Snapshot: The age of the hipster beard must come to an end – and a clean, smooth and deliciously touchable one at that.

Oh how we tire from only seeing 50% of the male face. Nests, bushes and wild tangled woodlands have been taking over jawlines and lips for far too long. Itchy, rough and home to families of squirrels, the beard must die – and stay that way. Andrew Mitchell’s Hone kit will last for this lifetime of clean shaving and still fit the modern trends of reinventing tradition, “reclaiming” materials or just being generally “vintage” across the board.

For men, shaving is up there with buying a watch, buying a car and buying a mid-life crisis yacht. Rites of passage are usually treated with honor, a fat investment and accompanied by your father. Why has shaving suddenly become a sad stack of disposable razors, crying hairy tears of rejected rust? Is nothing sacred anymore? Much like telling time and getting from A to B, shaving one’s face is a crucial part of life lest you wish to look questionably sane. A Hone razor and brush is the ideal facial hair companion that will age gracefully with you like a fine wine or a loyal pet.

With a clean shaven face, you will look dashing, smart and sharp. Telling the secrets of the Hone mechanics will secure your Don Draper status. Bronze, weighted and balanced, these are “real man” tools, and not flimsy plastic throwaway items that come in cardboard packaging. Hone is a skill that you can practice your whole life, a talent that will develop over time, and your relationship with these instruments will become a personable, knowing friendship. Like the familiar sensation of your favorite watch resting on your wrist, Hone is designed to adapt to each individual owner. There are no gimmicks, no tricks and no “knack” to it that requires batteries or handstands – this is a pure, simple and traditional ritual.

The solid bronze will age, shine and mellow over time to match your unique usage patterns. It’s also a great thermal conductor to enable warm shaving and the bronze they have chosen is lead free. Hone is considerate of your face, and the rest of the natural world – they use nylon brush bristles for fear that there is no trustworthily humane way to use badger hair. The Hone man is as sensitive as the skin he shaves. He is also a diverse man, as the Hone design allows you to try multiple types and brands of safety razor to find the best one to suit you, or to change it up as your skin changes over time.

As family heirlooms are passed down, watches from great grandfathers and questionable trousers from old uncles, Hone taps into this particular paternal lineage in a gentle, traditional way. This is the way you remember your father would shave as you watched aghast, and this is how a father teaches his son how to shave in a beautiful Christmas TV ad, fully equipped with adorable squares of tissue paper patching up little chin wounds.

Using the cold winter is no excuse to keep that beard – all it’s good for at this stage is hanging leftover Christmas decorations. Bring back the smooth, clean shave and “hone” that skill down to a T.

Check out their Kickstarter.

Photography by: Behance