Thread: Mastro Livi Razor Club

You got me by 5 dollars congrats. I hate when eBay tells me what amount I lost out too lol it would be so much better to not know.

It looked kind of plain but I thought it was still below market value. I didn't realize how good the razor is until the Razorguy told me it is very rare. I was surprised there was only 3 of us bidding. I have a 6/8 on order so I really didn't want to go over my highest bid. Hope you have better luck on the next razor auction.

It was a great deal but I just bought a Mastro Livi so I told myself I'd go to a certain point and no higher it just so happened to be 5 dollars lower then you lol

Is this your first Mastro?

You know I felt the same way. I have a custom on order and really wasn't sure I wanted to go above a certain point. At the last 30 seconds I added $15 to my final quote and it was enough. This will be my Third Mastro. I won a 6/8 Spanish point on eBay, I have another 6/8 Spanish point on order and the one I just bought. I keep saying this is enough until the next one. I convinced myself they are a good investments. The first one I bought on eBay was a real steal. This one is also a good deal. The custom, well I am paying the going price but it is what I wanted on a razor. I managed to sell off a Boker, Aust, Genco and some other shaving products so I rationalized it wasn't costing me that much.

Originally Posted by jkatzman

I didn't realize how good the razor is until the Razorguy told me it is very rare.

We should say every Mastro Livi razor is rare. As a matter of fact they all are unique pieces as they are entirely handmade and Mastro Livi does not like to copy or make razors he already made in the past. He himself believes his razors must be unique pieces. Not to mention to copy others! Grifetto is the only exception, of course and, in this case, it is a very different razor in many ways.
In your case, that razor is quite rare because Mastro Livi has rarely used stabilized poplar for making scales and, for this reason, there are not so many around with such scales. As far as i can tell, a RWL34 blade, with that design and 6/8 in size, has been rarely made by Mastro Livi as most of his clients - including myself - seem to like larger sizes, such as 7/8 or 8/8.
It would be great to see all the three Mastro Livi razors you have once you receive the one you have ordered.

Originally Posted by engine46

Thank you very much Antonello. I just saw it on the Razorguy StraightRazorChannel on YouTube. I is very educational & informative. I love this very much!!!!!!

Thank you Stephen. I am glad you appreciated this new episode of Mastro Livi School.

Just arrived my 6/8 round tip RWL 34 blade. The scales are fantastic and it is lighter then my other Livi's. It was not shave ready and I worked on it for a half an hour using my Suehiro Gokumyo 20k stone. Could not get the edge to bite or shave arm hair consistently. I dropped down to my Shapton 16k and did some light circles and laps. Started to get better. Then went back to my 20k and it grabbed my thumb and shaved arm hair. Will shave with it tomorrow. Is this something special with the steel that it is harder to hone? My other Livi took an edge with no problems. 7 laps and it was ready to go. Attached are photos. They really don't do this razor justice.

Originally Posted by jkatzman

Just arrived my 6/8 round tip RWL 34 blade. The scales are fantastic and it is lighter then my other Livi's. It was not shave ready and I worked on it for a half an hour using my Suehiro Gokumyo 20k stone. Could not get the edge to bite or shave arm hair consistently. I dropped down to my Shapton 16k and did some light circles and laps. Started to get better. Then went back to my 20k and it grabbed my thumb and shaved arm hair. Will shave with it tomorrow. Is this something special with the steel that it is harder to hone? My other Livi took an edge with no problems. 7 laps and it was ready to go. Attached are photos. They really don't do this razor justice.

It's beautiful congrats!

Although you say pictures don't do justice to your Mastro Livi RWL34 razor, they however show a beautiful razor indeed.
RWL34 is, in my opinion, a very good stainless steel for making razors: I have some of them and they all are incredible shavers. Mastro Livi says RWL34 is a hard steel but it is however easy to hone.
I read you tried to hone it with a 20k and a 16K: I do not know about the edge condition and whether it was dull or had an edge in bad conditions. In this case - and I am sure you know it - you may consider using a coarser hone?
As far as I can tell, Mastro Livi can easily hone a RWL34 razor in less than five minutes and using a 3k hone, Belgian coticule and then his well known chromium oxide paste.
I will however be glad to read about your comments on how this razor shaves.

Mastro Livi polishing the loom strop handle





Mastro Livi polishing the loom strop handle





Mastro Livi mounting the handle to the loom





Every Mastro Livi loom strop is marked with his mark





Mastro Livi applying the preliminary layer of his chromium oxide paste to the linen side of the loom strop. He says you don't need that much and you should avoid avoid applying too much of it