Conversation with Neil Miller

by Obie Published on 12-31-2011 10:00 PM

Neil

Obie The love affair between the straight razor and the strop is like reading Jane Austen by a warm fire, or savoring port wine with Stilton cheese. For me, aside from tuning the blade as if a musical instrument, stropping paves a link into a state of bliss. I often find myself stropping far more than I need to just because of that. No wonder I continue to explore the world of strops and strop makers. One such world belongs to British strop maker Neil Miller, whose vast interests and talents have amounted to a string of successful careers. Obie: As a maker of strops, how do you view the relationship between the straight razor and the strop? Neil: Well, let's start by stating the obvious. You can't have one without the other. Seriously though, I like your tuning the blade analogy. I find that very apt. The relationship between the two is also synergistic in that the raw, freshly honed razor's edge is enhanced by stropping. Stropping also conditions the strop, burnishing its surface. For me the act is deeply symbolic, too. It provides a bridge between the past and the present, and represents continuity. Obie: As a tuning instrument, then, what essential properties does a quality strop possess? Neil: As long as the leather is of sufficient quality, has no artificial top layer, is suitably pliable for the type of strop and possesses suitable draw, then the prime requirements are met. Width and length come next in importance. Handles, hanging gear, swivels, hooks and means of attachment are all of secondary importance. Obie: Going on the assumption of every positive having its parallel negative, what screams of

a low quality strop that one should avoid? Neil: Anything that does not meet at least the first four requirements should be regarded with a certain amount of caution. For instance, a hanging strop made with a hard, card-like leather that has no draw at all is next to useless. Unless it is designed to undergo a breaking-in regime. That is something rarely seen nowadays, but it was common with older strops. I mean particularly the old Russian-tanned strops the name persists, but the strops are not the same these days. The leather is of prime importance, providing it is of good quality and the strop will be OK. Price is something of a determining factor, too, although a good, serviceable strop can be produced for quite a small sum. If the price looks too cheap, then it is in all probability not good for the purpose. Obie: A subtle war has always existed between the hand-made and the machine-made worlds. Clothing, automobile seats, straight razors, strops, just about everything, I suppose one or the other may win the battle, but who the war? Neil: I don't think I would use the words battle and war, Obie. In a way we are comparing two different philosophies, both of which have their good points. Which one you choose, machine-made or hand-made, will most likely have more to do with your own philosophy of life than with one being inherently better than the other. As with most things in life there is no simple answer. One man might choose a megabuck custom made razor, another a more pedestrian model. If they both do the job to the particular individual's requirements, all is well and good. Obie: In our correspondence youve made a statement that intrigues me. Its a profound statement, I might add. Youve said, I like to see the hand of man in human works. Neil: That is part of my philosophy of life. I believe that mere mortals can aspire to perfection, but never attain it that is the province of the gods. When I see something impressive made by a machine, I appreciate its value. But when I see something impressive that is hand-made by a man, I can see the heart and soul that has gone into it, and I am infinitely more impressed. The small tell-tale marks that something has been hand-made are like tracks in time, another link to the past when all things were hand made out of necessity. Sometimes when I restore or repair vintage razors, I find the makers initials scratched on the inside of the scales. In recovering old paddle strops I have revealed handwriting on the timber that was covered with leather. In repairing old camera lenses I have seen the lens grinder's name signed in India ink on the outer rim of the brass-bound lens. These things have a visceral impact for me that is hard to put into words. It could include nostalgia, tradition, toil, remembrance, continuity, sentimentality, solidity all these things and more. Obie: So then I can only assume you lay open this philosophy before you like a book and proceed to use the recipe to make the Neil Miller strop. How does a strop start in your handcrafted world and the process of making it progress?

Neil: Not with a recipe, unfortunately. It starts with the leather, with a half or full hide, a croupon or a small oval shell. I have to feel the nap, if any, the natural grain, the scars and the marks. Then I can see the strop. Obie: What determines what type of a strop you make, what style, and what size? Neil: As I said, the leather kind of dictates its end use for the most part. Once that has been established I can see where I want to go. When I worked in design, we were taught to feel what's in the air. Its a semi nonsensical phrase that means you are guided more by feeling or intuition than by anything else. Of course, that intuition is colored in great degree by what you have previously experienced, so it's probably not a blind thing anyway. Don't tell the fashion designers I said that, by the way. Obie: Not a peep out of me. Tell me, does each type and size strop offer specific challenges or are they not all that different? Neil: Width, thickness and tanning make a huge difference. For a 3-inch strop we ideally want leather that is not too prone to cup or to curl. Most leathers will exhibit this tendency to some degree. They were once the coverings of curvilinear animals, after all. So we have to choose carefully. Something from near the shoulder will not be that appropriate, for example, as the skin of the animal in life was quite bent and stretched in that location. The thickness will dictate how the handles and the hardware are applied. Very thick leathers, say around 5 millimeters, aren't that easy to sew, so you have to resort to rivets or to skiving it down where it is to be joined. Hanging strops offer the most challenges. Paddles let you get over things like thickness and the tendency to cup or curl the thinnest and thickest leathers may be used with freedom. Shorter lengths of leather are used, too, so something prone to much scarring can be used more effectively. For instance, kangaroos tend to be quite battle-scarred. Obie: Do you find the need to match a certain type of leather, fabric or linen to a specific type of a strop? Or is it one for all? Neil: Bearing in mind what we discussed, I think that apart from hanging strops, loom-type strops have a certain requirement that must be complied with. That is the use of a thicker, more compactly tanned leather. I have seen a lot of loom strops where the leather has been distorted and ended up permanently cupped or curled. Obie: What type of leather do you fancy most? Neil: I like shell cordovan, really, but I don't use it regularly. I strop so many razors every day that I could not justify the price. I go through quite a few strops. A good tallow tan leather is almost as good as shell, and the particular type of Latigo I use forms my everyday strop. It is thinner than normal, much finer grained and less oiled, possessing a medium-light draw. Obie: What about the second part of the strop? Linen, fabric or felt?

Neil: Genuine linen every time. It has a slight edge over cotton/canvas, a bigger edge over felt, and is a delight to use. Obie: I prefer a 2.5-inch strop, not too long, soft steer hide with a medium draw, and with genuine linen component. I like horse, too. Kangaroo I havent tried. As a maker of strops, do you find yourself leaning in any particular direction? Neil: The 2.5-inches wide for me too, Obie. Latigo and linen. That serves for everyday use for my own razors. For razors I hone for others I use two different leathers. The first has a heavier draw oiled English bridle to bring the edge out. The second has a fast draw and refines the edge. Obie: In your experience, what do shavers mostly demand? Now, Im not all that fond of the 3-inch strop, especially since some have a tendency to buckle more than the 2.5-inch. Also, the X-pattern stropping comes naturally to me, so much so that even on my only 3-inch strop I still do the X-pattern. I have a feeling though that the 3-inch is probably the most popular. Neil: You are right. Most people ask for a 3-inch wide one. The shell cordovan and the red lightly oiled English bridle seem to be favorites, too. However, a lot of these requests come from newbies who have just got their first open razor, so I try to discourage them out of buying an expensive strop and to learn on a cheap model until they have got the knack. I'm getting quite good at doing myself out of expensive orders. Obie: The Universe has its own way of writing our script, and often the path in our life colors what we create and how we create it. Thats true with me in my writing, and was in the years I spent behind the radio microphone. Youve had a colorful life, starting as a designer at Londons Chelsea School of Art. Youve also run a light engineering factory, built houses, worked as a laborer building roads, had a stint as a photographer, and several other gigs. What has driven you through this varied career exhibition? Neil: I have been very lucky, Obie. I didn't settle down until quite late in life, and although I earned good money in the past, money has never meant that much to me. Its just as well, seeing as I don't earn much now. I have been just as happy being a student or digging holes in the road than as an executive director. Life has been like a meandering country road to me. There have always been other avenues to explore, different forks to take, and places to just stop, look and listen. Obie: How has this background, then, influenced your creative work? Neil: I suppose the chief thing is that I have never felt bound to do any one thing. My wife works, too, and this has been an enormous help. The things I choose to do all have some sort of thread going through them, even if it is very tenuous or even conforming to Jung's Acausal Connecting Principal. Obie: Which is a principal that centers, more or less, on a pattern of connection that cant be explained conventionally. Its all about coincidence that some of the experiences we

perceive as coincidence are not merely due to chance, but rather to the manifestation of parallel events and circumstances. Neil: I feel that was the case with most of the things I did when I was younger. Less so now. Obie: The love of working with your hands, fortunate for straight razor shavers, also has propelled you into strop making. Had you been shaving with the straight razor before you decided to make strops? Neil: That's very kind of you to say so, thank you. I did own a microtome razor when I was 11 or so not to shave with, though. I used it to prepare thin specimens for microscope slides. I couldn't afford the body of the microtome nor the razor, to be honest it was the result of a gift. So I had to make that myself, along with the strop. Obie: What, then, led you to making strops? Neil: When I got my first open razor, I had to have a strop, so I bought a very cheap one. Big mistake. It was hard and horrible, the hanging gear was a bent bar with a nail going through the middle, its end cut off and the shank formed into a loop. I still see them in use. If you look the head of the nail, it even has the check-marks on it. And the handle is a thin bit of stitched plastic-looking leather. I made my own strop and relegated the shop-bought one to having its ends cut-off, pasting it to a board, sanding it and coating it with chrome-oxide. Obie: Your strops now are available through your own online shop. Neil: That's right. Nowhere else. I have been approached by several large, well known resellers, but as all the strops are more or less unique and only made in small quantities, I couldn't meet the demand. Not that I want to, anyway. It's a creative process for me, something to take time over and make a personal investment in, not a mass-production money maker. If I had to produce them in large, regular quantities, all standardized to look the same, I'd fall out of love with it, I think. Obie: What is it about leather that attracts you? You obviously have to love leather. Neil: I like everything about it the smell, the feel, its organic nature, its uniqueness. Plus it forms another one of those all-important links for me. It ties me into the past and brings the past into the present and hopefully the future. Obie: What type of a strop, then, do you recommend for a newbie? Neil: I can't emphasize enough that the leather is all important. It doesn't have to cost the earth. It just has to do the job effectively. Good leather, medium draw, at least 12 inches of clear stropping length and at least 2 inches in width. Slightly wider and a bit longer would be better. Paddles take the guess out of how taut to pull the strop, but you might as well bite the bullet and get a hanging strop. A paddle can always come in handy later as the carrier of an abrasive they are more suited for this purpose than hanging strops. Get something cheap enough that you wont fret about when learning. You wouldn't take driving lessons in a Rolls

