Quote Originally Posted by wingdo View Post
My collection of straights is slowly moving from mostly vintage to "modern" customs for the most part. Modern razors just work better with my hands.

Anyway, a huge portion of my razors have been from Robert. That said, a few have been from others like Butch and Max as well. As we all know customs take time to create, and I've had word back on two of them in the last couple weeks. Both e-mail chains have included the phrase "I did a test shave, and it was great". I was taken aback by both of these as I was expecting a new razor. Yes, the test shave was done by the maker, but to me there is a certain pleasure on using a new razor for the first time.

I asked Robert if he does test shaves and he said no, he relies on his honing knowledge to know the blades will shave properly. This is really what I expect from any custom maker. So I was just wondering what others think. If you pay $500+ for a new custom...
Again, just looking for the opinion of others out there.
I must say I fell the same as you, not that I have the mega bucks like you. However, when I found my last Rolls Royce had been driven and sold as new I sent it right back. I have a nice pair of Italian shell cordovan hand made shoes now instead - takes a bit longer to get places, but I'm damn sure they were not test-walked!

My last custom was a disappointment, too, I confess to having a few customs. In the literature that accompanied it it said 'hand wrought' so I phoned the maker to ask what that meant - apparently he had pounded it with a massive great hammer. I wasn't having that, no way, so I sent it straight back.

Honestly, what is the world coming to?



Regards,
Neil