Thread: Any thoughts on this Mastro Livi

Just beware that stag scales are very heavy,have had that same razor in the past,was not comfortable to use.

It depends how they are made. I have a Livi-Takeda with red stag and they are very light and the razor is perfectly balanced. On the other hand I have a Williams with stag scales and they weigh a ton.

When you start selling high end razors on Eboy rarely do the prices come close to what they are worth. The exceptions are the recognized names. Livis you can lose well over half the value. A Zowada you can sell for what you paid for it easily.

Ask me how I know-har har.

The scratches are a turn off. If it were tidier and popped a bit more I'd be really tempted as the price seems very low... It's a little more than livi regrind money for a full on livi... Actually, livi regrinds sell really strong for what they are

Have had 4 Livis,never happy with any of them,not dissin,just saying,great razors if you get a good one.

It's a drag how he doesn't protect the spine on the initial honing especially when he practices what seems like quite an aggressive, high pressure level honing technique. I'm not even trying to start a pissing contest about spine wear being necessary to maintain bevel angle because it is true, but I'd be annoyed if I ordered a snake razor and that damascus look I was paying for got blitzed on a 600 grit hone. Personally, if I were paying a fortune for a custom razor, I'd probably go with Bill Ellis or Devin Thomas. The workmanship levels on their stuff is just incredible....

And yet a lot of old, well-used, half-restored 7/8 wade & butchers sell for around the same $ on the bay

Originally Posted by kcb5150

It's a drag how he doesn't protect the spine on the initial honing especially when he practices what seems like quite an aggressive, high pressure level honing technique.

I understand you never had the chance to personally watch Mastro Livi honing or stropping. He uses very light pressure and does the job very fast, but no pressure at all.
When he teaches you honing or stropping, he easily get angry when he sees you are applying too much pressure and keeps on saying you should use a light hand.
It is now 60 years Mastro Livi hones razors on a daily basis (he honed his first razor when he was 13) and it is normal he acquired experience and can do the job very fast and, apparently, easily. Even if he does the job very fast, it does not mean his technique is aggressive or uses a lot of pressure, because this is not the case.

Originally Posted by kcb5150

but I'd be annoyed if I ordered a snake razor and that damascus look I was paying for got blitzed on a 600 grit hone.

600 grit hone??? Did you know the lowest grit Mastro Livi uses for razors is 3000? He uses a 3K hone to set bevels, as a matter of fact.
And, in case you think this would take a long time, just watch one of my videos: you will see he sets a bevel in few minutes; a proof of how good he is in grinding a razor blade. I personally witnessed this many times: at the end of grinding, most of the times his razors already have a sharp and cutting edge and they are almost "shave ready".

300 grit! Granted, he does say for maintenance you only need 3k and crox, but still... 300 is very very extreme for even an initial bevel. It kills me to see him to that to his work....

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Livis you can lose well over half the value.

Really? Ask me if I would sell any of my Mastro Livi for the half of what I paid! I guess you would sell your Mastro Livi-Takeda for just 300$ or so: I am sure a lot of people would be interested in that!

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Ask me how I know-har har.

How do you know? :-)

You do take a hit on the secondary market if you need to move one of his customs but that goes for almost any custom maker... It's a custom tailored piece after all so anyone else buying it is probably not getting exactly what they want so it isn't totally fair to say it is a quality issue...