A report to the people who funded this. Backers first, everyone else welcome to read over their shoulder.
The tool is cut and it is good
The production mould is finished and running. The parts coming off it are dimensionally within tolerance and the snap fit on the edge holds after a thousand cycles on the bench, which was the number we said we would test to.
The moulded mark on the blade face came out better than the prototypes did. That is a coincidence of the polish, not skill on our part, but we will take it.
Aurora shipped three weeks late, and here is why
Aurora is a three-colour marbled moulding. The colours are not mixed before they go in — they are fed as separate streams and allowed to fold into each other as the mould fills, which is why every one is different and why nobody can send you a photograph of the exact one you will get.
It is also why the first run was scrapped. The fold pattern is sensitive to melt temperature in a way the single-colour finishes are not, and the first batch came out with the bands compressed into the bottom third of the handle. They were not faulty. They were ugly, in a way that would have been obvious the moment two of them were next to each other.
We ran it again. Three weeks. Everyone affected has been mailed directly.
What we got wrong
We told backers “October” in a public update before the tooling schedule was confirmed, on the basis of a verbal from the moulder. That was our mistake and it was avoidable — we were excited and we published a date that was not ours to publish.
We are not going to do that again. From here, dates go out when they are on a purchase order, and not before.
What is next
The second run is scheduled and includes Hi-Vis, which was a stretch goal and is now simply a product. Replacement edges go on sale at the same time.
The rebellion is growing. Slowly, and with a three-week delay on the teal ones.