Damascus Maestro - you tried?

I am getting more and more serious about getting a Damascus Maestro as my last razor acquisition (for some time, at least)

I can justify a lot for the look, but am also interested in outstanding shave quality. Meaning, that if I get it, to be truly satisfied, I would expect it to shave at least as well as my cheaper:
8/8 Fili Novodur barber's
7/8 Satinedge and 6/8 Goldedge
6/8 Puma 52
8/8 Friodur
8/8 W&B
etc.

I realize it will probably be different. That's ok. I am looking for opinions from as many people who have (or have tried it) as possible. This is important to me, because (unfortunately) I cannot afford to buy many expensive razors, and it might be a bit hard to turn this around (if I don't like it enough)

Thanks
Ivo

Nobody shaves with one of these???

Please, email me at: ivo.zlatinov@dreifus.com

I am really itching to get one of them, but this is no small chunk of $$$ for me and would like to get some opinions - even if they are anecdotal... Or does Lynn back them up - e.g. one can return a razor, if not totally satisfied?

Thanks
Ivo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joe Lerch

Are you expecting someone to do you in after they've discovered your purchase?

I don't have a Dmascus razor, so I can only tell you what I've heard. People don't buy them because they shave better

Besides, you've enumerated some pretty super shavers there, so I would be skeptical.

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1. :roflmao no, I expect to live long and use it at least weekly, if not more often

2. & 3. :eek: this isn't helping me justify the purchase!

I'll wait for more opinions, then

THanks
Ivo

ps forgot to ask: why are people buying them then?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by izlat

ps forgot to ask: why are people buying them then?

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They're drop-dead gorgeous.

edit: The maestro razors that interest me are the takeda/damascus razors. That way you get the beauty of the damasteel with an extremely hard shaving edge.

Lynn, any idea of the rockwell rating of the inner core on the maestro/takeda razors?

For me the Damascus is purely an aesthetic thing, I think it looks abolutely stunning but I haven't heard that they shave any better than a regular carbon steel blade.

Like mparker762 I'm very keen on the Maestro/Takeda blades, in fact I'm just waiting to hear back from Lynn about blade availability before I place my order for one. I really want one, it would be the highlight of my rotation. :y

I would PM Lynn about this, as I am pretty sure he has used one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Iwan

For me the Damascus is purely an aesthetic thing, I think it looks abolutely stunning but I haven't heard that they shave any better than a regular carbon steel blade.

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There are two basic flavors of damascus running around, both of very ancient origin. Pattern-welded steel was (AFAIK) invented or at least popularized by the migration-era germanic tribes (the vandals, visigoths, etc) and is what just about every thing claiming to be damascus nowadays is made of. Wootz steel, which is believed to be what the crusade-era middle-eastern swords were made of, gets the patterns because of the imperfect distribution of austentite and martensite in the steel, which when hammered flat and folded multiple times forms those streaky patterns in the metal. In both cases, the patterns are only visible once the metal has corroded somewhat, because the different quality steels corrode at different rates; obviously this corroding process is carefully controlled by the manufacturer. The pattern-welded stuff is just for looks, and because the manufacturer can control the patterns it can look spectacular indeed; the scandanavian epic poems talk about swords made with snake scale or dragon scale patterns, but modern stuff can get truly wild. It is also available in stainless versions. The wootz steel gained its reputation as truly superior steel back during the crusades, unfortunately the exact process for making that steel has been obscured by the centuries, though wootz-like steel is available in small quantities today.

Thiers-Issard claims their damascus razors are made from wootz, and if so they may be superior razors, and would certainly explain the price. I'm pretty sure that the Maestro, Wacker, and Darrell Ralph damascus razors are made from stainless pattern-welded steel. The pattern welded stuff can also make a great razor, but AFAIK there's no intrinsic reason for this to be so -- it's purely up to the maker.

The migration-era tribes actually made their swords with high-carbon inserts in a pattern-welded core that made up the fuller area and wrapped around the high-carbon blade piece to the bevel. One of the reasons I'm interested in the Maestro/Takeda razors is that an Italian and a Japanese have inadvertently replicated the Vandal/Visigoth/Frank sword in miniature in their razors :-)

The Maestro Blue Tonge which is a damasteel is hardened to a Rockwell 61-63 I believe. It is an awesome shaver and really holds an edge. The Takeda AS Damascus is also killer. My problem with the TI Damascus is that it tends to microchip out frequently and it much harder to get and maintain an edge. They are also nice looking razors. So far, having had the opportunity to hone and shave with the TI, the Maestro's and several other current customs, I would say the Maestro is way on top. But, obviously I sell them too. I really do try to be impartial on this stuff as the main reason I am even selling the Maestro's is that from the moment I saw one, I had to have one. I have not regretted it since.

Thanks.

Lynn

Hi Lynn, thanks for the comments. I'm still undecided on whether to go for a Takeda AS or AS/Damascus at the moment, I guess it depends on what the Maestro has in stock right now that can be ground into a 7/8 blade. I'll probably just go with a more basic handle like Briar Olive etc, as it's going to be a regular shaver rather than a show piece.

Cheers,

Iwan
PS Thanks for honing my Satinedge and SRP Limited Edition TI, they arrived this morning and are both wonderful. :tu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by izlat

1. :roflmao no, I expect to live long and use it at least weekly, if not more often

2. & 3. :eek: this isn't helping me justify the purchase!

I'll wait for more opinions, then

THanks
Ivo

ps forgot to ask: why are people buying them then?

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I'm not sure I understand? Are you wanting people's honest opinion as to whether they're worth the money, or you just want everyone to chime in and tell you to go for it?

You have some great razors in your collection. You'll be hard pressed to find a "better" shaver, I think, at least one appreciabily better than what you should already be getting.

But the Damascus razors are beautiful works of art, and if you want one because you just happen to want one, and you value them for their shaving and artistic value, then go for it.

Thanks to all for the opinions / experience shared.

While I am still thinking, I am gravitating to the idea that I probably would not be as happy with a Damasus as I expected originally (i.e. - I expected that they will be many times better than 'normal' razors...) Sure look good though!

Cheers
Ivo

I will preface this by saying that I am pretty much of a noob regarding straights. I have been happily using a Feather AC for a while, but other than that I have little straight shaving experience.

This weekend I had the opportunity to try my freshly (and I might add, expertly) honed and stropped TI Leaf and Vine (Silver steel, full hollow 6/8) back to back with a Maestro Blue Tonge and a Maestro Takeda AS, which were both stropped by me, putting them at a severe disadvantage. By any measure discernable by me other than manuverability (they are quite large) the Maestros were simply in another league. No doubt at all that they are superior to my TI, but I don't know how they would compare to the others you mentioned. I would say that I would be surprised if you are disapponted with the Livi.