Royce, would you? Obie: What do you recommend for the strops care and maintenance? Neil: I try to use leathers that do not need any significant amount of care other than handrubbing. Rather than try to adjust the draw by adding oil or tallow, I think it preferable to get leather with the required amount of draw right from the start. Obie: What is your general stropping method and can you offer suggestions to the newbie as well as the pro? Neil: I wouldn't presume to lecture to a pro. I guess we all form our own routines that suit us well enough, but which another would find fault with. With a linen/leather hanging strop there is a short adjustment period during which the leather gets burnished by the act of stropping, then settles down and changes very gradually thereafter. For a newbie, then, once this settling in period has taken place, there are just a few simple guidelines to follow. Laps on linen should be in the order of 20 to 40 followed by 40 to 60 on plain leather. Forget about oils, sharpening pastes and powders for the present. Say you go for 30 linen and 50 leather and get a good edge. You can then start by altering the ratios, possibly only one at a time, until you get an edge that is better and which you can repeat with the same regimen. My own routines include linen/oiled buffalo/Latigo/dry buffalo in different configurations, driven mainly by the razor in use. It doesn't make much sense, I know, but certain of my razors respond differently to different leathers. I sometimes use a very glazed, fairly fast draw buffalo strop with graphite powder sprinkled and rubbed into it. Again, it is hard to see why it works as it does by refining the edge to a finer degree than if the graphite had not been used but it does. On the other hand, what exactly is going on during the process of stropping? I shall abandon this subject by just mentioning the words plastic flow and waiting for the furor to subside. Obie: Sorry, Neil, but you have me curious. What do you mean by plastic flow in stropping? Neil: It's a term used to help explain the deformation of a substance once a certain amount of force has been applied. In stropping it refers to what happens to the metal at the bevel. It is said to deform somewhat due to the act of stropping. It is based on a sound principal, but is of debatable importance in this instance. Obie: A colorful ritual frames traditional shaving with the straight razor. Were loaded with fallacies, too. What are some of the fallacies centered on strops, strop making and stropping? Neil: The obvious things that spring to my mind are really more in the realm of the theoretical rather than fallacious. Microfins, not stropping after shaving so the edge can rest, plastic flow, the use of substances softer than steel, that is graphite, and so on I would include them in this area. The use of newsprint is not quite within this area. It borders on the magical, but it does work. I believe that the paper itself has a degree of abrasiveness, and that in the old days the

greasy newsprint had a lead-graphite content that helped. Most newspapers are produced with water-jet technology these days I think, using dyes rather than pigments, so this shouldn't enhance the effect. That people say it does only adds to the wonderful magic of it all. One thing you often hear people advocating is using your belt as a strop. I suppose there are belts and then there are belts. Generally speaking, belts are not strops, though. One last thing that springs to mind is the almost obsessive need felt by some to oil a strop. Maybe as part of a yearly maintenance program it might be wise to do this with certain leathers, but for a new strop? You can always add oil, but it is very hard to take it away again. Obie: Of course, as a man who loves working with his hands, you also restore straight razors. Lets put it this way: is there anything you dont do? Neil: I think I'll take the Fifth Amendment on that one, Obie. Obie: Youve had a rich and creative life. When you reflect on the past, do you regret missed opportunities or are you satisfied you did everything you wanted to do? Neil: It is hard not to get all Sinatra over this, but yes, I have been very happy with my lot. I have been very lucky to have a wonderful wife, a loving family and to have had so many opportunities. I know that full well. Of course, there are very many things I would have liked to have done, but, to be frank, one lifetime isn't nearly long enough. Obie: Looking to the future, what is left to do for Neil Miller? Neil: That country road still has a good few miles to meander along. Who knows where the next fork will lead to?

Conversatrion with Randy Tuttle

by Obie Published on 11-30-2011 10:00 PM

Randy

Obie A straight razor without a properly honed edge makes for an unpleasant shave. Whether a basic blade or a high-end custom, it needs the masters touch to paint silk over steel. Anyone can stroke a flat piece of rock with his razor and call it honing, but a selected few can claim the throne as the masters of the hone. They not only know the wide range of sharpening stones, but also how to use them. Of those the name Randy Tuttle reigns among the top hone masters. Obie: What is the fallacy, the misconception behind proper honing? Randy: For new guys the number one misconception is that fine grit finishing stones are magic bullets that will solve all problems. The truth is none of the finishing stones will make up for a straight razor that has: a) frown in the edge, which is more common that we think, b) vintage razor with oxidized soft steel on the edge, and which will not hold an edge, c) poorly developed bevel, and d) where inadequate time was spent on the intermediate grits. Obie: To take the question further, what then distinguishes the hone master from the pedestrian? Randy: The ability to evaluate a razor before the honing begins to determine what steps will be necessary to achieve a shaving edge. You need to evaluate a razor for frowns in the edge, warping of the edge or the spine, hone wear pattern along the spine and its implications. Also the angle of the bevel and its implications, and the hardness of the steel, and what hones will be suitable hard steel/soft stone, soft steel/hard stone. Just to name a few things that must be considered. Obie: Youve been at this for a long time. How long have you shaved with the straight razor? Randy: About 7 years now, but I first tried about 1996, when I was given my grandfathers straight razor and Frictionite 00 hone. At that time the Internet was just starting and I could find nothing to help me learn to hone a razor. I tried but the results were a disaster. Obie: I assume you didnt start honing your razor at the same time. Or did you? Randy: Ha! Yes I did. I had the same desire as a lot of the new guys. I wanted to do it myself. Obie: My humble honing experience comes from Sham (hi_bud_gl) and you. Two masters, indeed. My stroke is Shams, I know, especially in the distinct way he uses the back hone movement to not only keep the slurry, but also to use it as the instant correction tool. I have

incorporated some of your strokes in my method, as well. From you also I have learned the proper method to eliminate frowns. From both of you I have learned how to set the proper bevel. To an extent I also have learned some things from Lynn, although I have not sat with him to hone yet, but I plan to in the coming months. Talk about being lucky to have such distinguished teachers. When you were starting out to hone, who were your teachers, your influences? Randy: My teachers were the guys on the Yahoo SRP forum led by Lynn. Not just the guys who succeeded, but also those who reported their failures. I think there were 400 registered members at that time and Lynn was running the show. There was a whole lot of experimentation and a remarkable lack of written resources to reference. Guys would try this hone and that and report their successes and failures. We did not have the Norton 4/8 at first, so we were trying every hone out there, old and new. I don't recall anyone mentioning Jnats, Coticules or Eschers. The three main external things that moved us forward were the Pyramid Method, some old barber texts that had chapters on honing, Razor Central by Arthur Boone, and the Norton 4/8. Obie: What were some of the trials you faced, some of the challenges, the bumps in the road? Randy: We had to learn to divide and conquer. To break things down into categories, such as new razors versus vintage razors, German full hollow grinds versus thickly ground Sheffields, razors with a smile on the edge versus a straight edge and the implications for honing. The major achievements were developing useful honing strokes such as the rolling X strokes, half strokes, and compensating strokes, and realizing that the vintage razors had soft oxidized steel on the edge that needed to be removed so that a strong, solid edge could be created. When to use pressure and when not to was important. And the most important was to learn that the development of a solid bevel was the foundation for everything that followed. Obie: As you were learning, I assume you were also collecting stones. You have an amazing collection now. Was there a particular method to your acquisition? Randy: Yup! Estate sales, flea markets, antique stores, eBay and knife collectors were my main sources. They still are. I don't go looking anymore, because I have so many, and I am working on another related project. Obie: Give me a short rundown of some of your stones. Randy: Norton 1/4/8, Shapton Pro, Naniwa SS, Chosera 1K, Shapton GS 1K, many Coticules and Escher type stones, Silk Stones, Tam O'Shanter & Water of Ayr, Charnley Forest, Turkey oil stone, various Arkansas stones, Carborumdums, King, Jnats, some mystery hones, and many Barber hones. Obie: Thats an astonishing collection. Whats the best method to maintain these stones? We maintain our razors through the standard methods of preventing rust, and so on. What is the proper way to maintain stones?

Randy: For water stones, we do not let them freeze or soak in water for any length of time. Keep them free of swarf by either scrubbing with a nylon pad under running water or lightly lapping refreshing between honing sessions. The Coticule, Tam O Shanter and other non-porous hones simply need to be kept dust and dirt free and lapped when you need to restore the cutting power. The barber hones build up a glaze that needs to be removed with either sandpaper, a rubbing stone, or by lapping. The reason they develop that glaze, which is built up swarf, is because of the high percentage of abrasives in them. There is very little space between the abrasive grains, so they trap the swarf between the abrasive grains, especially when used dry. That's also why they cut so fast. They have a very high percentage of abrasives. Obie: Some of the great stones are gone. The Swaty, the Escher, and others. What happened? How did they disappear? Randy: From what I have read the quarrying of Thuringan-Escher type hones stopped when, for some reason, the Communists dynamited the quarry and closed it. What happened to the Swaty I do not know. Most likely the competition from American manufacturers such as Carborundum and the American Hone Company, and others, drove them out. Obie: What is, then, the status of hones currently being manufactured? Randy: Waterstones and ceramic hones are the primary ones now and they keep on getting better and better, but I am sure others will be coming along. The old begets the new and the new begets the old. Obie: Are there mines still to be discovered? Randy: Most likely. I remember SRP's JimR visited Bali and came back with some volcanic Tuffa hones that none of us have heard of, and just recently there was another guy on SRP with some interesting natural hones. There is a lot of unexplored territory. Obie: Buying stones from various online sources can be chancy. How do you evaluate a stone offered for sale, say, on eBay? What do you look for in that stone? Randy: I look for color, size and markings to fit within a range of those parameters. For a Thuringan-Escher type stone I look for a size of less than 2 inches wide to 3/4 of an inch thick, 5 inches plus in length, and a color range from dark blue to green-yellow or blue graygreen. The other telltale sign is scratch marks. Those will scratch very easily, so a bunch of scratch marks tell me its soft. If it has cleaves, that indicates a quartz-noviculite-chert type hone. Texture is also important Obie: What is your prized stone? Randy: A 2" x 8" combo Tam O'Shanter/Water of Ayr. I have only seen this one. The other is a 10 Escher Y/G. I prize them because of their unusual size and their effectiveness on a straight razor.

