The Ockham Razor

[roberthallifax]

Nearly a year ago I was having a rant about how I felt that some categories of product are almost universally ugly. The more I thought about it, the more I thought I should do something and I decided that designing my own razor would be a good place to start.

My experiments began with sawing the end off a razor and attaching my own handle to it. For this I used a length of aluminium tube I bought on eBay and epoxied it to the razor head. I used this razor to shave with and really thought I was on to something. To make sure I wasn’t crazy, I gave it to a couple of friends to try (with fresh razor cartridges obviously!).

It went down well and it made me want to pursue the idea of a simple, beautiful, solid metal razor handle.

I made some more prototypes by hacking up razors and metal but there came a point where I needed to get a bit more precise about what shape this thing was going to be. I thought about getting a handle machined out of aluminium but that would have been crazy expensive. Then I realised that 3D printing could be the answer.

I’d had some experience with 3D printing a few years ago when working for a large scientific product company so I knew roughly what the capabilities were. There were two significant problems though: I didn’t have a 3D printer and I didn’t know how to do my own CAD modelling.

Luckily for me my background in engineering meant that I knew people who could help out with the CAD modelling – people who would understand me and put up with the back-and-forth that it takes to get these things right. Another piece of luck was that I had just heard from a good friend in New York that she had started working for this thing called 3D Hubs.

A little aside is that my very first 3D printed razor prototype was made high in the Swiss Alps. As I was spending Christmas there with my in-laws it turned out that my brother-in-law knew that the local school had their own 3D printer. They were kind enough to let me use it and immediately I could see the value in having a solid, usable razor to test my design. Even though this is a pretty simple product, the shape and feel of it are critical to the success of the project.

So back in London I got straight onto the 3D Hubs website and found that there was a hub right down the road from me that I could cycle to!

Just yesterday I picked up my third iteration of the design printed by the excellent Loh Hu at Maker’s Affair. She has been really quick and the quality of the printing is excellent. She was also able to help me out with choosing the material and getting the right settings for the job – something I’d have struggled with on my own.

As well as painting some 3D printed razors for pictures of the razor on our website, another thing 3D printing has enabled us to do is give away some of the latest 3D prototypes for people to actually use to shave with. This kind of feedback is invaluable and now really accessible because of 3D printing.

So 3D printing has been instrumental in turning my idea into a potential business. There is no other way we could have got this far so quickly and managing to keep costs down. We have a manufacturer lined up for full production in metal and now we just need to get some backing via Kickstarter.

Latest 3D print details:

• Printer: Duplicator 4X

• Material: PLA

• Printing settings:

• Infill density: 20%

• Layer height: 0.1mm

• Skirt outline: 20 without any offset (1 layer of it)

• Printing speed: 60mm/s

• Travelling speed: 80mm/s

[Georgeh1ll]

Awesome mate! 3D printing is by far my favourite technology.

[roberthallifax]

Thanks George. 3D printing has been magical for us.

[Gfisherwils]

Really nice work. Have you ever heard of Cornerstone they do a razor with the same sort of build https://www.cornerstone.co.uk/. Thought it might be of interest.

[Alex3DHubs]

Super cool! Its neat to see a product come from idea to nearly finished product so quickly. Let me know if you need some help user testing done in NYC

[Alex3DHubs]

Also, when does the Kickstarter launch?

[roberthallifax]

Thanks very much. Yes, I think Cornerstone have one of the best looking razors of the subscription guys.

[roberthallifax]

Hey Alex. We’re just making sure our ducks are all in a row before wet set a date but it will be a few weeks. You’ll be the first to know!

[Filemon]

Really cool story, cheers man!

[Nikki]

Rob (@roberthallifax)! I am so happy to see your design develop from the idea that was niggling you to a real physical product! See told ya 3D printing rocks!

[Nikki]

@Gfisherwils & @roberthallifax you two should go for a pint in London - think you two will get on famously!

[roberthallifax]

Thanks Nikki! It actually really does rock. People keep saying how far down the line we seem to be with this project. Since it’s my own project I’m critical and want everything to be done yesterday but I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and much of the progress is very much down to 3D printing.

[Nikki]

Great work on diving in and making it happen. No go launch this thing already!

[makersaffair]

@roberthallifax Hey Rob! Thanks for the kinds words. I’m always happy to make my 3D printers more useful lol… Let me know when the Kickstarter has launched I think my partner may need it

[roberthallifax]

You’re welcome! You’ve been a great help.

[Pot8oSH3D]

Hey Rob. Great to meet you last week. Good luck with the Kickstarter!

AndyL

Pot8oSh3D

[roberthallifax]

Thanks Andy!

[rodolfo_viola_9]

Love it!

[roberthallifax]

Cheers Rodolfo!