Quote Originally Posted by gugi View Post
I never liked the quality of the 'satin finish' of these razors, and for that matter almost every knifemaker who has branched into razors that I've seen.
I do not mess with grinding and stuff, but from what I understand to achieve uniform finish like those on vintage razors, it is necessary to first go beyond the brushed finish and polish the steel and only then create the brushed finish. That's harder and costs more.
I had occasion to talk with a USA custom maker about 'satin' as opposed to mirror finish. He told me it is far more labor intensive to do the mirror finish. From the artisan's point of view the worst part is the mirror finish highlights the slightest defect while the satin will tend to conceal them. Not surprising that most customs and many factory razors nowadays are satin rather than mirror. I suppose there must be gradations in between the aforementioned finishes though. I can imagine going through the whole razor making process and a moments inattention in the final buffing ruins the whole effort.