Obie: No matter how prized the stone, would you not say that one must also know how to use it for optimal honing? In other words, do you find it essential for one who hones to know the characteristics of the stones he uses? Randy: Oh yes. A person has to know what stage of honing that hone fits into, what it is good at, and what it is not good for. The Tam O'Shanter is an example. When I first received mine, I tried using it with just water as a finishing stone. Frankly I spent a lot of time with it and got nowhere. Then I worked up a slurry on it and found that it was very good at removing microchips and functioning as a 6000 grit. That is its strong suit its best use for straight razors. Obie: What is your method of honing? Randy: I use a basic rolling X stroke for almost all my honing. I decided to stick with that for two reasons. First, it is an easy stroke to learn. Its the stroke I teach new guys. Second, it always works. It is slower than performing circles, but it is very controllable. I deviate from that stroke only when removing a frown from an edge or reshaping an edge. Obie: Lets take a for instance: You come across a blade to restore. How do you determine if the can be restored? Randy: There are four deal killers: First, rust on both sides of the edge. In that case the rust has gone all the way through the steel and a lot of steel will need to be removed. The exception is if the blade is a 7/8 or larger. Then there is enough meat to end up with a razor of reasonable width and size. Second, a cracked blade. Guys have to learn and apply a modified thumbnail test to check for cracks hidden by patina. That would be a good subject for a video. Third, wide hone wear on the side of the spine indicates that the angle of the bevel is now probably to shallow. That will result in an edge that is thin and weak and most likely will microchip. It also results in a wide bevel, which takes a lot longer to hone. Fourth, Uneven hone wear on the side of the spine. This can indicate one of three things. The most frequent is improper honing, and most likely the edge has a frown shape to it. Then you need to check the depth of the frown and decide if the end result will be worth the work involved. Next, the uneven hone wear can indicate a poor grind of the blade, which we usually see in the old English Sheffields. Either the spine thickness is inconsistent or the concave portion of the blade right along the edge is fat too thick. Finally, it may indicate a warped blade, either the spine, the edge or both. Obie: Lets assume you see potential in the blade, but it has a frown, it is stained, with some rust, and as a bonus some chips. How do you, Randy Tuttle, give life to that blade? Randy: First remove the rust by either the use of sandpaper or grease-less buffing compound. Usually both.

Second, remove the frown by raising the spine, approx 1/4 to 1/2, off the hone-sandpaperDmt diamond hone, approx 500/1000 grit, and focus your pressure on the high points on each side of the frown. Just use back and forth strokes on the same side, alternating every 10 to 15 strokes until the frown is gone. Then start working on the visible chips in the same manner. Finish with strokes that move from heal to toe to even up and shape the edge. The result will be an edge that has some deep scratches. So then it is time to work on the 1000 grit hone using the normal X stroke, but with one layer of tape to smooth out the scratches. Make sure the bevel extends all the way to the edge. Then remove the tape and go to the 4000 grit and get the bevel to the proper level. Once again, make sure the bevel goes all the way to the edge. From there it is just the normal 4000/8000 finishing sequence. Obie: Do you strop following the stones? Any specific pattern? Randy: I do not. I want the edge to rest. I just make sure the blade is dry and oiled. Obie: Do you put much thought in the Hanging Hair Test? Put another way, do you give a hang about the Hanging Hair Test? Randy: Yes, I do because I can. My hair is suited to that test and it tells me if the razor is ready for a shave test. Obie: What, then, determines, to you, if that razor is shave ready? Randy: Only the shave will tell you that. Obie: The question of how often one should hone his razor comes up. Ive never found a formula for that. I hone when I feel the razor needs it. Your view? Randy: I agree with you. When it no longer shaves the way I want, then it gets a refreshing of the edge. Obie: What is the basic stone requirement for a shaver who hopes to maintain his blades? For instance, I have a small set up of Chosera 1,000 with slurry stone, a Norton 4000/8000, a Naniwa 12,000, a Thuringian, and a mysterious Japanese stone. I dont plan to go into the honing business. Both you and Sham have said thats all I need. What is your suggestion to other shavers like me who just want to maintain their razors? Randy: A 6000 and an 8000 grit stone are the basics needed. You can get a very good shave from an 8000 grit stone. At the other end is either an abrasive pasted paddle strop, or a finishing grade stone, or a good, known barber hone. I prefer to first go to an abrasive pasted paddle strop, 0.5 micron chrome oxide, and if that is not enough, then down the grit ladder to a finishing grade stone or a barber hone. The 6K & 8K are my last resorts. Obie: The world of straight razor shaving calls for several separate elements that must be mastered. Honing is one, an entity onto itself. What advice do you have for one who considers

maintaining his or her straight razors? What is the honing starter kit, if such a kit exists? Randy: A good plain leather hanging strop. An abrasive pasted paddle strop using a size of 0.5 micron, either a finishing grade stone or a barber hone. That should keep you going for a long time Obie: What emotional and psychological value, and pleasure, do you derive from honing a razor? Randy: The strongest is a sense of continuity with the past, specifically with my grandfather. We now have something in common I am the same as him. A link with the past. The other is a strong sense of satisfaction that I have learned a manual skill that I can apply, and get rewarded for, every day and for the rest of my life.

Conversation with Robert Williams

by Obie Published on 10-31-2011 10:00 PM

Robert

Obie A custom razor by Robert Williams is like that dazzling Lamborghini that circles the neighborhood like a sweet recurring dream, or that elegant Rolls Royce once sported by the stars from the golden age of Hollywood. The custom razor world has an impressive, although small, group of masters who create magnificent razors. Robert Williams is one of them with a corner seat all his own. He is an articulate and an unassuming craftsman always ready for an in-depth conversation about his art: the custom straight razor. Obie: I cant help but think of you as an alchemist of sorts, one who takes a piece of metal and turns it into gold. The gold in this case is a dazzling Robert Williams custom straight razor. Do you ever think of yourself as a straight razor alchemist?

Robert: I must admit that I've never really thought about it as alchemy, per se, but there is certainly science involved. Creating a fine straight razor from an annealed billet of steel is a sort of alchemy as the steel must go through a series of transformations that alter its very structure in a precise and controlled fashion. Getting that right is critical in order to make a great shaver. The rest of the work is centered around delivering this superior edge in the most artistic and ergonomic way possible. Obie: In creating your custom razors do you find yourself paying tribute to a particular great name in straight razor history, say Wade & Butcher, Frederick Reynolds, William Greaves, or others? Put another way, do you feel a particular influence from them? Or are you drawn to a specific great name? Robert: Funny you should mention Wade and Butcher and Frederick Reynolds, because they were two of my favorite makers. From the perspective of style, flowing lines and creative angles, they have strongly influenced my work. Joseph Rogers and Greaves are a couple of the others that caught my eye. My stepfather's razor, which I restored and have shaved with, is a Greaves. Obie: I often can recognize a Robert Williams custom straight razor. Dont ask me how, but theres something about your razors that gives them distinction. If I were to explain your signature to myself, how would I do so? What would I say about the Robert Williams style of custom straight razor? Robert: I design my razors to look natural. I like clean lines and elegant curves. When customer specifications allow, I also strive for really excellent ergonomics with a good grip and a comfortable feel in the hand in a variety of positions. If my razors were art in a museum, I'd like to think of them as Da Vincis rather than Picassos or Monets or even Rembrandts, with a sense of strength and balance and sculpted elegance. I dont fancy myself as a modern day Leonardo Da Vinci, but I think those characterizations explain what I aspire to in aesthetics. Obie: All this did not happen overnight. I doubt anyone with your talent and creative mind would get up one morning and decide to make straight razors. What led you into the straight razor world? For starters, you had great interest in making hunting knives. Robert: I've been crazy about sharp steel since I was 11 years old. I got my first pen knife and an Arkansas pocket stone for sharpening at that age. Obie: How did that lead into the straight razor world? Robert: I naturally took to straight razor shaving in Germany, where I got my first straight razor at 18. I didn't know enough to get the best out of it and it wasn't my regular means of shaving. Fast forward to maybe 8 years ago, when I was looking for a good tool for making clean cuts in bowstring material and remembered my straight razor. Obie: You had kept it all that time?

Robert: No, it was long gone. I found a few razors on eBay and decided I might as well clean one up for shaving, since I loved honing and sharpening steel. Most of my hunting knives I didn't get to use but once in awhile, whereas a straight razor was something else. The idea of using a blade I maintained to my own satisfaction was appealing. After that, well, let's just say after that there was no turning back. It wasn't long before I was experimenting with making my own razors. Obie: Knife making was your hobby. At the same time you were pursuing a career in computer science. Im trying to find a connection between knife making and computer science. To a degree, was there one for you? Robert: Good luck finding a connection there. I can't think of one, either. Computer sciences and bladesmithing the former a vocation and the latter an avocation. Obie: Good way of putting it. Robert: Yes, well, computer programming paid the bills and bladesmithing gave me some sanity while I paid the bills. So, if anything, I guess that would be the connection a lifeline to sanity. But I have to say that strong analytical skills have served me well in bladesmithing, so that's something. Obie: Somewhere along you found your way into the straight razor world heavily. How did that happen? Might I assume that by then you shaved with the straight razor regularly? Robert: Actually, I was shaving with a straight razor for some time before I started making razors. Frankly, I wasn't happy with the quality of the vintage razors in general, not even in many of my favorites like the W&B, Joseph Rogers and Reynolds razors. Way back in 1978, I had a beautiful 8/8 pearl handle extra hollow and a couple smaller razors that I bought in Germany. I can't remember their brands, but I'm pretty sure the 8/8 was a Henckels. Obie: Despite your dissatisfaction with the quality of vintage razors you still couldnt keep away from them, though. Robert: Initially, I was just buying, cleaning up and honing straight razors, much to my delight and much to my ex-wife's dismay. I'm pretty sure I coined the now frequently heard acronym "RAD" on SRP about the time it occurred to me that I had Razor Acquisition Disorder. I couldn't get enough of them. I probably have 250 or 300 vintage razors still. Obie: It was a long process before you started to make straight razors. That was in 2006. In the meantime, though, you had done extensive research into metals and straight razors. What was some of this research? Robert: I sent a number of razors off to a metallurgist for analysis. I wanted to find out details on hardness, steel composition, steel type, grain structure, etc. The three I remember paying most attention to were a Wade and Butcher, a Case razor and a Puma razor. The Wade and Butcher was the softest at around 58HRC, the Puma the hardest at around 61HRC, and the Case was in the middle with 60/61 HRC. The W&B also had the most issues with

