Originally Posted by
Steel
When I started I thought old Sheffield steel was some of the best. Then I learned about Sweden steel and German razors were usually hollow ground with great steel. As I started expanding Anerican razors didn't interest me as much AT FIRST. Then slowly I started to notice a pattern with American razors. They were very geometric, high quality, and the steel took and held some of my best edges. I started researching and found that many American makers (as steve pointed out) had furnaces and ore on their property and made their own steel. Holley mfg co. Was one of them and there were others. In fact, one of Holley's claim to fame was that EVERY razor (and knife) was hand forged out of their very own steel. They resisted the newer processes like a drop forge and it is believed that this was one contributing factor to their demise as they couldn't keep up with "fast food" production but they swore that hand forged steel by master smithy's aligned the steel Fibers in a way that would aid in an extremely sharp edge. Maybe it was advertising hype. Maybe not. At any rate, I can't remember one American razor that I have had that was not excellent. I'm sure they must be out there but I haven't run into one.