Thread: Mastro Livi Razor Club

I am the owner of a new Grifetto straight razor by Mastro Livi. Once I learned Grifetto is Gryphon in Italian (the name of my Doberman) I had to buy one.

I used the Grifetto this morning and enjoyed what I consider the smoothest shave using a straight razor I’ve ever enjoyed. It also made me realize I have quite a way to go in learning how to hone and strop a straight razor to be as sharp as this Grifetto razor was literally out of the box.

Before shaving with it, I cut a couple hairs from my scalp and the razor easily cut them as I held the hair in my hand.

Congratulation on your new Grifetto and welcome to Mastro Livi Club! It would be great if you could post a picture of your new razor.

As a matter of fact, Gryphon translates into Italian as "Grifo", whereas "Grifetto" means "little gryphon". The fact however remains, it is a gryphon anyway! :-)

And, by the way, I knew you would have not been disappointed by the shave you could get from Grifetto as well as the impeccable "Mastro Livi edge". Talking about "that quite long way to go", I guess you are in good company: it is not that easy to benefit from sixty years of daily experience in straight razor honing and I guess it takes a lot of time and commitment.

I enjoyed that shave very relaxing I don't know who was the most relaxed the Mastro or me.:-)

Originally Posted by celticcrusader

I enjoyed that shave very relaxing I don't know who was the most relaxed the Mastro or me.:-)

Maybe both of you? ;-)

Here is a pic of my Grifetto:

Originally Posted by Backhertz

Here is a pic of my Grifetto:

Lovely Grifetto, as usual! Congratulations!

Here is a pic of my Grifetto:


Very nice the handle!

I was talking with a friend of mine who has been using straight razors for the last 40 years. He mentioned that I might lose the really sharp edge using the honing/stropping technique that he and I use on our straight razors. I would hate to do that because I have never felt anything so sharp as this Mastro Livi Grifetto against my face.

I’ve watched the Mastro setting a bevel, honing, and stropping an edge on one of his razors. Unlike most You Tube videos, he doesn’t do 40, 50, 70, or 100 back & forth motions when he is honing or stropping.

I noted he appears to be applying a lot of pressure on his loom strop- first with chromium oxide followed by what I believe to be a plain strop which looked yellow. I figure if I want to keep a sharp edge on my Grifetto, I should try and emulate what the Mastro does.

I’ve been trying to find the ’secret’ to that scary sharp razor edge for a long time <smile>. Some people suggest I need to use the complete set of Shapton glass stones & hone my straight razors up to 30K grit while making sure I constantly keep the Shapton stones flat using the Shapton lapping plate. That is expensive. Having a bunch of expensive stones is more psychological than practical in my humble opinion. I believe technique/muscle memory is the secret. Why should I invest in stones when I could purchase more Mastro Livi razors?

I know a razor edge is about .5 micron thick as measured by Dr John Verhoeven using a scanning electron microscope. So the ’secret’ is what to do in order to achieve it and then maintain it without damaging it. I have a very sharp edge which I want to maintain. It was so good that when I splashed aftershave on my face, the aftershave didn’t burn like it does every time I shave using one of my other straight razors. Perhaps that was just in my head. Nevertheless I would like to maintain the edge.

This is a question I’m almost afraid to ask: Does anyone have any suggestions or have a way to keep a Mastro Livi razor just as sharp as it was when they received it?

Grazie in advance.

Originally Posted by Backhertz

I was talking with a friend of mine who has been using straight razors for the last 40 years. He mentioned that I might lose the really sharp edge using the honing/stropping technique that he and I use on our straight razors. I would hate to do that because I have never felt anything so sharp as this Mastro Livi Grifetto against my face.

I’ve watched the Mastro setting a bevel, honing, and stropping an edge on one of his razors. Unlike most You Tube videos, he doesn’t do 40, 50, 70, or 100 back & forth motions when he is honing or stropping.

I noted he appears to be applying a lot of pressure on his loom strop- first with chromium oxide followed by what I believe to be a plain strop which looked yellow. I figure if I want to keep a sharp edge on my Grifetto, I should try and emulate what the Mastro does.

I’ve been trying to find the ’secret’ to that scary sharp razor edge for a long time <smile>. Some people suggest I need to use the complete set of Shapton glass stones & hone my straight razors up to 30K grit while making sure I constantly keep the Shapton stones flat using the Shapton lapping plate. That is expensive. Having a bunch of expensive stones is more psychological than practical in my humble opinion. I believe technique/muscle memory is the secret. Why should I invest in stones when I could purchase more Mastro Livi razors?