retained Austenite and all this confirmed my suspicions from shaving with them. Obie: I imagine youre not one to stop half way. You had to know everything about the blade. Robert: I also got metallurgical microscopy equipment and hardness testers to experiment with grain and hardness with different heat treating-quenching-tempering formulas. I feel that razors are much, much more critical than knives, because a good sharp knife will do the job, but a good razor must be perfect. A knife can have an edge that's less than perfect and still do the job and the imperfection will likely go completely unnoticed, but a razor will tell on you the instant you start to shave. There's no hiding it and there's no real idea of "good enough." It's got to be just right. So I did a lot more studying of metallurgy and heat treating theory than I did for knife-making. Obie: You especially concentrated on the metallurgical analysis of vintage razors. Why vintage razor and not some of the new models coming out at time, say Dovo or ThiersIssard? What especially drew you to these old razors? Robert: I wanted to start with tried and true razors. Pumas are about as good as it gets with vintage razors. I've got a couple of T-I razors and they're top-shelf, too, but I didn't think they were any better than Pumas. So I went with razors that really appealed to me. I was also very curious about the Case brand. They didn't make razors for long, but they've had a welldeserved reputation for fine steel. I thought their razors deserved some attention, so one of the Case razors made it into my analysis project. Obie: At the same time, were you also analyzing razors stylistically? Robert: I've been analyzing razor styles since I've been shaving with them, which has been quite some time. Having had a collection that probably went up to four or five hundred razors, I had a lot of "style analysis" going on. There's something that really draws me to sharp steel. Maybe it's a man thing. Obie: What do you mean? Robert: Waking up and starting your day by scraping your face with a sharp piece of steel and then rubbing spicy alcohol all over it is an experience women never get to savor. Obie: Expanding my earlier question, did you feel a specific influence in design from some of the great brands? Robert: There's no question that I have been influenced by the Sheffield designs more than any others. I think I already mentioned Wade and Butcher and Joseph Rodgers as two that I found particularly appealing. Obie: How does a Robert Williams custom razor begin? Do you work with a drawing? Robert: It depends on the razor. Most don't start out as a drawing. Most start out as a blank that I work until it feels right and looks right. I've developed some standard templates for the

rough-out work and geometry, but the rest is done by touch and feel and eye. If a customer wants something unusual, I'll start out with drawings to make sure we're on the same page with the design. Obie: Do you fancy a certain type of a look for a straight razor coming out of your shop? Robert: I am more drawn to mirror finishes on my razors than a satin finish, but a really nice satin finish can be hard to beat, too. Neither one is easily done and I spend an inordinate amount of time on the finish work. The result is the most rewarding, but the work is the most painstaking. Obie: And beyond esthetics? Robert: I do like to have the razors coming out of my shop to look practical, sleek, tough and beautiful. I want them to look like very finely crafted tools, because that's essentially what they are. They're tools, and very well made tools always look good and deserve to have a great finish. They'll be used for a long time. The owner should enjoy the full experience of the tool. Not just how it works, but also how it feels. Obie: I am intrigued by those long tangs on your razors? I prefer the tang shorter just a little bit. Nevertheless I am curious. Is this an original idea? Robert: I can't say it's original, as there was a long-tang DePew razor with a similar monkey tail design. It's not exactly the same as mine, but it's close and that's not surprising. I went for an ergonomic feel, and I think that's how they arrived at their design. Having all four fingers on the blade while shaving gives exceptional control. Ill make a short tang threefinger razor for anyone that prefers that, but I dont think Ive ever had a customer receive one with my standard tang and request a short tail on a subsequent razor from me, and Ive had quite a few customers order more than one razor. Obie: Do you favor a certain type of a blade design? And size? And what about a certain type of point? Robert: I'm partial to 7/8 blades, and my own razor is a 7/8 with a modified spike rounded slightly to give a good compromise between precision and friendliness. Too much spike makes it really easy to lift the heel during a shave and wind up with the dreaded thin red line across the cheek. Obie: Are you partial to any type of steel or does the specific razor on which youre working dictate the materials to be used, from the blade to the scales to the pins to the wedge material? Robert: I'm definitely partial to really good high carbon steel. I've not been satisfied with stainless steel, and I've tried a few different types of cutlery steels, and even a variety of stainless steel razors from the Friodurs to Hess razors. I'm a high carbon steel guy. The stain resistance imparted by the alloys simply isn't worth the sacrifice in edge quality the alloys compromise. I use wedge material that works well in balance and look with the razors and

scales. I try to make all the elements of the razors work together both in look and feel. Obie: Finally, at what point do you stop and say, This razors finished? Are there particular signposts you look for, rules you follow? Robert: Theyre just not finished until theyre finished. I have to use reading glasses to examine them, because highly polished steel reveals everything and Ive had stuff leave my shop with flaws in the finish I couldnt see without the reading glasses. I try to avoid that sort of thing completely, so I took to using reading glasses for a lot of the finish work and all the final inspection. Obie: So then it must be perfect before it leaves your hands. Robert: The blade has to have the right geometry and be free of tooling marks to the greatest degree possible. At some level of magnification flaws will always show, but with the addition of magnification I can eliminate almost anything that can be picked up by the naked eye. I want my customers to have their pupils expand when they first look at their razor. Theyve waited for it, and paid a fair price for it, and I try to exceed their expectations. Obie: How long does it usually take you to finish a razor, from conception to the final stamp of approval? Robert: Im really lousy at precisely calculating how much time its going to take to finish a razor, because inevitably it takes longer than I thought it would. If it isnt just right, I might have to go back to the grinding and wipe out hours of polishing work. If its got to be done, theres no other way to get it right, and sometimes you cant spot a geometry flaw until youve got a lot of polishing work already done. Obie: Obviously these custom razors leave your shop honed and shave-ready. What is your method? And what stones do you use? Robert: I've got a lot of stones. My HAD (Hone Acquisition Disorder) is almost as bad as my RAD. I've got several Nortons, half a dozen barber hones, Japanese Naturals, ceramic hones, diamond hones, Coticules, Arkansas stones, etc. etc. etc. You can't have too many hones. Obie: I assume you dont use all of them and that you have preferences. Robert: No, I don't use most of them. I typically use the diamond hones and ceramic hones the most. The diamond hones get me to a quick bevel and then the ceramic hones with lapping compounds do great work finishing and that's really all there is to it. Hone to a clean bevel and then polish the bevel it's all about the geometry. Great steel and just the right geometry down to the microscopic level result in a superior shave. It's not nearly as mysterious as it's often thought to be. Obie: In your creations, do you do some things now that you didnt do back then? Robert: You mean back when I started?

Obie: In the early years, yes. Robert: Then the answer is yes. I use optics a lot more than I did then, and my designs have been refined. I do hand engraving and inlay work in the steel and have developed some artistic techniques that are much more advanced than they were when I started. The work has been evolving and still is. I think there is an infinite amount of room for improvement in artistry, at least. Obie: How did you then evolve as an artist and craftsman? Robert: No doubt the artistry has evolved. Ive got a much better feel for things, and at every stage in development Ive kept an eye on things Id like to do better and Ive worked on them. I pay attention to details now that I didnt even think about in the earlier days. Obie: I see you as an artist whose mind never stops, then. Robert: Every day I work in the shop I always keep thinking about how to do better and more creative and more effective work. I spend a lot of time when Im not in the shop envisioning designs and processes and new ideas to experiment with. Ive spent a lot of money trying new things and not all of them worked out well, but its always great when you hit on something that really works and adds a new dimension to what you can offer. Obie: So then in which direction do you see yourself going? Robert: I expect to be doing more higher end work as time goes on and maybe offer some less expensive designs, as well. That will make it possible to get a very reasonably priced handmade razor with superb quality. It will take some streamlining and standardization, but it would result in a superior quality razor at a relatively low price. Obie: How long for all this? Robert: Im not there yet and still have too much of a backlog to dwell on it, but I would definitely like to go two-tier. Im probably going to be moving the shop back to the Midwest, too, so I dont have the high cost of living I have here to slow down growth. Obie: Im sure youre aware of other custom razor makers. Do you see any rising stars? Robert: Every one is a rising star with virtually unlimited potential. Those that work the hardest will end up invariably doing the best. I just know that theres a good bit of talent working to provide really nice custom razors for the community and its enough talent that the only real limits will be self-imposed. Its not easy work, but the artistic process is very rewarding for those that love it, and the people that love their work tend to get very good at it. Obie: How does one acquire a Robert Williams custom razor? Do you work on commission? And whats the process? Say I want one of your razors, do I come to you with my idea, or

design, or do you come up with the design, or is it a joint venture between you and the client? Robert: The vast majority of my work is commissioned one razor at a time. Customers contact me with ideas and we discuss and work out the details. Its very interactive and it can sometimes take a lot of time with customers in communications via e-mail and phone to put a design together. Obie: Do those who come to you usually have a clear idea of what they want? I know the world of straight razors has its own fickle tendencies. Robert: Some take a lot longer than others, of course. It just depends on the complexity and how clear and practical the designs are. For the most part, its a joint effort. But there are also cases where the customer gives me a general idea and tells me to just run with it and do as I please. Those can be some of the hardest to design, but they can also be the most fun. Obie: By the way, what razors do you shave with? Robert: I shave with two razors. What I shave with primarily is a blade that I made for myself and intentionally left too ugly to be tempted to sell. I cant escape my own bias, I suppose, but I cant seem to get as good and close and comfortable a shave with any other razor of any sort. Ive been using the same razor almost daily for nearly 2 years. I think Ive only touched it up on the hone once since I started using it. Obie: And your second razor, another of your ugly designs? Robert: The other razor that I grab if Im truly pressed for time is an old double-edge that I run across my face in 30 seconds if Im late getting out the door. But Ive got to be pretty hard pressed for time to skip my normal shave. Obie: I think for many of us the daily shave is sacred. Robert: Yes, it is. Its just a great way to start the day.

