Thread: My Mastro Livi razor, at last: a wonderful life experience!

Originally Posted by BearCWY

I just emailed SRD about getting a Mastro Livi loom strop and was told they no longer carry his strops or razors. Why I don't know, I guess you will have to contact Mastro Livi directly to get one.

Maybe they discontinued selling them for some reason. I do see a large loom strop, a large replacement loom & a medium replacement loom. They might have these in stock until they sell out of them. They have not had a Mastro Livi razor listed for over a couple years now that I know of. If there was, it was gone faster than yu could take your next breath! I wouldn't mind getting a replacement loom for my large loom strop even though it doesn't need it yet. I've had it for a couple years now & put maybe 2-3 small cuts on it. It still has a lot of service left in it.

Originally Posted by engine46

Maybe they discontinued selling them for some reason.

They have not had a Mastro Livi razor listed for over a couple years now that I know of.

Yes, one could say "they discontinued selling them for some reason".
From what I gathered when I visited Mastro Livi in May, the cooperation with SRD seems to have ended.
No need to speculate any longer.

The last Mastro Livi razor (a Grifetto) sold a few weeks ago on SRD, not "a couple of years" as mistakenly stated above.



B.






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Originally Posted by beluga

In northern Europe you find the standard cream in a green tube, in Italy the standard cream is in a red tube (as in your picture) and the green tube is the menthol one.

Never understood why Palmolive did not standardize the colours and packaging, but for less than one Euro there is not much else to complain about, is there?

I'd guess menthol Palmolive has green packaging in Italy to compete with menthol market-leader and arch-rival Proraso green (they're side by side in most supermarkets). The aloë of the standard Palmolive cream is also associated with green, which is why maybe they keep it in northern Europe? Agree it's confusing!

Originally Posted by MichaelS

I'd guess menthol Palmolive has green packaging in Italy to compete with menthol market-leader and arch-rival Proraso green (they're side by side in most supermarkets). The aloë of the standard Palmolive cream is also associated with green, which is why they maybe keep it in northern Europe? Agree it's confusing!

As far as I can tell, the only place where I saw menthol Palmolive is Italy and what you say makes a lot of sense as Proraso certainly is the leading brand in Italy when it comes to shaving soaps.
Packaging color too is confusing: in Italy regular Palmolive has a red packaging while in the other countries has a green one. In Italy green packaging is used for menthol cream.

Originally Posted by beluga

Yes, one could say "they discontinued selling them for some reason".
From what I gathered when I visited Mastro Livi in May, the cooperation with SRD seems to have ended.
No need to speculate any longer.

The last Mastro Livi razor (a Grifetto) sold a few weeks ago on SRD, not "a couple of years" as mistakenly stated above.



B.






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My mistake. Every time I went to SRD & clicked on Mastro Livi razors, there never were any available but I was speculating they were selling fast when they came in. I bought my Mastro Livi loom strop from there going on 2 years now. I did not know they didn't sell them anymore. I guess they have a loom strop & a loom listed because they still have some they need to get rid of.

Sunday 24 July 2016



My Very First Mastro Livi More Than Three Years Later

Three years later. More than three years later, to be precise. Today's shave has been done with my very first Mastro Livi straight razor, the one which started my passion for the job, art and talent of this great Italian craftsman and Master. This razor changed forever the way I shave and I see shaving. It made me discover the excellence of shaving and how a real razor should shave, it gave me a new light and vision about shaving and straight razors. In a moment it made me almost forget the rest of my beloved collection - today counting 268 straight razors - because of its superb quality, something so far from every other razor I have ever used in my life. And the good news is this razor shaves like the first day: in more than three years I have never honed or refreshed its edge on pastes, it still has a super cutting edge and shaves like a feather caressing my skin giving a very close and very smooth shave. Simply amazing.

• Pre-Shave: RazorGuy Pre-Shave Oil
• Soap: Dr K Peppermint Shaving Soap
• Brush: Mühle Modern 281 H 23, Fine Badger, Pine - 21 mm - Size M
• Bowl: Gerby Bowl
• Strop: Mastro Livi Medium Loom Strop "Coramella Italiana" and Hand Palm
• Razor: Mastro Livi Blue Tongue Damasteel, 7/8 Full Hollow, Livi Point
• Post-Shave: Alum Block
• Post-Shave: Umbria Extravirgin Olive Oil
• After Shave: Floïd The Genuine

