Razorguy, you tell a wonderful tale. So good in fact that by the end I'd forgotten it wasn't me owning this razor and came out of the story looking for it only to be disappointed :cry:
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Razorguy, you tell a wonderful tale. So good in fact that by the end I'd forgotten it wasn't me owning this razor and came out of the story looking for it only to be disappointed :cry:
Apis, I am very glad you appreciated my tale despite at the end it disappointed you. I guess this can be fixed in a way or another: just own a Mastro Livi razor! I understand it is not easy for you to come to Italy and to visit Mastro Livi's shop (although, let me say, the visit to the shop and meeting Mastro Livi in person would be worth the trip) but I am sure it would be a remarkable experience for you as much as it was for me.
In case you make such a decision, I will be more than happy to assist you in that. For the moment - in the hope this will not disappoint you even more - why don't you take a look at the new Mastro Livi web site he recently started and dedicated to his wonderful razors? You can find it here: Mastro Livi custom straight razor site
I do sincerely wish you to become a happy Mastro Livi razor owner soon. Very soon. :)
All the best to you and long live the straight razor! :)
By the way, I'm an official convert to the use of olive oil as a post-shave treatment/balm/oil/whatever.
You really don't need much at all; it seems to be quite soothing and keeps any redness/irritation at bay and best of all, it makes your face REALLY soft and smooth.
Thank you, Razorguy. I hope someday to take you up on that offer and enjoy beautiful Italy in a new way. I am far to inexperienced at the moment, I think it will be at least another ten years and need more razor acquisitions. I am too new to shaving with a straight to know what I like, everything would seem good and there would be no finesse to my conversation with the Mastro.
I think I will hold the thought and save this for a significant birthday!
:y:tu:y I am very glad to read that! A new convert to His majesty the Olive Oil!
To me, Olive Oil is the best post shave I can get and I am very glad to read your feelings and sensations for using it. You are right: you don't need much at all; just five drops are enough but work wonders on the skin. Also consider Olive Oil is very rich in tocopherols, which are very good for your skin.
Using Olive Oil as a post shave treatment, or as an after shave, was a very common practice in Italy and this is what my grandfather taught me. And it works! :)
I believe a conversation with the Mastro would be the highest finesse for any straight razor user/lover, either beginner or experienced.
"Mastro" is the contracted form of "Maestro", and its meaning is "one who master an art and is capable of teaching it to others". Mastro Livi is really like that, a maestro who can teach about straight razors and shaving. And he is very happy, kind and willing in this. If you believe you are too new to shaving and need to learn a lot, well, Mastro Livi is the right person for you. He is very kind and gentle, he is a real Mastro, a master and teacher. You would enjoy the conversation very much, I just know.
I wish you will hold the thought for a little more and have a significant birthday soon! :)
Razorguy:
I was at Mastro Livi's shop earlier this month while visiting Italy. His wonderful Italian hospitality is amazing. I took many pictures, including several of the ones you posted eralier. I had the chance of watching him in action while putting together a couple of razors and a Damascus steel blank. He is a true artist. I came back with my custom made ATS34 steel razor with amboina scales and some nice souvenirs. Mastro even treated us for lunch at his favorite restaurant (he likes macrobiotic food). Pics will follow. Stay tuned.
Razorthin:
I am sure you are the one Mastro Livi mentioned to me yesterday while I was talking to him. He said he received the visit of a gentleman from Texas earlier this month. :)
I am very glad you had the chance to see Mastro Livi in action: I know it is a remarkable experience. And I also know you had a special "souvenir" he made for you guys: a very special keyring (lucky you, guys! :) )
I can't wait to see the pictures you took and, of course, I will stay tuned!
Enjoy your Mastro Livi razor which I will certainly look forward in seeing a picture of it soon. :tu
Yep. That was me (and my father-in-law who came along for the trip). I enjoyed seeing him in action and being able to explore the "Razor lab" where you find all sorts of interesting materials and projects. My Italian is very basic but we were able to communicate since I also speak Spanish. The autographed Damascus key ring was icing on my cake. So far, I've shaved with my Mastro Livi razor twice and is a sweet blade, possibly the best razor I've ever tried. I will try to upload some pictures of my visit tonight.
This is amazing. Whoever tries a Mastro Livi razor always ends up saying it is the best razor ever tried. There must be a reason!
I can't wait to see the pictures of your Mastro Livi razor! And yes, the "razor lab" is truly amazing. Mastro Livi also told me you shoot a video of him making his damascus steel. That too would be nice to watch.
I only have very short video clips and photographs. Mastro Livi encouraged me to show videos of his work, he told me he wants to prove to everyone he makes his razors from scratch :D
I can prove Mastro Livi makes his razors from scratch. Including, knives, scissors and many other cutting tools.
Attachment 133382
Ok, as promise, I will upload a few pics from my day at Livi Cottelieria...
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In the previous picture, Mastro Livi is selecting different grades of steel and nickel plates to create a Damascus blank. In between different projects, he is cutting a new blade from a stencil.