Conversation with Joe and Carrie Davidowicz

by Obie Published on 09-30-2011 10:00 PM

Joe and Carrie

Obie Once upon a time, for gentlemen and pedestrians alike, shaving with the straight razor was the way to go. The only way to go. Today, much to our disappointment, straight razor shaving has a relatively small following. So it is rare to find the straight razor a family affair, right in our own neighborhood, too. It is so with Joe and Carrie, SRP moderators and vendors, and son Joe Jr. Obie: I keep seeing this jolly picture of Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear straight razor shaving together as one happy family family that shaves straight together stays together, so to speak. Do people ever wonder how peculiar you family is? Especially you, Carrie, because, lets face it, women straight razor shavers arent exactly taking over the world. Carrie: Ive always been the odd one in the bunch, even growing up. So for me to do something most women would find insane is pretty normal. I just treat it like its no huge deal and dont push it on anyone. I dont hesitate to share if someone asks about it though. It took me a while to prove to many of the guys that I am really just one of them. Joe: In todays society, for the most part, anyone straight razor shaving is considered peculiar, much less the whole family. Anyone knowingly putting themselves at what they perceive as high risk is considered peculiar. Then when you take into account the whole family being involved in the hobby, the peculiarity fades. There are few families out there where the whole family is involved in one hobby. This has created a bond in my family that is lacking in most families in todays society. Obie: So then whos the guilty party in having started the straight razor trend in the family? Joe: Me. I purchased my first straights over 25 years ago, but it was only four years ago that I was able to find information on how to maintain and use them. It began when Joe Jr. started shaving and I remembered I had the razors. It peaked everyones interest. I may have been the instigator, but Jr. starting to shave revived my interest in straights. Carrie: Points to Joe. Obie: Might one assume, Joe, that having spent much of your professional career in the world of metals and metal work created your initial interest in the straight razor? Joe: While its true that I have many years of experiences as a tool and die maker, it was really not a factor in the beginning. It wasnt until I started reading on SRP about restorations and honing that my experience in tool making became very useful.

Carrie: I kind of got sucked into it. Joe bought a book on how to put value on razors and handed it to me and asked me to figure out how to use it. So many variables add to or detract from the razors value. Once I started reading through it I was able to recognize many brand names, and it enabled us to better spend what funds we had allocated for buying razors. Obie: Then you suddenly found yourself shaving with the straight razor. Im trying to find the reason why and not doing so well. You must have seen something in the straight razor to peek your interest. Carrie: I first tried it, because Joe kept asking when I was going to switch, and also because I got tired of paying high prices for the cartridge razors. If I could get one straight razor or three for the same price as a five-pack of cartridges, it seemed the logical choice. I am all for economizing. Joe: When I started shaving, I was using a Gillette Super Speed and was happy with it. When the Gillette came out with the Track II, it was difficult to find DE blades. When I moved to Western NY, I happened upon a few straights at an auction. The attraction was more for nostalgia keeping the old ways alive. Obie: It takes a certain type of person, one who shows flair for going against convention. Who, then, is the straight razor shaver? What is a straight razor shaver? Joe: The statements you make are very true. A straight razor shaver is someone who is not a follower, an individual who is not focused on fads, or on popular opinion. He is more interested in directing his own life and is willing to put in the energy and determination to learn something new. He is someone who doesnt settle for "good enough," but who can think outside the box of how things can be better. Carrie: I think its a person who is not afraid to be a bit different. I also like to be selfsufficient, so its nice that it is something I can maintain and deal with myself. Joe made sure I could do everything from initial bevel setting to finishing off my razors so that Ill never have to depend on someone else to take care of razors for me. That being said though, I have no problem adding a razor that needs a touch up to the working pile when the boys are having a honing session. Obie: Tell me, Joe, what was your first straight razor? Joe: Actually there were 5 of them that I got at an auction. One was a Robeson made by Boker, and a Wostenholm superb pipe razor. A WP&R razor. The other one I cant remember. There have been many more added to the collection over the years. Obie: And yours, Carrie? Carrie: Honestly I dont know what the first one was I used. The first one I owned was a JR Torrey and I have managed to collect a respectable number of them over the last 3 years or so.

Obie: And your sons? Do all three of you share in your preferences of certain razors and models? Joe: My sons first straight razor was one of the ones I picked up at the original auction. It was a Robesons My Pet 5/8, somewhere around a half hollow with a muted square point. Preferences are really not an issue other than for Carrie. Joe Jr. and I will shave with pretty much whatever we come across. Everyone is drawn to the pretty razors, but every time a plain Jane one comes up in the rotation, we are happy with the performance. In the long run it has to shave well to stay in rotation. Carrie: I have found that I really like the JR Torrey Razors and the Heljestrands. I think its because they have a pretty narrow tang on them and are comfortable in my hands. I also prefer round points, but I have a few square and spike points in my rotation also. I just have to pay more attention when I use them. Obie: You both collect razors, too. I suppose I can say the family collects straight razors. Ive seen pictures of some of the razor in your collection. What do we have here? Joe: Its pretty much an even split between English, German, and American razors, with a few Swedish, a French, an Italian and a Scottish razor. We dont pay as much attention to brand names as we do to regions of manufacturing. Although we have many well-known brands, we also have a fair share of not so common ones with names of drug stores, etc., on them. Obie: Carrie, are yours in the collection more attractive to women. Might one assume these are mostly smaller blades? Or is there really a difference for you? Carrie: I actually use 5/8 round point razors. I do have a couple of 4/8 ones in my collection, and for me they seem the best fit for my hands and easier to get around in the nooks and the crannies of the ankles and knees without cutting myself. Obie: Do you have any thoughts and suggestions for ladies who might consider straight razor shaving? Carrie: For those who have asked me about it I have given this advice: Its an adrenaline rush at first, and if you have a fear of blood and cutting yourself, its probably not for you. It takes time and patience to learn, and if youre in a hurry to just get it done and over with, its not for you. If you like to pamper yourself and get a lot of satisfaction on mastering a craft, then its for you. Obie: Have you had many takers? Carrie: Most women I have talked to opted for the DE. Its a safer option for shaving some of the areas women tend to. Plus I still havent figured out a way to use a straight under my arms.

Obie: Ive wondered how ladies shave under the arms with the straight. Carrie: I still use my DE razors for that area. I often suggest the ladies start with a DE and move up to straights later if they are interested. Most are thrilled with the versatility of the DE and probably wont take that final step to straights. Its really a very personal choice. Obie: And you, Joe, any thoughts and suggestions for gentlemen considering straight razor shaving? Joe: If you are interested in straight razor shaving, make sure you do your research. It takes focus and patience to develop the skills, so be ready to dedicate some time. Get a professionally honed razor to start with. If youre looking for a vintage razor Sheffield, Solingen, America get it from a reputable seller. If youre looking for a new one, buy it from an established vendor. Most of the new ones these days are Dovo, Boker, and ThiersIssard. Obie: Any particular price range? Joe: Stay within budget. There are lots of razors out there, new and vintage, that may not be the prettiest, but will work well for you while you decide if straight the razor is for you. Then sit back and enjoy the journey. Obie: As a rule, I suggest newbies to stay off eBay until they know their way around the straight razor world. Buys on eBay can be gems, but there are also some stinky bombs passed on as straight razor. Joe: Totally agree. There are lots of Pakistani razors out there that arent even useful as letter openers. Stick with vendors that sell quality blades or the SRP classifieds. Carrie: Very true. Weve had some great ones from eBay and some lemons, but even with the lemons weve gained experience in restorations, and we use some of the not so pretty ones for those learning to hone. They are more comfortable using a junker than working with the good ones and messing them up. Everything has had its use and nothing really gone to waste, even if its been just recycling the scales. Obie: Razors with potential are out there, and sometimes we luck out and land one waiting for new clothes by master restorers. Joe, my good man, Ive seen some of your restorations and they are superb. When you receive a razor for restoration, what do you look for, and how do you envision the finished razor? Joe: I look at the condition of the blade and the grind type. Is there rust, pitting, chips, cracks or other damage to the blade? Then I can advise the owner what can be done to restore the blade. There is very little that can be done on hollow grounds that have pitting near the blade edge. There is not enough metal on it to remove the pitting completely without sacrificing the blade height and possibly its integrity. Obie: What about the scales?

Joe: I like to keep them traditional, as close to the original size, shape and material as possible. But if someone wants something else, I work with him to make sure he will be happy with the razor once its completed. Ive worked in horn, bone, acrylics, and exotic woods. I really dont care for the G10 and Micarta materials, because they are extremely dusty and, to me, they really belong on knives. But everything is a personal choice. Obie: Might one see a distinct style in your restorations? Anything that stands out? Joe: My personal restorations have been very traditional in design with a little added bling on the wedge ends, such as domed washers and other doo-dads. Obie: But then the creative side of your family does not stop with razor restoration. Carrie, you are an artist in your own right. You make shave cream. What compelled you to do that? Carrie: It was a challenge given to me by Joe. While there are great creams out there on the market, he wanted to see if I could come up with something more affordable. It took me almost two years to come up with something workable. Obie: Do you offer it for sale? Carrie: I do sell occasionally to friends and the SRP family. Right now I have no plans to go commercial or put up a web site. Making the creams is a time and space intensive project and both of those commodities are limited at this time. Obie: For many I know for me the straight razor is also a hobby, something that frames my traditional shaving ritual. Do you feel the straight razor adds another knot to the bond you have as a family? Carrie: Its has given us a single reference point I guess you can call it that. We are all involved in one way or the other, from hunting for razors, to restoring, honing, and using them. Its one of the few things that we all have enjoyed doing. together. Joe: Yes, I feel that it has brought our family close in that we all have a part in collecting, restoring and honing them. Its something for all of us together.

