Update on the v30 Fanchurian
When the v30 Fanchurian hit our fair shores a few weeks ago, my initial reaction was not favorable. The tips felt less soft and more "scritchy" than I was used to from the Fanchurian line. That line of knots is obviously something I take very seriously, and I felt like I had to protect its reputation as an artisan-quality knot at a mid-range price.
After talking things over with Grizzly Bay and Sawdust Creation Studios (both of whom carry the Fanchurian), we decided to pull the knots from our sites until we could figure out what to do. At this time, I sold a few of the knots I had test lathered to get some community feedback - more on that in a moment.
I complained to my supplier and was told that the difference in this batch was not because it was untreated, but was due to seasonal and regional differences in the available badger hair. She was unable to get the hair from our typical source at this time. She agreed to work with another knot manufacturer to produce a new batch of knots to my normal specs.
When those samples arrived, I was extremely disappointed. The shape was wrong, the hair quality was worse, and the density was lacking. In short, they sucked. So that plan was DOA. Back to square one.
Out of desperation, I checked in on those testers and got some surprising feedback. Of the five I sold, I heard back from four. They all reported that they liked this batch just fine - even as it compared to other batches of Fanchurian. One said it was gellier than v29. Another said it was less gelly than v29. Which goes to show you how subjective this kind of thing can be.
My own v30 has been used exclusively since they arrived because I wanted to see how it broke in with use. It's no v19, but I think my initial judgement was too harsh. In my attempt to protect the Fanchurian name, I had over-reacted and caused problems for myself and my friends at GB and SCS.
Soooo I talked things over with them and we are going to go ahead and release the v30. I'll let you, the traditional shave community, decide if you like it. I would appreciate any and all feedback.
TLDR: I over reacted and v30 is not wildly out of spec. It is for sale now.
