Thread: Mastro Livi loom Strop

How, was the hone glowing red hot and ruined the temper? Them doing things like that will spread like wildfire....

I got the last Mastro Livi razor ordered by SRD. It is Damascus steel with bone scales, a real work of art. That was one razor I had to send back because of the blade not closing in the middle but hitting one side of the scales. Shave is excellent. The last one I got was the Mastro Livi 2016 club razor and that is the sharpest razor I have owned but it shaves very harsh. I tried using my Escher to smooth the shave with no results. Then I tried my JNat again no better results. I am close to Mastro Livi's age so I understand he is finding it harder to do things.

Originally Posted by jkatzman

I got the last Mastro Livi razor ordered by SRD. It is Damascus steel with bone scales, a real work of art. That was one razor I had to send back because of the blade not closing in the middle but hitting one side of the scales. Shave is excellent. The last one I got was the Mastro Livi 2016 club razor and that is the sharpest razor I have owned but it shaves very harsh. I tried using my Escher to smooth the shave with no results. Then I tried my JNat again no better results. I am close to Mastro Livi's age so I understand he is finding it harder to do things.

I believe it was your Livi with stag horn scales that prompted me to ask Livi to make me a 7/8 Damascus steel with this type of scales.
It is a beauty to look at and gives an acceptable shave.
Not my only Livi Damascus steel and not my best Livi either; I found that his razors that are made out a single steel seem to provide a better shave.

Which brings me to the nightmarish 2016 Livi Club (CarboInox layered steel) razor, the one that never provided an acceptable shave and had to be discarded.
While neither your nor my 2016 Club deserve the lavish praise that is heaped from some corners on anything Livi does, your and my problems were different, which points to significant inconsistencies even in small batches of razors that were produced together, like the 2016 Livi Club edition.

Agree also on making an allowance for Livi's 76 years of age, but what I make no allowance for is the lame excuse that he used - apparently with others too - to evade responsibility for something he made and sold.


B.


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Did you ever try to send the Club 2016 razor back?

After sending back one razor that cost me $70, I would not bother or want to absorb additional expense over what I paid to get a custom made razor.

Originally Posted by abgesq

Did you ever try to send the Club 2016 razor back?

Yes, apologies, I thought I had made that clear.

In fact, this put me into a situation where I had paid import duty when the razor first arrived at my end, then Italian Customs claimed the full 21% Italian VAT and duty on the new price when this Italian made defective razor was shipped back (which I refused and which was ultimately sorted out by Livi), and finally I probably would have had to pay import duty again when the razor was retured to me; in addition to shipping expenses of about $100 for each of the three trips.

When Livi failed to stand by his product and came with his "overhonig" cop-out, I asked him to discard it, as it was nothing more than an overpriced letter opener to me that would only bring a sour taste to my mouth.

Of course, by then the razor had been honed several times to give an acceptable edge to a blade that was clearly unable to take one - not only in my opinion but also in the opinion of a well-respected razor manufacturer in Germany, whom I had asked to take a look at this razor and who told me the blade had been flawed from the beginning.

I hate to draw this out, as this thread started as a thread about Livi strops and has now morphed into a thread about Livi quality control, but I was clearly taken aback by Livi's unwillingness to stand by his product and failure to ask himself why on earth someone would need to hone the edge of one of his much acclaimed razors that had just been delivered.



B.

Wow this is new information to me that I am disappointed to read I only have one Livi razor and it is terrific, but it is also several years old.

Originally Posted by Ernie1980

Wow this is new information to me that I am disappointed to read I only have one Livi razor and it is terrific, but it is also several years old.

Yes, I am sure there was a time when Livi deserved all the praise, but these glory days seem to be a thing of the past.

B.

I had the carbinox livi razor and it shaved but was very harsh. I sent it to jamie to hone and I no he had issues honing the razor which mirrored mine.

I just ordered the 2017 razor I hope it's going to be perfect shaver.

Originally Posted by gary haywood

I had the carbinox livi razor and it shaved but was very harsh. I sent it to jamie to hone and I no he had issues honing the razor which mirrored mine.

I just ordered the 2017 razor I hope it's going to be perfect shaver.

Gary, I wish you well.
You're a braver man than me...

Perhaps not entirely surprisingly, I have decided to give Livis a miss in the future.


B.