The day finally came. My E-mail was alight with the good news I had eagerly awaited. My Koraat 14 2.0 was finished. Like a giddy school girl, I looked at the photos Ulrik had attached and was so happy. It was nothing unseen and was frankly like several shown here before. So what follows after the ooh-ahh photos here is my experience picking up the razor and shaking hands with Ulrik.
*I am posting the photos Ulrik sent as they are nicer showcase photos than I can take*
Koraat 14 2.0 grind for tough beards transparent blue scales
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The first impression of Koraat was really given through the emails back and forth. Real care was put into making sure I had my voice heard and that I was able to relay any desires along the way. My second impression was at the gate in the unassuming very quiet neighborhood. Before me, a dragon guards the gate and I knew that beyond was a place where imagination could run wild.
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I was rescued by a much younger than I pictured man who happily shook my hand and welcomed me in. Walking into his "small" shop I was welcomed with an offer for coffee and on the table before me was IT...my razor. Now, I know we have all experienced getting a new razor or finding some hidden gem in the wilds of antique stores. But, this felt different. For the first time, I was receiving a razor made with me in mind the whole time. This was ordered, cut, polished, and assembled with my name attached to it the whole way. Seeing it sit there and receiving it from the man who made it made me feel briefly like a superstar god (which I am...at least in the shower).
He soon set about showing me around his shop and answering all the questions I had. To be honest I was shocked at how willing and open he was to share about beginnings and ends, successes and failings. Overall Ulrik gave an amazing impression of gratitude and care for those he builds razors for.
It all starts with the blade blanks. Which are custom drop forged for him and only him.
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After the stamping and pounding of various emblems at the anvil, they make their way into "hell". The grinding room is nothing short of what must be a rough place to work. I imagine the heat and stifling air the constant smell of burn mixed with plastic and wood. Here he showed me his various grinding wheels and what purpose they serve. We talked slightly smiling blades and what seems to be his new excitement in extremely thin bellies and blades that sing like sirens as the 14 does. I was taken aback by the extended knowledge that his wife actually does the fine polishing of the blades. I picture the two of them working and putting everything into the craft. I only took one photo in "hell". It's of the wall that sits behind the main grinding wheel. Here microscopic particles have built up into a permanent stalactite of painstaking work. Nothing fancy just really struck me in regards to how much went into my blade...and many more.
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The next room from there is where scales are cut and then the final polishing work. If those drawers could talk! each one filled with materials for scale making he popped open two and behold more blue paua shell and Ironwood than I thought possible in one place.
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Did I mention he does etching work too!
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So, what does all this mean? This has been my second and certainly not last Koraat razor. In fact, I think I'll start jotting down ideas for the seven-day set we discussed before I left.
I feel confident in endorsing anyone who hasn't yet to do the following:
BUY KORAAT RAZORS you will be shocked at how affordable some of the pieces are and how extremely detailed it can go from there. His link is below.
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