Thread: First straight razor, Ralf Aust or Revisor

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

I used to resell Thomas's Revisors, and always honed them myself, even though the edge was pretty damn decent in the first place. In all the hundreds of razors I got from Thomas, only one was truly blunt but it was a simple thing to correct this, and one had a bent blade - Thomas took it back immediately.

Not much different from customs makers. Factory of artisan, we all make mistakes. Every single one of us.
It's not something we advertise of course, but let's be honest. Every customs maker probably has a return every now and again.

I have had a couple. 2 were shipping issues where a razor was damaged in shipping.
Then there was one that had a geometry issue that only showed up after a couple of shave when the false edge gave away.
One unfinished razor had a spine decoration that was not symmetrical (still don't know how I missed this but there you go)
And now I have a razor that was differentially hardened, which seemed fine when it left here, but turns out to have a near invisible crack which may or may not have been there when I sent it out.

I'd say with 2 returns in many hundreds of razors for Thomas, that's a pretty good track record.
What really matters is how we deal with that. Any self respecting maker will fix the problem without issue.

Originally Posted by Bruno

That depends really. I have the impression that Hart makes the entire razor. If the German makers start from blanks, that is a significant amount less work that needs to be done.

I actually ran into an employee of Hart at a Michigan Meet.
JD was his name if memory serves me, Everything from scratch is what he said, Similiar to a Tim Zlweenda getting iron ore off the banks of Lake Michigan.
Since I did not know much about Hart, I did ask a few questions, 1) How big is your operation? Small a few guys. 2) What brings you from up North to this meet? My wife makes the scents for Mikey Lees Soapworks.
He was a very nice man to talk with, and I asked him for confirmation of proper bevel setting as I was giving the honing class not being so confident with a razor maker watching over my shoulder. He was very kind and helped me teach what I knew. He didnt say much about himself or Hart as he was there in support of his wife and her products, which are wonderful. Still using up the samples she provided.

Originally Posted by RobinK

Interesting point, Bob. However, Dovo do operate a factory. As, I am sure, do the Chinese makers. Aust, Revisor and Wacker operate Kotten. The term "artisan" is at best misleading, and does not apply to Solingen manufacture anyway. We are talking about skilled craftsmen (cf dual education system) and decades of knowledge. Artisan makers are, by definition, self taught, which means they have to reinvent each and every wheel. This approach may appeal to some. I personally prefer things that work, and have a sensible price/performance ratio.

That is indeed correct. But they cater to different customers, and have different processes.
If you want an affordable no-fuss shaver that will last you a lifetime, you are better off with a Ralf Aust razor than with a custom razor. He has optimized his manufacturing setup for specific types of razor, and is very good at that. I could not make those razors he makes.

Otoh, all of the razors I make have no alternative in the brand name razor market. If you want a smiling razor, etched black, 8/8 in size, and with stainless steel inserts in the tang, Ralf Aust cannot help you. Not because he doesn't have the skill if he really wanted to, but he doesn't have the equipment and processes to do so, or the means to easily create one-off blanks. That is where an artisan with a hammer and a fire and a workshop full of general purpose equipment will be better. I am fairly certain that even if Herr Aust could be persuaded to make such a razor, it would be more expensive than if I do it for example. And chances that he would accept such a commission are small to nil.

We are in different markets, catering to different desires.
By the same token, if you want an affordable and dependable car, you buy one.
If you want an amazing muscle car with unique design features, you go to someone like gas monkey garage and commission one.
They do not compete with each other because they have different customers.

Originally Posted by ultrasoundguy2003

I actually ran into an employee of Hart at a Michigan Meet.
JD was his name if memory serves me, Everything from scratch is what he said, Similiar to a Tim Zlweenda getting iron ore off the banks of Lake Michigan.

Thanks, good to know. Though iirc, they start from standard O1 stock, not from ore. That would not be possible at hart prices.