Conversation with Dr. Christopher Moss

by Obie Published on 08-31-2011 10:01 PM

Chris

Obie In the colorful world of traditional shaving the name Moss comes in quotes. That is Dr. Christopher Moss, the creator of the noted Moss Scuttle, as well as the author of an excellent little book, The Art of the Straight Razor Shave. Dr. Moss, who was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1958, and trained in London, moved to Canada, in 1985. He works as a rural doctor in the town with the exotic name Tatamagouche. Obie: I think only exceptional people, as well as happy and even adventurous, must live in a place called Tatamagouche. I love that name. Chris: Im a country boy and far prefer life in a rural setting. Nine years of training and working in London was enough for me. Tatamagouche is the MicMac Indian name for this place, and means "the meeting place of two rivers." There are actually two rivers that open into a bay just below my back deck. Its beautiful. Obie: I have this romantic picture of you as a humble country doctor enjoying two of lifes great pleasures: helping people and wet shaving with the straight razor. How accurate is this picture? Chris: Im lucky enough to be working in a place where nothing is routine, since we have to be rather self-sufficient. You never quite know what you will be faced with next. Satisfying but sometimes scary, which is, I suppose, how beginners might look at straight razors. I still find the twenty minutes that I linger over a shave early each morning to be one of the best parts of each day. Obie: You are a lifelong wet-shaver. Like many of us, you also sinned early on by shuffling through a store full of razor models before discovering the straight razor. In your sinful days, what were some of the razors you tried? Chris: My first few shaves were with my fathers DE. An interesting razor in itself in that it was issued to him when he volunteered for the Royal Engineers, in 1939. Somewhere in the

army stores a handle and a head had been screwed together, but they were originally from different razors a Wardonia handle and a Myatt open comb head. I know now it is quite aggressive, and Im not surprised that he only ever did one pass with the grain. Obie: An ideal shave, at that. I can only imagine the history your fathers improvised razor holds. Chris: That razor went with him through his time in bomb disposal in the Blitz, then to North Africa for Alamein, then the invasion of Sicily, then D-Day and on to Holland where he was finally wounded badly enough that his war was over. He used it for the rest of his life, and I still have it. Obie: What a prized legacy from your father. Chris: I dont think he liked to share such a lucky razor, so he provided me with a Gillette Techmatic from the sublime to the ridiculous. A nasty piece of work, which I replaced with a Trac IIstyle of razor as soon as they became available. I did just what Gillette wanted me to do and bought into each "improvement" as it came along, ending with a Sensor Excel. Even then I was experimenting with brushes and soaps, but felt I was missing out. I did once try a Mach 3, but it was plainly a worse shave than from the two-blade Sensor. Obie: Then came the straight razor. In 2003, you switched to the gentlemans razor. What made you seek shaving salvation by taking up the straight razor? Chris: A good question, and Im not exactly sure now why I bought my first straight. I was never completely satisfied with the technology. I could get a good shave with the Sensor, but there wasnt any satisfaction in it. My father had awokened an interest in blades in me he used to make knives, often out of old leaf springs, Im afraid to say so perhaps I was just carrying that a bit further. Obie: What were some of the difficulties you experienced with the straight razor early on? Chris: Youll laugh to hear it, but I made two huge mistakes. I bought two stainless razors and assumed they were shave-ready from the factory. Duh! Wasnt very long before I was asking on the old Yahoo! site for some carbon steel razors. I just couldnt get those stainless blades sharp, and I dont think I have been a quick study at honing. Obie: Many newbies dont realize honing is an art unto itself. Chris: Somewhere over the years I must have learned something, as I prefer stainless razors now. I can get them just as sharp and I have less worry about corrosion. My other big mistake was to try to get a perfect shave from the start and realizing that my skill needed honing just as much as the blade. I started to shave twice a day to increase my chances to practice. My face was sore for those few months! Obie: My face hurts just thinking about it. In this respect, then, what advice do you have for straight razor newbies with some of the same challenges you faced?

Chris: Easy. Buy a well-honed razor from an experienced honer theres a fellow called Lynn something, who comes to mind and preferably carbon steel to make it easier for yourself to learn. Shave with the grain only till you get confidence, then try across. Single best piece of advice? Drop the spine to go across or against the grain much more comfortable and much less irritation. Obie: What is your definition of a good straight shave? What combination of elements makes up the whole for you? Chris: An interesting thing, this. Our forebears shaved with their straights with the grain only, and often only once or twice a week. They were much more stubble-tolerant than we are. About half the time I have what I call an eighteenth century shave lots of prep to soften the beard, then just one careful close pass downwards. It looks good. In some ways better than a closer shave in that there is no redness in the skin from shaving too close.The rest of the time I do a second pass across the grain often just to enjoy the use of a tool that I know takes skill to use properly. Obie: Thats exactly how I feel and thats why I shrug off the term BBS. Chris: The pleasure of a good shave is more than just closeness. The whole ritual is important, just like a tea ceremony. Using a good brush and a soap that makes good rich lather allows me to enjoy even the sensation of painting it on. The stropping and shaving, the cold rinse and the aftershave balms and scents all of it matters, and I think anyone who doesnt get that is missing out on the full experience. Obie: I couldnt agree with you more. Of course, this ritual also requires a good razor. In the beginning I assume the razor bug bit you, too, and you went beyond owning one razor. What was your first razor? Chris: My very first razors were a pair of Dovo stainless faux-Damascus razors with Micarta scales, one ivory colored and one ebony colored. Obie: How rich is your current collection? Chris: Rich as in what it has cost? You do realize my wife might see this? Seriously, I was never a collector of anything until I met straights, and for the first time I came to understand the lust to collect sets, or to own something, even if it isnt for use. Very dangerous. In some ways I look forward to the day when I can be free of them all except for my daily shavers as they are a bit of a burden in terms of cost. I have about 200 razors with the nicest in display cases on the wall of shame in my office. The custom Damascus blades are the ones I like best as collection pieces. Obie: Any particular brands you prefer? Chris: As my honing skills have improved I have come to appreciate harder steels. I always liked TI razors and will keep a soft spot in my heart for the 5/8 Super Gnome half-hollow that

I still think makes a great starter razor. I have a lovely set of Livi razors, another of Zowada Damascus blades, and I have never had a bad Hart in the seven I have. Obie: And your daily razors? Chris: My daily shavers are a set of seven Friodurs with custom wood scales. They are 7/8 and 8/8 in size, take a wonderful edge and keep it for ages. It gets humid here in the summer, and one episode of corrosion damage in some expensive custom Damascus razors convinced me to stick to these stainless beauties. Obie: What about blade size, type of point, and variety of scales? Chris: I prefer bigger blades in that they are easier to control on the hone, and in use need the lather rinsing off less frequently very lazy of me. So 7/8 and up is what I have come to use. My Friodurs are all spikes, but on aesthetic grounds I like round points, and French points, too. Im not so keen on the look of the Spanish point or a barbers notch, but then again I dont look at the shape of the point when Im shaving and the shave is all that really matters. Obie: What is your assessment of vintage razors and those made today? Do you find yourself leaning closer to one than the other? Chris: Fortunately there are good razors from the past and the present. A big old Sheffield wedge often has softer steel and is easy to hone. A pleasure to use. But a hard modern steel can be fully hollowed and feel nearly as stiff to use. An old beat up razor with a good edge will always be the best choice for a beginner, as it is cheap and certain to be shave worthy. It might look pretty awful, but we will always love our first razor, and it will have a beauty to us that even a shiny new one wont quite match. Obie: Whats your oldest razor? Chris: I think my oldest razor is a frame-back with a flat plate blade that I guess is from the 1850s or 1860s. It shaves very nicely. Obie: How do you view the custom razors made today? Chris: I love the way custom makers are exploring different ways of heat-treating steel. Metallurgy is still a bit of a dark art, but much less now than it was. The varieties and styles are entrancing, and I rather wish you hadnt asked me this as Im trying to pay for a new tonearm on my turntable. Obie: I know, and I hate to do this to you, but my curiosity will keep me awake all night. Im sure you own several customs. Any particular favorites in custom razor makers? Chris: Id have to nominate Tim Zowada as my favorite maker of superb blades. But Tim has competition, and Gabor Buddel is showing great promise. I hope he will be doing the whole job one day. My last custom from Gabor was annealed, finished and scaled by him, but he

didnt do the forging. The other thing that makes me drool is the scale-work being done by several people. The pictures posted by shutterbug are so very appealing, and there are several other artists at work out there. Obie: You also hone your own razors. What stones do you use and what is your honing pattern? Chris: Collecting hones is a sore point, too. I think the only ones I dont have are Japanese naturals. Most of the time I use Shapton Pro hones. The important thing with a blunt razor is to get a good bevel with a coarse hone. Sometimes I use a DMT 1200 for this, sometimes the low grit Shaptons. Then its a matter of progressing up through the grits, not spending too long on each one. Obie: You dont follow a standard set of passes for all razors, I assume. Chris: Number of passes will vary from razor to razor, and it is as well to get to know your razors so that you know whether to do six or even twelve passes on each. I finish either on a Pro 30k or a well-polished Spyderco UF much cheaper, and when properly polished, it works wonders. I do use pastes, and still have a good supply of HandAmerican Liquid Chrome for this. Obie: Some of your stones and razors are pictured in your book The Art of the Straight Razor Shave, published in 2005. What compelled you to write the book? Chris: When I felt I had got an adequate level of skill, I was aware it could have come more easily had I not made some stupid mistakes. I thought a small booklet with the essentials would be useful to other beginners. Since Im an "open-source" shaver, the PDF is still a free download over at SMF. Obie: The book is quite good. I remember the first time we chatted through e-mail was when I wrote to compliment you on the book. You were kind in your response. This is several years ago. I dont think you meant for the book to be the complete picture of wet shaving with the straight razor. Do you plan to expand it? Chris: I did once think it was time for an advanced version, but the trouble is that on the one hand Im still learning and discovering new to me things, so it is hard to make a definitive statement about the best way of doing things. Obie: The book was quite useful to me. Chris: Perhaps it is more fun for a learner to get the basics spoon-fed to them, but then to enjoy the journey of discovering for themselves and what works for them. Ive had such fun along the way that I would now feel a bit short-changed if someone just told me all of it and there was no experimenting, no triumphs and no disappointments. That, of course, is a fancy way of saying I dont seem to find the time to write anything down these days. Obie: You are among the pioneers of the modern-day straight razor world with your book

The Art of the Straight Razor Shave. You did not stop there. The Moss Scuttle took you a step further. Before we get to your scuttle, give me your thoughts on the various forms of scuttles that had been around for couple of centuries. Chris: The traditional scuttle was a way of carrying hot water to the bedroom where the shave was to take place. Curious to think there was no such room as a bathroom in those days. So it allowed the brush to dip into hot water, but it didnt really warm the soap nor keep the lather warm. Perhaps I confused things by calling my device a scuttle, but I liked the reference to a traditional implement, and it did bear some distant relationship. Obie: Who mostly used these scuttles in the old days? Chris: Essentially scuttles implied the presence of domestic staff. There had to be someone tending the fire in the scullery or kitchen, and someone to bring the scuttle of water upstairs to their master. I dont think the man in the street would ever have used one. He would have gone downstairs, lit the fire and put a kettle on, and shaved in his own kitchen. Obie: How different, then, were the scuttles used by the upper class, the barbers, and the ordinary people? Chris: Do you think they were different? Obie: I dont know. Perhaps not. Chris: I doubt if most barbers used a scuttle as if they had hot water at all they at least would have had it close by. I think barbers in the age when shaving was their trade more than haircuts would have used a mug. Regular customers would have had their own mug kept in the barbershop. In fact there was till recently an old barbershop up the coast from here which had a wall of pigeonholes for customers mugs. Lovely. Obie: The Moss Scuttle took the traditional idea of the scuttle and put a modern face to it. What led you to create the original design? Did you get up one morning and sketched it out or was this over a long research process? Chris: I was thinking about hot lather. My only experience of it was the silly device that some barbers had on top of a can of foam. I knew of the LatherKing machines, but couldnt envision giving up my brushes. Obie: Its hard to imagine a great shave without a brush. But to the scuttle story. Chris: The first thing I made was a combined pewter scuttle as sold by Classic Shaving in those days, with a shallow pewter bowl on top the bowl that LOccitane soap came in and I hoped there would be enough heat to transfer to cream and lather in the bowl. It worked somewhat, but came to a bad end when I tried to solder the bowl in place pewter being mostly lead, after all. Obie: I can imagine you as a mad scientist with things blowing up around his experiments.

