Thread: So I took a chance on an custom razor on Ebay and I...

I was kind of hoping that Alex would have stayed a secret for a while. I have bought several razors from him including one of his earlier custom jobs. He's a good man and very good to do business with. In spite of the fact that I hoped he was a secret only I knew, I hope his work pays off and he gets some rewards.

I like it. Nice addition.

Sorry but I don't get why you guys are trashing this razor. I looked at some of Charlie's razors and there are some imlarities but not exactly a knock off in my opinion. I seriously doubt if it were acquired in a shady fashion Fort woul have posted it here.

Give both the benefit of the doubt unless proved otherwise. I prefer blades without all the bling. Use the tang for identifying marks. This blade is stunning.

Originally Posted by rmagnus

Sorry but I don't get why you guys are trashing this razor. I looked at some of Charlie's razors and there are some imlarities but not exactly a knock off in my opinion. I seriously doubt if it were acquired in a shady fashion Fort woul have posted it here.

Give both the benefit of the doubt unless proved otherwise. I prefer blades without all the bling. Use the tang for identifying marks. This blade is stunning.

I don't think anyone trashed it, it was simply compared to someone else's work, and the shady deal comments were clearly an allusion to forts reticence to go into the makers details. So calm down

Great looking razor! I don't hone my razors (at least not yet). Was your razor shave ready, or did you have to touch it up first?

In fact I have been trying to design a razor similar to Charlie's and have it not look like a copy. It's hard to do because his style is so clearly different. And they are 1 of the reasons I am building a forge and grinder to start making my own. Too cool to not try and do it. I hope Fort doesn't think I was implying he did anything wrong or the seller/maker for that matter. I do find it odd that someone is not proud enough of their work to have there name used with it. If this fellow wants to make and sell razors he better get over the too shy and humble part because reputation has a lot to do with success. I think if the maker stepped into this thread with a post and said " I made this because I love the style of Lewis and I wanted to see how close I could get " he would get applause. If he was trying to counterfeit them I could understand staying in the shadows. I do not believe this to be the case or I would have come right out and said it.
Now this is the long winded version of my other post and I do hope it clears things up.

Fort you did good ! Enjoy :<0)

I think that his style and technique are still in flux. The razor pictured here looks a lot more ambitious than anything I've previously seen from him. It's quite handsome. Not that the others were not. But this one seems a lot more detailed.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

In fact I have been trying to design a razor similar to Charlie's and have it not look like a copy. It's hard to do because his style is so clearly different. And they are 1 of the reasons I am building a forge and grinder to start making my own. Too cool to not try and do it. I hope Fort doesn't think I was implying he did anything wrong or the seller/maker for that matter. I do find it odd that someone is not proud enough of their work to have there name used with it. If this fellow wants to make and sell razors he better get over the too shy and humble part because reputation has a lot to do with success. I think if the maker stepped into this thread with a post and said " I made this because I love the style of Lewis and I wanted to see how close I could get " he would get applause. If he was trying to counterfeit them I could understand staying in the shadows. I do not believe this to be the case or I would have come right out and said it.
Now this is the long winded version of my other post and I do hope it clears things up.

Fort you did good ! Enjoy :<0)

Don't fuss pups, I knew what you meant.

Good looking razor, but I don't see a makers mark.

I'm sure that most razor makers have a "file" of different pics and idea's from other makers. This helps to inspire us to do other things. I've had some of Charlie Lewis's razors in hand at a meet and they are amazing to say the least. Trying to design something new that is till functional as a razor is more difficult than you might imagine.

What a beautiful razor it is. I just wish there was more information on the maker so I could contact him. It may be that I have an untrained eye but most custom razors I have seen look very similar to me. I think this is due to the fact that they are not pure works of art and must retain a high degree of functionality. These razors have been in use for hundreds of years and the design has congregated to a few shapes and sizes, and I think this is no coincidence. Unless this razor is an exact copy of another makers work I don't see the point in telling the buyer that his razor is a knock off of that other makers work. This may have not been how it was meant but reading through that is certainly the feeling I got. Fort if it shaves well I think you have a great heirloom from this period in history. Also if you could let me know where I can contact Alex and see more of his work I would greatly appreciate it.