Attachment 133388Working by the oven...
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Hydraulic hammering action...
Quality control in action...
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Great day with Mastro...
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came home with great souvenirs. The keyring is a sample of his damascus steel and is signed by the artist...
This is my gorgeous 7/8 Razor Livi Stainless Steel (amboina scales) which was waiting for me at the shop. I am happy as an Italian clam.
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A fine example of Livi's damascus in a blade already destined to a lucky fellow enthusiast in Spain.
Razorthin, thanks for the pictures. You look pretty happy in the last one! Glad the new razor is working out.
Can you tell me how his skills and traditions are being preserved? Does he have apprentices/family who are continuing the razor making?
Ten years until my next significant birthday. Time to start a razor fund and ring fence it from the children...if I drink one fewer beers a week between now and then that should do it. These are tough choices...
This is very helpful to me, thank you.
It is probably obvious to experienced users, but as a new user I was wondering when to strop, CrO and hone. Do you go back to hone every time it starts pulling, for example. This is a very simple explanation. Go with the feel and switch down when it pulls. When switching down just one level no longer works satisfactorally, go to the next, and so on. A very efficient approach easily applied that will save the razor as much as possible.
Razorthin,
let me express my congratulations for the magnificent razor! it is a Mastro Livi, so it is a masterpiece, no doubt about this! Your razor looks simply gorgeous and, yes, I am a little envious for that... ;)
Also congratulations for the fine pictures of the Mastro at work: I know it has been a remarkable experience. I just know.
And I am also also glad to see now we are two in this thread to have lived the same wonderful experience. It would also be great if you could add comments about your razor and how it works. very good job!
Mastro Livi has a son, Luca, who is a Mastro himself and makes exceptionally beautiful knives. Of course he is continuing the family tradition which now is centuries old. On this regard, Mastro Luca Livi (son of Mastro Lido Livi, the one we all simply call Mastro Livi since ever) emailed to me a couple of pictures of a beautiful kamisori he had just made with a beautiful Damascus steel.
I believe you should shorten times and make your next birthday a significant one. :) I believe the day you will meet Mastro Livi and see him at work, you will regret for not having done that before. :)
Mastro Livi has the gift of explaining things in a simple and direct way, in this regard, I believe he simply wants to make sure everyone can understand his incredibly deep knowledge about his art, from beginners to experts.
This is what Mastro taught me when he gave me the razor he made for me. Simple, direct, effective.
Mr. Livi has been doing this for 67 years (he started learning the skills from his father at age 5!). His son (Luca) is the 6th generation of Livis in the knife and razor production.
Buying a first class razor which doubles as a work of art should be a reward for working hard every day. It also becomes a heirloom in the family.
I did it. I did it again. One month ago, with my joy and pride, I have become a privileged and happy owner of a Mastro Livi straight razor. I am so happy for that, you would not believe it, I did it again. Now I am happy than ever because, yes, I own another Mastro Livi razor. A very special one in many regards. It is a kamisori (a style of razor I like to collect and use), it is made by Mastro Livi (the best artist in the world in this art) and for its construction has been used a Mastro Livi carbon Damascus steel. I mean, a Damascus steel he personally made.
There is more, and the story is long indeed, Mastro Livi allowed me to watch him working on every phase of my kamisori construction, from the cutting of steel thin layers, to the creation of Damascus bar, forging, tempering, honing and shaving!
It has been a wonderful, unforgettable, incredible, magnificent, amazing and enchanting experience. I literally saw my new kamisori taking life. Now I am an elated owner of a Mastro Livi Kamisori. My Mastro Livi kamisori.
The story is however longer than that, because Mastro Livi allowed me to film him during the many phases of the production, including taking pictures, and also granting me the permission to post and publish both videos and pictures on the internet in order to let all the gentlemen see how Mastro Livi art takes life, from scratch to signing. It will take sometime to edit the video sequences I shoot and to select the best pictures, but I will certainly do that, also in our beloved forum - this one - so you all gentlemen can see yourself.
Mastro Livi told me he encourages his clients to go and visit his shop and to personally watch him making the razor the clients commission to him. Mastro Livi will certainly be happy to welcome anyone in his shop. For me, it has been a wonderful experience, spending another full day with the Mastro who also taught me so many things about steel, Damascus steel, razors and shaving. Wonderful.
Moreover, it has also been very exciting when Mastro Livi personally gave me the kamisori, after having personally tested the razor by shaving and decided it passed all of his quality tests. Mastro Livi is very exacting in this: he signs and sells only the razors he believes to meet his high quality standards. Even the minimum fault means discarding the razor.
Tomorrow I will shave with this new kamisori and I know I will get just another impeccable and superlative shave. For the moment, I am going to post some pictures of my Mastro Livi kamisori made from Mastro Livi carbon Damascus steel. I hope you will enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed this beautiful piece of noble art.
And, by the way, stay tuned: I will post pictures and videos about the making of Mastro Livi carbon Damascus steel and of my kamisori.
Your kamizori is gorgeous. Simple and elegant design.