Favorite Hand Made Modern Razor

I noticed there is a lot of small businesses producing straight razors, mostly in the US. Among them are Nate's Straights, Scottish Razor Co, Portland Razor Co, Hart Steel, etc. Hart steel is obviously a lot more readily available where as the others you most likely have to wait anywhere from 1 to 3 months for it to be made. It seems most of these razors come in 1/4 hollow ground so they are comparable. Was hoping to get some feedback on some of these razors in terms of quality and performance and if you own more than 1 to compare them. I was trying to get some pricing but I was having trouble on some of these websites. Hart's sell for roughly $280 and Scottish Razor Co sells for roughly $180 give or take. If anyone knows a ballpark price for Nate's Straights or Scottish Razor Co that would be very helpful. It's great to see all the customization that can be done and at a reasonable price. Are there any similar straight razor makers that I'm missing?

Portland Razor Co., $120.00 to about $650.00.

Nate is Tim Zowada,s son , if he's any thing close to his dad they will be a good quality razor, some of the other artisanal razors have in my opinion to many grind and quality issues. Spend a little more and pick up a razor from some of the custom makers and get a great quality razor,, never ever forget we also have Brian Brown who offers a limited production razor with Brian's great grinding and craftsmanship, others may not agree, but others have bought the cheap ones and don't want the say what's wrong or they don't know yet,, my experience comes from having a razor collection that is 11 customs from some of the best and now down to only 4 vintage blades, and some customs I've sold cause they weren't in the class of the makers that I now have,, but I would rather have a vintage that was ground and heat treated right than a "custom, production" that was just pretty looking. Tc

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

Nate is Tim Zowada,s son , if he's any thing close to his dad they will be a good quality razor, some of the other artisanal razors have in my opinion to many grind and quality issues. Spend a little more and pick up a razor from some of the custom makers and get a great quality razor,, never ever forget we also have Brian Brown who offers a limited production razor with Brian's great grinding and craftsmanship, others may not agree, but others have bought the cheap ones and don't want the say what's wrong or they don't know yet,, my experience comes from having a razor collection that is 11 customs from some of the best and now down to only 4 vintage blades, and some customs I've sold cause they weren't in the class of the makers that I now have,, but I would rather have a vintage that was ground and heat treated right than a "custom, production" that was just pretty looking. Tc

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Which have a lot of quality control issues in your experience?

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Originally Posted by Justino14

Which have a lot of quality control issues in your experience?

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If you want I,ll pm you, we don't trash vendors on the open forum, sets a bad precedent, not to mention it ain't cool. Tc

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

If you want I,ll pm you, we don't trash vendors on the open forum, sets a bad precedent, not to mention it ain't cool. Tc

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Completely understand, that would be great if you don't mind. Thanks.

Thread is still open to everyone, would love to hear people's experience with different makers.

Robert Williams and Mastro Livi are hard to beat IME.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Robert Williams and Mastro Livi are hard to beat IME.

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What he said but it have a caveat on that too, from experience. But great razors. Tc

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Robert Williams and Mastro Livi are hard to beat IME.

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This is true, with one caveat , Tc

Only have one. Koraat Knives. Don't think it can be beat. One of the most reasonably priced and Ulrik is a gent.

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Originally Posted by dmnc

Only have one. Koraat Knives. Don't think it can be beat. One of the most reasonably priced and Ulrik is a gent.

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Another I agree with fine quality. Tc

My first straight was a 6/8 round point from Portland Razor. Had it almost a year. It is very high quality and a great shaver. If you want a 1/4 hollow you cannot go wrong with Portland. I had to wait about 3 months for it, they have quite a backlog. Worth it though.

Always liked the look of Ali's blades.

Brian Brown does customs, and has a production line of razors that are in Stock and ship immediately. I don't have one of his blades, but he is very well regarded as a razor maker and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. In fact, I hope to own one of his 7/8 production razors in the near future.