Chris: So the next day I drew the first plan of a clay scuttle with a hollow water jacket surrounding a bowl. I thought about heat transfer and made the bowl small enough that a loaded brush should touch against the side all the way around, and made the bowl shallow enough that the brush handle wouldnt rattle against the top. I faxed it up to Sara Bonnyman and she agreed to make a prototype. It worked marvelously, and she agreed to make more, but adding her own shape to the whole thing to make it more attractive. Obie: Did you know her? Chris: Ive known Sara for many years, so it was easy for me to approach her with the idea. Obie: I assume Sara knew nothing about the world of men traditional shaving. Yet she seems to have grasped what precisely you had in mind. Chris: She was quite bemused by the turn her work was to take, but she is willing to try new things and this one worked out well for her. I think she has sold well over two thousand of them. Obie: Were there many prototypes? Chris: The pewter disaster is still around somewhere, and I have the clay prototype. After that they looked pretty much the same as they do today. Obie: How then does the modern scuttle differ from the traditional? Chris: Its really very different. Think of it as a double-walled lathering bowl that can hold hot water in the space between the inner and outer walls and you have the essential elements. The handle and the beaker lip are there to make it easier to use, and hark back to the traditional scuttle, but they arent needed for it to serve its main purpose. Obie: Since the Moss Scuttle, variations of it have appeared on the market: Dirty Bird, Schwarzweisskeramik, Georgetown, Becker, Straight Razor Design, and others. Many offer large bowls with ridges for making lather. Your idea of the scuttle was not so much for creating lather, but for mostly for keeping your brush warm. Is that a fair assumption? Chris: Absolutely. Anything large enough to allow a lot of lather building isnt going to keep in contact with the brush and its lather when it is replaced in the scuttle, so it wont keep it as warm. Anyway, I prefer to lather on my face, and the first pass lather will be warm anyway. It was the cold second or third pass I was trying to prevent. Obie: The Moss Scuttle comes in small and large sizes. Is the large one designed for creating lather? Chris: No, the large was for bigger brushes. If you like a 30 mm. Shavemac brush or a Kent BK12, you want the larger size. Pretty much everyone else would be better off with the small size.

Obie: Which do you prefer for yourself? Chris: Definitely the small for me. Obie: You said you face-lather. Any special secrets? Chris: I start the lather in the bowl of the scuttle and then build it on my face. If it is too wet I just paint away until it dries a bit, or if too dry I dip the brush tip in water and mix that into the lather on my face. Its really very easy to get the proportions right when you realize you can control them as you go along. When Im happy with what is there, I put the brush back in the scuttle to stay warm. Obie: Creams, soaps any preferences? Chris: These days Im using soaps almost exclusively. I do have one scuttle that is deeper in the bowl than any ever sold, so I can keep a puck of soap in it and the soap keeps the brush handle from rattling on the side of the bowl. Mostly I use soaps in their own bowls and transfer the loaded brush to the scuttle to keep warm just as if I had used a cream. Obie: Beyond the Moss Scuttle, are you working on other innovations? Chris: I guess the only other thing I made in that direction was the variable loft brush, where a twist of the base of the handle allows the knot of hair to travel up and down inside the handle, exposing more or less of it. I though it might make many brushes in one big and soft to small and scrubby. I think Shavemac still has some left from the production run. Obie: Looking back on your straight razor journey, can you offer some of your reflections? Chris: Some of the best fun Ive ever had in a bathroom? Seriously, I have nothing against beards, and I dont mind how other people shave. But this has allowed me to slowly develop a rather esoteric skill that still requires some concentration and methodicalness to perform every day. There is a satisfaction in that, one that I cant get from a safety razor. Combine that with the ritual aspects of the shave, the sensual pleasure of brush and lather, and the lovely scents it gives me an excuse to use and Im very happy to be doing it this way. Obie: The straight razor is an obsession, as you well know. Youre one of the lucky ones among us, however, because your wife is a psychiatrist. Does she ever ask you lie on the couch and tell her about it? Chris: Now you know doctors take an oath of patient confidentiality. She has been very tolerant of this one of my many eccentricities. I think she always knew that I was prone to unusual interests, and thank goodness she approves. Fortunately, she is not a woman who likes stubbly men, so she is pleased to have me smooth.

Conversation with Lynn Abrams

by Obie

Published on 07-31-2011 10:01 PM

Lynn

Obie I have never met Lynn Abrams in person, but have developed a friendship with him through many phone conversations and e-mails. Lynn has also been my teacher and mentor from the start of my straight razor experience. I call him the Noble Lynn and he calls me Doctor Obie. Obie: Perhaps more than anyone youve been responsible for the straight razors popularity worldwide. Youve carved out a healthy niche for the jolly blade. Does your handiwork surprise you? Lynn: In a way it does. Initially I wanted information for myself to learn how to hone my razors, after having sent them out for years and sometimes getting them back sharp and sometimes not. There was nothing on the Internet except for an old article by Arthur Boone and maybe one question on a blade forum. I thought, Lets see if there are people out there with information about honing, and at the same time try to find some interested in preserving straight razor shaving. Obie: The whole idea of straight razor shaving is incongruous with the modern lifestyle. Traditional shaving in general. Society insists on convenience to give us more time to do more things. The question is, "How much more do you want to do?" Straight razor shaving, because it consumes time and requires extraordinary effort, marches in the opposite direction. What does that tell you? Lynn: I think society is looking for something like this. Our society has become fast-paced "this is what people do . . . this is popular . . . this doesnt take time . . ." Well, where does time go? This is directly in the face of modern society. And yet we realize theres got to be more in life. So as we look for those distinct pleasures, the straight razor is the one that jumps out at guys.

Obie: We all have our reasons for using the straight razor. Mine go back to my twenties not for financial reasons, or for looking cool. Rather, it was more my love for tradition, as well as the sense of belonging to the 19th Century, which I have always felt I do. What, then, drew you to the straight razor? Lynn: When I got out of the Army, my grandfather took me to a barbershop and I had my first straight razor shave. For a 21-year-old kid, I was freaked out and I didnt have to shave for two days afterwards. It was the whole experience and the smooth feeling of the face I fell in love with. Within a week I went to the Cutlery World shop in St. Louis and bought myself a straight razor without having a clue in how to use it. Obie: What was the razor? Lynn: An old Cutlery World. Its like a Dovo "Best Quality" of forty years ago. Obie: Was it a good shaver? Lynn: Still have it. Its been a good shaver. The biggest problem was me. I was told it was shave-ready. I took it to the mirror and butchered myself, like a lot of newbies, and my face got red and I cut my lip. So Id send it out to be sharpened and it would come back same thing. There was no one to teach me. I was using a 99-cent Barbasol shaving cream and it was drying up on my face. I had a strop, but I dont know if I stropped all the time. Obie: I once gave up straight razor shaving because of physical difficulties with my hands. Sold my three razors and strop. The first morning I walked into the shave den and found my razors and strop gone, I felt a profound sense of loss. Pain or no pain in my hands, that day I ordered a Dovo "Renaissance" and a strop from you. Did you ever contemplate giving up the straight shave? Lynn: One time I got so close to the mirror, trying to see what I was doing, that the straight razor hit the mirror, bumped back, and cut my chin. At that point I thought why are you doing this? Just use a Trac II. What in the world is making you keep trying this? I put the razor down. Then I came back and tried it again. Unbelievable. This went on and off for about 20 years, from when I was 21 till I was around 40. Obie: It was still the same razor? The Cutlery World. Lynn: Yes, it was the only the razor I had. Obie: Talk about a long engagement. Lynn: That was the razor that got me to start the first Straight Razor Place. I said, "You know what, Im tired of sending this thing out" and we were living in Chicago at the time and there was Corrado Cutlery. He was a nice little shave shop in downtown Chicago. I gave the razor to the guy and he was okay. Thats when I told myself Ive got to learn how to sharpen this razor. So I went on a quest to try to find out information on how to sharpen my straight razors. There was nothing. It was unbelievable.

Obie: What words of wisdom, then, can you offer gentlemen on the verge of giving up? Lynn: I would say before you give up talk to somebody. The optimal thing would be to sit with somebody whos experienced and let him help you. Short of that, talk to him on the phone. Short of that, find Straight Razor Place, because here you have an environment of people who love to help others to be successful in straight razor shaving. Obie: I think part of the problem is this hunger for instant gratification in our society that creates false expectations. Lynn: Yes. People are so used to immediate results. They spend five minutes trying to learn and they become frustrated "I cant do this right now . . . I cant be good at it . . . Im putting it down, because Ive got a bad razor . . ." On and on. Theyre going to blame it on everything except themselves. Its just like anything else. You have to learn how to do something to be proficient at it. Obie: So what do you suggest? Lynn: If you can change those self expectations, if you can sit down with somebody or talk to somebody who can help you, and if youll put that little extra time and effort into it, youd surprised how it will turn you around and make you happy. Obie: You could have kept the pleasures of straight razor shaving to yourself and chosen not spread the gospel. You chose instead to open the gate. What drove you? Lynn: I thought if its this hard for me to find information, lets see if we can help other people. Lets make some kind of environment and have some information available so that the next guy wont go through the frustration that I did. Obie: As a straight razor pioneer, did you have a plan to direct its course in a hesitant, ambivalent, and generally unresponsive society? Lynn: I was older and didnt know much about computers, but I thought the forum was the way to go. It started from scratch. There was nobody in there. I had to talk my kids into becoming members. Obie: What was the original forum? Lynn: This was Straight Razor Place on Yahoo. We moved it to the dot-com format as it became more popular. We left the Yahoo one open. If you go back and read from the very first posts on it, you can see how far this environment has come. Obie: Obviously it was the ideal invitation to people interested in straight razor shaving. Lynn: It presented an avenue where people could find information. In those days buyers and sellers on eBay had their e-mail addresses on their ads. I spent hours, weeks, and months