I know a razor edge is about .5 micron thick as measured by Dr John Verhoeven using a scanning electron microscope. So the ’secret’ is what to do in order to achieve it and then maintain it without damaging it. I have a very sharp edge which I want to maintain. It was so good that when I splashed aftershave on my face, the aftershave didn’t burn like it does every time I shave using one of my other straight razors. Perhaps that was just in my head. Nevertheless I would like to maintain the edge.

This is a question I’m almost afraid to ask: Does anyone have any suggestions or have a way to keep a Mastro Livi razor just as sharp as it was when they received it?

Grazie in advance.

Yes, there is the way for both razors Mastro Livi for everyone else. In the videos you can find on youtube made by his Razorguy, you can see Mastro Livi while sharpening razors on stones and strop: he does not make any pressure, his hand is very light.
I use razors freehand for 3 years and I have never used the stones to sharpen but only the Mastro Livi's strop always on the side of yellow before and after each and every shave 6/7 times the green side chrome to brighten up the thread. My straightrazors shave again as the first time. The stones alter the geometry of the blade and should be used sparingly only when there is an actual need and that 'after so many years of continuous use or as a result of a restoration.
This is my experience and if you love your straightrazors, you should take a Mastro Livi's strop!

Backhertz,
I understand what you mean. Before I had the chance of meeting Mastro Livi in person, I had your very same concerns although I did not own any Mastro Livi razor but I however had many razors in my collection already.

The day I met him for the first time, I supposed I knew something about straight razors, honing and stropping: after three hours, when I left his shop, I was absolutely aware of the fact I knew nothing about razors and all the rest. He literally demolished everything I believed to be "the must" in honing and all the rest. After I met him, all I knew sounded like "nonsense".

First of all, I guess your friend is right when he says by using what we believe to be the "right honing/stropping technique" is the best way to damage the best of the edges. As a matter of fact, I bought my very first Mastro Livi razor more than two years ago and, since then, I have never touched up or honed that razor: it simply has a stunning edge just like the day I bought it. I did not do anything special but scrupulously following each of Mastro Livi advices.

Although I am the author of most of Mastro Livi videos on YouTube, I guess you should not try to learn how to hone a razor by watching those videos, saved - maybe - the one about the repairing of a straight razor. What you see in those videos is what Mastro Livi does on a brand new razor, freshly made and having no bevel, saved the edge he gets from grinding. What you see in my videos does not apply to edge maintenance.

Moreover, if you would personally watch Mastro Livi honing or stropping you would realize he uses a very light pressure both on the hone and strop. No pressure at all. You simply have the clear idea it is something he does on a daily basis and he mastered during his sixty years of daily experience in honing razors. No pressure at all. By watching him honing or stropping, it really looks like something very easy, although we all realize and know it is not.

Moreover, never tell Mastro Livi you are counting passes or laps on hones or strop: he will tell you it is just nonsense and I agree about it. There is no magic number about honing: Mastro Livi keeps on saying you have to "feel" the edge and you then exactly know when "enough is enough". No magic number.

As for a full set of hones, I owned a lot of hones, different grits, different types. Well, now I simply do not use them that much and I sold most of them. As a matter of fact, Mastro Livi uses a 3K Kai hone and a Belgian Coticule. Of course, he also uses his well known loom strop with his equally well known chromium oxide paste. Nothing else, nothing more. And this is what I use now when I need to hone or restore a razor. I guess I need to say I am not as good as Mastro Livi is, of course, I am not even one millionth as good as he is in honing and all the rest. But, thanks to him, I certainly learned a lot and his wise words helped me to understand quite a lot about razors, honing and stropping. I have never honed or touched up any of my nineteen Mastro Livi razors. Not even one time. I just used the leather side of Mastro Livi loom strop and hand palm. Nothing else.

One of the best things I have ever bought for maintaining a straight razor is Mastro Livi loom strop. In fact, I now own two of them: a small one and a smaller one I use when I travel. I guess I should say the well known Mastro Livi loom strop was invented by Mastro Livi's father Alfonso, it has a linen side meant to be used with chromium oxide and a pony leather side, personally treated by Mastro Livi in order to make it very soft (and who knows how he makes it). I have about a dozen of hanging strops and I am not using them anymore since the day I bought a Mastro Livi loom strop and I can tell it makes a huge difference.

If you want to keep your Grifetto edge the way you received it, follow Mastro Livi's advices and forget about hones. You will not regret doing so.