Brian Brown Custom Razors - Home

I am the proud owner of one of Ulrik's Razor's.
A Blue scaled G10 6/8 Wedge.
Definitely worth checking out .He is a real gent to deal with & his quality is top notch.
IMOHO outstanding value .
Cheers Paul

If you score a Lewis, you will be quite satisfied IMO.

I should also mention our very own Gipson, from Ukraine. I have one of his blades and it is also very, very nice. His lines and grinding are perfect, almost as if it were stamped from a mold. Everything he makes is hand done, and at a very good price I might add. They come shave ready and finished on a Thuringian. The edge that he had on mine was amazing, and he was great to deal with. I'd also highly recommend his blades.

Attachment 230294


Another, as mentioned, is Ali's blade. His blades can be very expensive but are in my opinion a top tier blade. If you look at his past work on his website, it is very clear he makes high quality razors. You can also.... Sometimes, snag one for cheaper. I also have one of his blades and it is like shaving with a piece of art. I love my Ali's blade.

Attachment 230295

And, as Sharptonn has said, Charlie Lewis is also IMO a top tier razor maker. At the moment you will have a hard time finding any of his blades for sale, but I think that might change in the following months. I do not have one of his blades, but I will for sure have one in the future. He makes some outstanding looking blades.

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

If you score a Lewis, you will be quite satisfied IMO.

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Tom....... If that blade ever starts to bite or call you names, it may need a Canadian to calm it down. :)

I have a Portland and I personally really like it. I took a shot on it because they are made in America and it was a small company. I was glad I did. Not to mention the owners are really nice and customer service is amazing.

I had a Hart and I didn't really care for it. They look really nice but the one I bought had some QA issues. Money can be spent better.

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Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY

Tom....... If that blade ever starts to bite or call you names, it may need a Canadian to calm it down. :)

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Has not happened yet, Andrew! TBH, I came across it quite by accident and a bit of luck. Amazing grinding and steel in it.
I love Charlie and consider him a friend. Seems the majority of his work is quite large and executed with unique 'reptilian' flair, which is not my personal preference.
He will readily admit that he does not know what he is making until it comes together, I think. An artist!


This example is possibly the 'plainest' of his work I have seen.
Still, it is right up my alley, 8/8 and handles/strops wonderfully. I put it in the top 3 razors I own as to shave.

Being younger than myself, you may well realize your name is upon it, My Friend! :)

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He will readily admit that he does not know what he is making until it comes together, I think. An artist!

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I have seen it happen in his youtube videos. He draws stuff on his steel blank, kinda randomly, and then doesn't follow it. Ha! I love it. You're right though, he is an artist. He does things that no one else does, and maybe they try and mimic it, but I've never seen anyone duplicate it. Some of his blades aren't for me, but most I really like.

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Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY

I have seen it happen in his youtube videos. He draws stuff on his steel blank, kinda randomly, and then doesn't follow it. Ha! I love it. You're right though, he is an artist. He does things that no one else does, and maybe they try and mimic it, but I've never seen anyone duplicate it. Some of his blades aren't for me, but most I really like.

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I saw an interview with him once (Charlie can come off quite dry, but he is far from that!).
Has a bucket under the belt that contains those with which he lost inspiration or figured he had totaled.
He revisits the bucket from time to time with new inspiration.
Reckon my razor is possibly one of those? :eek:

I think he has lots of irons in the fire. No doubt he will be making some razors soon!


(If you see this, sorry Charlie! :))

After spending a few days with Charlie, that is what he explained to me too, just works on it till he gets it done. Upon wanting to quit on my razor after a boo boo, Charlie told me this and I,ll never forget it " I've never made a mistake on a razor, I just make a smaller razor" or something to that effect. But he really doesn't have a plan he just starts hammering. And ya he's not really dry and anti social, he's really a softie, and super cool guy, that doesn't like banana pudding. Tc