TL;DR: We listened to feedback from Michelin-starred chefs and reengineered our Magnetic Chef's Pin to solve slippage once and for all. The result? HoldFast v4 - a sleek, durable pin with a 250% grip improvement thanks to a smart rubber upgrade. It won't budge during service.
Why We Had to Fix the Original HoldFast Magnetic Pin
While the magnet on HoldFast v3 was strong, we had some feedback from chefs that during the course of busy service their tweezers were slipping down. At Oui Chef, we take chef feedback seriously - You have to listen to your customers and when those putting their hand up have multiple Michelin Stars to their name then you really have to pay attention.
Manufacturing Hiccups and Lessons Learned
When we launched the magnetic pin, we had a concept that people loved and a product that fundamentally worked. But we certainly had some manufacturing related speed bumps - pins breaking, weak clasps, and magnets that chipped or loosened over time. But we were able to overcome all these issues with refinements, redesigns and much more rigorous testing. It was painful and costly (we shipped anyone who needed a replacement one anywhere in the world) but they were lessons well learnt.
Just when we thought we'd nailed it, a new issue hit: a batch of 1,000 pins arrived in March 2024 with magnets that were practically useless. The worst thing was we didn’t discover this until some had been sent out to customers, sending the hassle-ometer to 11 - both ours and theirs. We are forever grateful to those customers who were so understanding and patient while we worked through the problem - the team here at Oui Chef did a great job managing the customer service. We still don’t know if our manufacturer downgraded the materials or received faulty stock themselves, but the damage was done. Some defective pins even made it to customers before we caught it.
That was another lesson learnt - production-site quality control every time.
The Slippage Problem
Ironically, the QC nightmare gave us room to focus on another lingering issue: the occasional slippage of tweezers. The magnet was strong enough vertically (pulling away), but horizontally (sliding), it lacked staying power.
The Rubber Solution That Changed Everything
A little-known fact: adding a thin layer of rubber to a magnet can increase horizontal grip strength by up to 250% with virtually no loss in vertical magnetic pull. Rubber, like air, has minimal impact on the magnetic field when close up. That insight changed everything.
Testing, Tinkering, and Chef Validation
We experimented with multiple prototypes: bar magnets, added nubbins, different clasp angles. But it was the rubber face that delivered consistently across kitchen scenarios. After weeks of real-world testing in top restaurants, we found the sweet spot for magnet strength and rubber thickness.
The result? the result being you can easily pull the tweezers away from the pin but it won’t slide down when you are running around. It will stay put all day long. And yes, it still looks sleek and minimalist on any chef's jacket or apron.
You can purchase the the world’s first magnetic chef’s pin here
Brian & the Oui Chef team
