Gentlemen,

The custom razor has been the center of discussion here lately with many divergent views on the essence of it. Definitions have been tossed back and forth, some with the blatant hints of commercialism that have reminded me of one of the biggest hypes in the world of advertising: the "free gift."

If it is a "gift," what else could it be but "free"?

The reality of a custom-made razor, at least to me, is one that is made by the hands of an individual artist and craftsman, from designing the blade and scales, to forging the steel and finishing the razor. Some may be made for a specific person, while others using the artist's signature in design and taste. Either way, the artist makes the razor by his own hands from start to finish.

Many of the late Tom Clancy novels are now written by other writers under Clancy's name. I am not a Tom Clancy fan, but that's beside the point. Are such novels written by Tom Clancy? Not to me. Perhaps they are fine novels, written in the Clancy tradition, but they are still not Tom Clancy novels.

Max Sprecher, Mastro Levi, Charlie Lewis, Bob Allman, Robert Williams, Joe Chandler, Bruno, Brian Brown and scores of other craftsmen make custom razor that, to my knowledge, bear their signature from start to finish. (I understand Mastro Livi's son Luca works with the grand master, but to what extent, I don't know and, therefore, cannot comment on that.)

Is a special edition Thiers-Issard a custom made razor? Not to me. Other commercial straight razor makers designate such special edition straight razors, or at least hint at them, as custom made razors. Use what terminology you wish, but what else could a "free gift" be than a "gift" that in its true definition is something that is not supposed to cost anything.

So then, gentlemen, what is your definition of a custom-made razor? What do you consider it to be? What do you expect it to be in the way it is made?