A Note on the Delayed Launch of the Assassin Master
Dear friends,
I regret to inform you that the release of the Assassin Master will be delayed.
The primary reason for this delay lies in the finishing process. While the Assassin Master features a design that appears minimalist, it is deceptively difficult to polish. These design choices were made to enhance specific performance metrics, but the sheer volume of hand-finishing required has far exceeded my initial estimates.
Take the top cap scalloping as an example. We didn't simply cut a vertical slot. To achieve even a marginal—and nearly imperceptible—improvement in lather flow, we opted for a trapezoidal channel. While this sounds minor on paper, it proved disastrous for mirror polishing. There are currently no off-the-shelf tools capable of flawlessly polishing this feature without leaving any "dead zones." The labor required just for these grooves rivals the polishing work for an entire commercial titanium razor. We did consider compromising, but such technical concessions are unacceptable to me and the entire OUMO craftsman team.
Consequently, we had to engineer a custom polishing jig tailored specifically to this geometry. While this significantly extended our timeline, the tool itself isn't overly complex—it primarily involves precise angle adjustments.
Furthermore, to maximize grip, we designed an unprecedentedly complex pattern of non-slip grooves. While this elevates both aesthetics and grip security to a historic level, it also created a bottleneck in mirror finishing. At a diameter of just 1.5mm, there is no conventional polishing bit that retains enough rigidity. Physics, quite literally, got in the way. Manually polishing hundreds of these intricate recesses would be impractical; the hours required would exceed the work needed for ten standard titanium razors. After internal discussions, we decided to utilize magnetic polishing for these micro-channels. This process is applied exclusively inside the grooves, and while we are still fine-tuning the results, the early indicators are very promising.
We also encountered a minor hiccup with the base plate design. Our "hidden radius" corners left an extremely narrow polishing channel. This forced us to abandon our original plan for a fully uniform flat polish. The challenge now is maintaining absolute flatness across the entire surface when switching between different tools and varying pressures—another hurdle our polishing team is currently overcoming.
On a brighter note, we have developed a bespoke leather travel case for the Assassin Master. It holds three base plates and one pack of blades, balancing elegance with utility. I’ll keep the details under wraps for now, but it will be revealed alongside the razor at launch.
In summary, we need approximately 7 to 15 more days to resolve these finishing challenges. I sincerely apologize for this delay and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Thank you for your continued support.
Carry