This story started in the beginning of June 2016 when I went to Mastro Livi's laboratory. With my total surprise, Mastro Livi was working on something new - he is always experimenting new damascus, techniques and steels - and, in particular, he was grinding a CarboInox blade. He said it was a new pattern and this would have been revealed only at the end of the coloring process. He mentioned this pattern was special because it was a CarboInox with a stripes pattern. He said he combined martensitic stainless steel and carbon steel (CarboInox is a damascus made by assembling this two types of steel) and this process has been quite difficult and required a lot of time at the forge. He also said he wanted to start a new series of straight razor scales dedicated to the countries of the world, in particular he was thinking about an insert in the scales recalling the flags of each country. For this very blade, he wanted to add a USA flag insert, something he already had made by the time I arrived at his laboratory. The final result of this razor Mastro Livi made at the beginning of June is visible in the pictures I attached to this report, in particular, it is the straight razor with a CarboInox with stripes pattern and scales with a round tip in which you see the USA flag. That was absolutely magnificent and stunning!
It took me very little time to ask him to make a razor like this for me and having the Italian flag. However I also asked him if he could make another CarboInox razor with a USA flag, as I lived in this country in the past and I liked the idea of having two CarboInox razors with the flags of those two countries.
Yesterday I went to Mastro Livi's workshop because he phoned me in the morning and told me he finished making the two razors and they were finally waiting for me to go there and pick them up.
It was also the occasion to take some pictures of Mastro Livi showing his latest masterpieces and, of course, the two razors I brought home with me.
To me, Mastro Livi is a genius, not only a superlative artisan, arsist and craftsman, but also a genius, unequaled genius when it comes to straight razors. Not just for the fact he has been successful in combining martensitic stainless steel and carbon steel together (it seems this is something quite hard to achieve by using genuine artisan methods only) but also for the latest pattern he has been successful in creating for his CarboInox. This stripes pattern simply is breathtaking, something mesmerizing you would never stop admiring, both for its beauty and the technical achievement. All handmade, all handmade by an Italian artisan, all handmade by a great Italian craftsman. Moreover, this is something - as far as I can tell - I have never seen in other razors, knives or cutting tools of any kind. To me, Mastro Livi is an unequaled talent both in straight razor making and damascus making.
And I am very happy to be the owner of these two masterpieces he made for me. Mastro Livi is the highest expression of Italian pride and "made in Italy".

Here you can see three straight razors with Italian and USA flags. Not to mention the new CarboInox patterns, as well as the breathtaking stripes patterns. Mastro Livi is simply the best, a genius and a unequaled artisan, artist and craftsman.





Mastro Livi CarboInox (martensitic stainless steel and carbon steel) with buckeye scales and USA flag insert.





Mastro Livi CarboInox (martensitic stainless steel and carbon steel) with a breathtaking strips pattern and poplar scales with Italian flag insert.





Mastro Livi CarboInox (martensitic stainless steel and carbon steel) with a breathtaking strips pattern and poplar scales with USA flag insert.





Mastro Livi showing his latest creations: CarboInox razors with scales having Italian and USA flag inserts.






Mastro Livi holding in his hands his latest masterpieces: CarboInox straight razors with scales having Italian and USA flags inserts. Not to mention the breathtaking CarboInox with stripe patterns. Simply amazing!





Mastro Livi holding in his hands his latest masterpieces: CarboInox straight razors with scales having Italian and USA flags inserts.





Mastro Livi CarboInox (martensitic stainless steel and carbon steel) with a breathtaking strips pattern and poplar scales with Italian flag insert.

Mastro Livi CarboInox Stripes Italy, 7/8 Full Hollow, Spanish Point

• Blade: 7/8 Full Hollow, Spanish Point
• Steel: Mastro Livi CarboInox (Artisan martensitic damascus steel made of carbon and martensitic stainless steel), Stripes patterns
• Scales: Poplar scales with Italian flag insert (Jade, Fossil mammoth ivory, Coral)

Close up of the CarboInox stripes pattern, made by forging martensitic stainless steel and carbon steel, a lot of talent, art and craftsmanship. Superb!





Close up of the poplar scales with the Italian flag insert (jade, fossil mammoth ivory, coral)

Mastro Livi CarboInox USA, 13/16 Full Hollow, Spanish Point

• Blade: 13/16 Full Hollow, Spanish Point
• Steel: Mastro Livi CarboInox (Artisan martensitic damascus steel made of carbon and martensitic stainless steel)
• Scales: Buckeye burl scales with USA flag insert (Lapis lazuli, Camel bone, Coral)

Close up of the poplar scales with the USA flag insert (lapis lazuli, camel bone, coral)

I am longing for a philanthropist who would be willing to buy me one of these. I have looked at the prices of these razors from different makers and realize it is something I will never have unless some philanthropist were kindly enough and say, O.K. What the heck. Why not, just this once, and bingo I have a marvelous SR rather than these skankie second rate, manufactured antiques I have to deal with. Oh! Oh, oh, oh. Drool, whimper, whine, weep. Yeah. I know. Get off your lazy but and start saving. Well by the time I did that I would be cremated before I had the cash.
Since there are no philanthropist who would do this I am asking for help with ideas what I can do to accumulate the funds to purchase one of these fine tools. Anyone got good and easy ideas I can imploy.