Thread: My Definition of a Custom Razor

When I was talking with Robert Williams about the SRP Limited Edition straight razor he said something like, "It will be a good deal, a custom razor for $350.00." Now these are virtually identical save the inevitable variances that come with a razor made by hand one by one, by an individual craftsman. I suppose some would argue that since they are virtually identical, they are not exactly fulfilling the definition of 'custom.' OTOH, the individual who is making them thinks they are.

IIRC the 1964 edition of Gun Digest was the one that had the article on 'custom knives.' I was 15 at the time and read about W.D. Randall, Merle Seguine, F.W. Moran, Bob Loveless, Olsen and I think Buck. Now some of these were one man operations, others were small factories, but the article classified them as custom. They were not factories in the sense of Dovo, and while some of them were catering to individuals with specific designs worked out between them, others turned out their own knives and sold them to long waiting lists of customers.

AFAIK this article in that Gun Digest was the first to really call attention to this esoteric group of craftsman, and was the vanguard of the popularity of custom knives. Custom cars, Big Daddy Ed Roth, Von Dutch come to mind. Some were truly one off creations but most are stock vehicles reworked by the builder. Customs nonetheless. I guess the definition of custom is elastic and some things are more custom than others.

I still contend that custom means there is only one made,Just talking Razors here.
If a damascus blade, no two patterns are ever the same.
If a hand made forged blade,no two will be the same as is anything made by hand.
When scaled in whatever material (except plastic) no grain patterns will be the same,custom to me meens. a one of a kind,made by an artisan.

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Mike: I don't give a fig about how the term is used in relation to other disciplines. all I know is what the word means, and what it does not mean. with Geezers post in mind - QED.

Neil, we all know there are very few things for which you give figs. And I think if we were on a forum discussing syntax, and not the peculiarities of straight razors I would agree with you enthusiastically. However, as the initial post asked us to consider razors and the conventions by which we define a "custom razor", the issue is not so black and white. As the Oxford Dictionary has yet to tackle this contentious definition, and we are left to our own devices (for example, this forum) to make our determination, I must protest that sometimes gray areas do exist between our opinions, and therefore, with regard to "custom" razors, QE is not D.

Or maybe sometimes it's just fun to throw a hand grenade in the room and watch you jump on it

With much respect, my friend!

Originally Posted by entropy1049

...
Or maybe sometimes it's just fun to throw a hand grenade in the room and watch you jump on it

With much respect, my friend!

Likewise, Mike - but you know that anyway! Pleased to take the bullet (or hand grenade) in the quest for simplicity,

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

...Now these are virtually identical save the inevitable variances that come with a razor made by hand one by one, by an individual craftsman. I suppose some would argue that since they are virtually identical, they are not exactly fulfilling the definition of 'custom.' OTOH, the individual who is making them thinks they are...

That's very interesting Jimmy. One has to balance the 'look-at-me' attitude that is crying out for attention today (well, it has been around for a while and the rise of cheap media like youtube has seen it grow to incredible proportions, along with so-called talent shows featuring the vast horde of talentless individuals intermingled with a few truly talented) with the more subservient (on the whole) know-your-place (again, on the whole) attitude of years gone by.

For instance, the Butler factory clung to the old ideal of hand-made. Every blade was forged, beaten, heat treated, finished, honed and scaled by hand, usually by little mesters renting room space or in the home hearth. One man could turn out a canteen of cutlery by hand, identical to the eye. That is literally thousands upon thousands of totally hand-crafted cutlery, none of which was called custom.

Do that today and you would need to widen all the door-jambs in your house, 'cus it is inevitable that your head would not fit through regular doorways. Those old craftsman earned a pittance, then went home at the end of the day. Artisans? Custom makers? no - bloody heros.

Regards,
Neil

When I read the definition of custom it felt like there was a little room for a stock piece of material in there somewhere. In the instance of a razor the hardware and like, but if you are pulling pieces from several stock items, or your reference is from a stock product then in my opinion it has lost the custom badge. If you had "inspiration" from something and came up with the design or collaborated in the design then I think you have a custom piece. Collaboration doesn't mean you say you like a brushed metal look, barber notches, and polished black scales, and that is the extent of your input. That's like putting together a sleeve tattoo of flash from the book, and you can customize your hamburger at Wendy's all day. But the definition of customize in Merriam Webster denotes that you have something already produced and it is altered to fit your needs. Not a custom. This has been a fantastic exercise in minutia. But my face isn't all that unique, my feet are a common size and I don't need to wear a suit all that often, so my need for anything other than what is already available isn't that high. The only thing I think about is the quality of what I am shelling out my money for. Two boys eating me out of house and home and bursting out of their clothes every couple months have taken that luxury away for the next 15 years.

We need to realize that not everyone is going to agree on the definition of what custom is. I take a simple approach to it, if it has been changed from the stock run of the mill factory razor into something that is much more esthetically pleasing to whom ever then it is custom. I do not think that a "custom" piece has to be commissioned and collaborated on by both the buyer and artisan. If I, as an artisan, decide that I want to make a piece for no one particular pearson and later after it is finished some one likes it and buys it, it is still a custom razor. Now granted, I do believe that there are differing levels of custom but that doesn't detract from the term custom be it full blown hand crafted or a set of custom scales on a factory razor. That's just me, my wife says I am easy, all she has to do is flash the ta ta's and I do what ever shes says.

TA Ta's????????????????

Originally Posted by guitstik

my wife says I am easy, all she has to do is flash the ta ta's and I do what ever shes says.

Brotha from anotha motha...

Originally Posted by UKRob

So going back to my Mastro Livi analogy - if I go along to his workshop and specify a 6/8" damascus, full hollow with french point and mommoth scales and watch in awe as he pounds the metal - that makes it a custom. However, if after writing down my requirements, he takes me into his retail area and says here's one I already made (in that exact specification) it cannot be a custom by definition - because it was not custom made for me.

I think that just about ties things up nicely.

Couldn't agree more. I will take the cheap seats and have my Ford with new paint and keep a couple of dollars in my pocket for a rainy day or my next razor. Isn't it all the rage today to re-purpose lumber from old homes and reuse it for a new project? I will take a vintage blade in a new set of scales and be happy as the day is long. I just wont unveil my new razor in the club section of Customs, I will happily present it in Acquisitions and leave the rest to semantics and linguists.
In my humble observation why do most of the custom blades appear to be closer to axes or other implements of destruction than the vintage productions? Or am I just a bleacher creature who cant understand the finer things in life? Does the $1000 price tag and all really shave closer?