale plans. The vertical cuts require a lathe that also has CNC mill internally to mill the slots while it's turned. Axing that feature would save a fair chunk of money, but the design just wouldn't be right. Same with the anodizing. We could cheap out and go with a basic anodizing to cut costs, but hard anodizing is the right choice for longevity and protection against wear and tear. Finally, we need enough meat on the bone to be able to wholesale these. As Blackland grows, I'm leaning more and more into wholesaling because it benefits you guys internationally so much. It makes ordering one of our products a more pleasant experience and that's good for all involved. But that benefit doesn't come free.
So ultimately I'm confident that these were all the right choices in order to create a quality product that looks beautiful, performs well, and is as accessible as possible. Of course, none of what I just said makes the brush any cheaper or magically puts that extra $30 in your pocket, but I at least hope you guys can see the pricing rationale and understand that it's not egregious and was done with as much respect for the customer as possible.
I'm pretty much an exclusive synth user. I agree with Shane's assessment. I had a similar conversation with Matt Pisarcik recently. I have a couple of 26mm knots that I enjoy, but the sweet spot is right around that 24mm mark. Any larger, and the lofts don't grow along with the base, which makes them hollow out in the middle over time and tends to make them feel springy.23mm fits the brush design best. Bumping to a 26 changes the shoulder/waist/hip proportions. Of course, you could scale the whole thing to fit it, but I love the way it feels in hand so I wouldn't want to do that. I also think around 23-25mm is the best size for most people. To make up for the slightly smaller knot, we bumped up the density a fair amount. So you wind up with more fibers than you'd get in a standard 24mm knot in a smaller package.
Although I have a few larger brushes, 24mm is the sweet spot for me as well. It's the knot size that dominates my collection.I'm pretty much an exclusive synth user. I agree with Shane's assessment. I had a similar conversation with Matt Pisarcik recently. I have a couple of 26mm knots that I enjoy, but the sweet spot is right around that 24mm mark. Any larger, and the lofts don't grow along with the base, which makes them hollow out in the middle over time and tends to make them feel springy.
I have several synthetic brushes larger than 24mm and mine have not hollowed out in the middle so I don’t know why you make that statement.I'm pretty much an exclusive synth user. I agree with Shane's assessment. I had a similar conversation with Matt Pisarcik recently. I have a couple of 26mm knots that I enjoy, but the sweet spot is right around that 24mm mark. Any larger, and the lofts don't grow along with the base, which makes them hollow out in the middle over time and tends to make them feel springy.
For synths, this is true for me too. I need a bigger badger knot to get the amount of lather a 24mm synth can produce. I have tried the cashmere and plissoft noir (similar to this hair?) knots in 26mm and prefer the smaller ones. However, not to say a large synth can‘t be wonderful. My Omega evo shares the top spot with my RR Plissoft Noir 24mm.Although I have a few larger brushes, 24mm is the sweet spot for me as well. It's the knot size that dominates my collection.
Just my opinion. Just because it happened to me, doesn't mean it happens to everyone. Just because it didn't happen for you, doesn't mean it doesn't happen for anyone. I've talked to many synthetic users who have had this problem with large, dense synthetics, though.I have several synthetic brushes larger than 24mm and mine have not hollowed out in the middle so I don’t know why you make that statement.