Thread: My New Obsession; Mastro Livis

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Well, if you buy the Livi you can rest assured it won't need to be honed before use. His razors are shave ready out of the box.

Its true his razors don't shave any better than many vintage razors out there but that's like saying a Yugo will get you where you want to go the same as a BMW.

Yeah, I was pretty sure that was the case, but you can't fault me for trying! Besides, it might need a touch up every couple of weeks!

That's all the honing and stropping it takes to get a blade that sharp?

Well... to me that looks like years (and years) of hard work and practice. I'm not surprised. Most guys here do this as a hobby. That's trained professionalism at work.

Originally Posted by CableDawg

That's all the honing and stropping it takes to get a blade that sharp?

Well its not like it is an ebay blade he is honing

This is true. I am sure that he has done a lot more work setting the bevel, and that is just to finish it all up.

Don't think so. Just listen to the noise.

I've read a lot comments about his technique that were not so friendly,
but frankly I see nothing wrong with it. and do it similarly

Originally Posted by undertakingyou

This is true. I am sure that he has done a lot more work setting the bevel, and that is just to finish it all up.

... him draw the edge lengthwise across the stone? He destroyed the edge. That was from bevel setting to final edge!

yea id noticed that before, i think maybe he knows something we dont.... hence he sells razors for thousands.

That first video with the bit of "hand stopping" is great! Never thought about that but it makes sense that you could strop a little on your palm - human skin with oils versus cow or horse hide. Same concept. What a great way to do a tiny touch-up on an already keen edge! One thing is for sure, you'd want to make damned sure your technique is correct - nicking that stop would be painful!

Originally Posted by pcb01

... him draw the edge lengthwise across the stone? He destroyed the edge. That was from bevel setting to final edge!

The reason he does this imho is to take the wire edge off the blade and progress to the next stage of polishing . I was advised to do similar, only I use a matchstick . It lets me know where I stand and then move on to the next stage of progression .
I have a couple of the the Mastro's razors ( and the dvd of him making my razor ) . I absolutely love his honing technique.
A true master craftsman, his family have been doing this for generations if I'm not mistaken .