inviting everybody who was buying and selling straight razors to come join the group "Any information is welcome," and so on. Obie: Who were some of the first members? Lynn: One of our first members was a fellow named John West, who was a 30-year collector. I used to spend hours on the phone with him. He had some 3,000 razors. This is going back 13 or 14 years. He knew everything about straight razors. We still have members on SRP from the original group. Obie: Looking at the forum now are you happy with what you see? Lynn: I really am. Straight Razor Place is one of the few places that has stuck to the original reason to have a forum. Its not there for individual recognition. Its there to help people be successful at learning how to use the straight razor, how to be a wet shaver, and to help them pay it forward to help other people. Obie: Part of what makes Straight Razor Place special is its civil tone, the mature tone a place for ladies and gentlemen. Lynn: Its such a good environment. We dont allow any trashing of vendors. No special agendas are presented. The forum is there to help people, to preserve the art of straight razor shaving, and to grow our population. This is the place to come if you want straight razor information. Am I happy about Straight Razor Place? Yes, I am. Im very proud of that, not because of anything I did. Im proud of it because of the wonderful membership and what they do. Obie: Whats the forums membership count? Lynn: I think we are around 34,000 or 35,000. Obie: What are your thoughts on the changes taking place at SRP? Lynn: Like any environment nothing stays the same. You cant please all the people all the time. Theres a great group of moderators and mentors who run the forum and try to make it into the best place to be for straight razor shavers and for all wet shavers. If the changes help, if they bring out more information, if it makes the environment more useable, lets keep it up. Nothing stays the same. Obie: While forming SRP you were also working on establishing Straight Razor Designs, your online store. What led to that? Lynn: I never had any intention of having a store. Straight Razor Designs was started about eight years after we started the forum. The reason Straight Razor Designs was started was to introduce custom straight razors. Obie: Would Mastro Livi have had anything to do with that?

Lynn: Yes. I met Mastro Livi over the Internet. I thought his were the most beautiful and incredible razors out there. I also found out we could introduce Mastro Livi razors into the U.S. So I started Straight Razor Designs as a little part time thing just to bring Mastro Livi razors into the U.S. That was the start of the custom razor boom. Ive also been fortunate enough to travel to Italy and meet Mastro Livi. Obie: Then came the big change in your life. I suppose you can credit fate. Lynn: When I was laid off from the insurance company where I was an executive, I had a choice to make. Did I want to move all over the country again or did I want to make a commitment to the straight razor environment that I had spent the last 12 years of my life doing? I went into partnership with Don Addleman. We said, "Lets build a great shop. Lets go from being nothing to being a shop that everybody emulates. We only want to carry products in which we believe and the best products for wet shavers." That was only three years ago. Obie: Ive always been curious about this: you seem to fancy Dovo straight razors. I dont think anyone carries more Dovos than Straight Razor Designs. Why is that? What in that razor attracts you? Lynn: We like Dovo, Don and I. Dovo makes a consistently nice razor. The quality is typically decent. They do a nice job on the grinds. The razors take and hold an edge pretty well. Obie: You also carry the Boker. Lynn: The re-introduced Bokers have been good quality, good shaving razors. Theyre a little more expensive than what we would like to see. We will only carry razors at Straight Razor Designs we feel are good quality razors. Obie: You do carry some custom-made razors: Mastro Livi, Joe Chandler, and others. What are your thoughts on these razors? On custom razors in general? Lynn: I think custom razors are one of the bright spots of the straight razor environment. I say that because it is a chance for artisan talent to make something that will last for generations. So the whole environment for custom straight razors is a great environment. It gives people the recognition for their talent, for taking a hunk of steel and making a beautiful work of art that shaves and will last generations. As we find more talented people to do that, the better it is for our environment. Obie: Are we likely to see more custom straight razor makers? Lynn: I think because of this whole wet shaving environment is turning into an industry, were going to see more custom razors. At the same time well see more commercialism coming into our environment. Youre going to see more of everything. I totally expect every knife maker who thinks he can make a dollar to try his hand at making straight razors. Pen makers are spinning brushes. We see more people honing razors.

Obie: So then how far do we go with this? Lynn: The key is who are going to be the guys who survive in the long run? Who makes the nicest stuff? Who makes the stuff that really shaves? Its no different from looking at any razors on eBay that people cant shave with. Its like any other business, theres good, theres bad, and theres people chasing the buck. Quality will always prevail and so will good people Obie: Do you see any current stars among custom straight razor makers? Lynn: Joe Chandler hasnt made a razor in about a year, but he makes a really nice razor. Mastro Livi still makes phenomenal razors. Charlie Lewis makes a beautiful razor, and he does things others havent done. Robert Williams, our own Max Sprecher, and Alex Jacques make great razors. Also Bob Allman makes a great hollow grind custom razor. Obie: I love what Robert Williams does. Lynn: Yes, beautiful razors. Devin Thomas we just introduced his razors makes a nice razor, too. Obie: Im really impressed with the razors our own Maximillian makes. Lynn: I think Maxs style is great. Max has that European style of making a razor. Obie: Clean lines. Theres a formal grace to them. Sophistication. Lynn: Yes. Obie: What gives the custom razor its distinction? Lynn: The thing about custom straight razors is this: People can do a lot of things. If you look at Alex Jacques, Alex makes phenomenal works of art. You have everything from Alexs level of art to the simple beauty of a Max Sprecher razor, or a Maestro Livi razor, or a Charlie Lewis. They all make great art Max Sprecher, Mastro Livi, Alex Jacques, Charlie Lewis, and some of the others. Having that art part is very important, as is making a great shaving razor. Obie: Of course, we cant forget personal preference by the makers and the buyers. Lynn: The biggest thing about straight razors is the personal preference element. Your idea of art is not going to be the same as my idea of art. You might like so and so and I might like something thats not much to look at but that its a great shaver. From what Ive seen most people like custom razors to be at least 7/8 inches wide. Obie: How does the growth of custom razor makers reflect on the world of the straight razor in general? Lynn: The more custom razor makers we have the more our environment is going to grow. In turn, the more we grow the environment the more we support custom makers, the more

shops, the more people to hone razors. Thats a pretty basic philosophy of mine and thats why I dont push the business as much. I push the growth of people being successful using straight razors. The growth of the population is the most important thing. Obie: How does the rise of custom razor makers reflect on the mega names like ThiersIssard, Dovo, Wacker, Revisor, and some of the others? Lynn: When you have custom makers out there and they produce the beautiful works of art we see, in a lot of cases it forces the people who mass merchandise razors to elevate their products the same. Obie: Are there still stashes left of the new old stock Filarmonicas, Pumas, Torreys, Dubl Ducks, and other great names of the past? Lynn: Its a possibility. Is it as great a possibility as it was five or ten years ago probably not. Obie: If you were to have one razor, what would that be? Lynn: I dont know if I can ever have one razor. The problem is I shave with so many magnificent razors. There are hundreds of razors out there that will give you a good shave. Then all of a sudden one out of a hundred gives you a phenomenal shave, and then the next one out of a hundred gives you a phenomenal shave. The difference is so incrementally small, but yet so recognizable when you shave. Obie: Give me some names. Lynn: I would be hard pressed to. If I only had one, Id keep the Mastro Livi because of sentimental reasons, because he made it for me. Or would I say something else? Obie: How about some traditional names. Lynn: I absolutely love the old Bokers, or the pre-World War Two Henckels. I love King Razors from Indiana, Pennsylvania. I love the old Dubl Duck Wonderedge. The old C-Mon. Where do I stop? Which one? Obie: I find beauty hard to resist, and beauty in the straight razor is especially intoxicating. Let me shift gears here and throw out a question that often creates controversy. Theres always talk on Baby Bottom Smooth (BBS). Should BBS be the ultimate goal of the shaver, or should more emphasis be put on a comfortable shave with or without BBS? In other words, does BBS at any cost make sense? Lynn: Ive compared a shave with a multi-blade razor with a straight razor. The multi-blade razor is obviously a comfortable shave; however, I dont think I can get as smooth a shave with equal number of passes as I can with the straight razor. So to me its always been the comfort of the shave. When you have the technique of the straight razor or the double edge down, I think you get both the comfort of the shave and that sticky smooth feeling on your skin.

Obie: Is there a bottom line, so to speak? Lynn: You know what? You can just do a single-pass shave every day and it will look respectable to other people. Itll be comfortable and youd be good to go. The second pass will do the baby-butt smooth. Obie: Ill channel that question into honing. How much importance do you put on the HHT, the hanging hair test? To me, the shave is what matters. Lynn: Yes, it is the shave that matters. The hanging hair test does not give you all the information. If you have thin hair, or havent washed your hair that day and its oily, it may not cut as well. When I send somebody a razor that has oil on it, we always have people trying to cut hair without wiping off the oil and stropping the razor. The hanging hair test will tell you that the razor can cut hair. It will not tell you how comfortably that razor shaves your face. So the value of the hanging hair test is diminished. The value of anything short of a shaving test is somewhat diminished. Obie: Let me throw some general questions your way. What are your preferred soaps and creams? Lynn: I really enjoy Caraceni. I like Castle Forbes and compare all the creams and soaps to it because of the suds. I love Trumper soaps and creams. All are good. Love Truefitt & Hills soaps and creams. Martin de Candre is a fantastic soap big suds, nice cushion. Its up there among the best. Theres so much good stuff out there. A tube of the old formula Palmolive, or Old Spice shaving cream those are good. And I like our soaps. Obie: Your preferred strops? Lynn: You know what, how can I not prefer our own Straight Razor Design strops? From a quality and value standpoint I may be a little prejudiced I think weve developed one of the best strop lines in the word. We have created strops that have draw preference for every individual. The quality of the leather and workmanship is superior. I really like our strops, because theres one out there for everybody. And we just started making kangaroo strops. And I like Kanayama, too. He makes a fine quality cordovan strop. Obie: Hones? Lynn: I think you cant go wrong with the Naniwa Super Stone line of hones. Or Shapton Glass hones. The Norton 4000/8000 stone. My preferred bevel-setting hone is the Naniwa Chosera stone. My preferred finishing stone is probably the Naniwa Super Stone 12K. I have an Escher thats top of the line, and several Japanese finishers. There are other good stones out there. Obie: Whats your general honing routine? Lynn: Normally I use the circle method that I have developed. I found that to be the most

consistent and reliable process for attaining great shaving edges. There are many posts on Straight Razor Place that describe that method, and there are several videos. Obie: For those who want to hone their razors not professionals what hones do you recommend? I use the Norton 4000/8000, plus a Thuringian finisher, and they seem to work well for me. I might branch out to something else. Or should I? Lynn: For those who plan to hone a lot, I normally recommend the Naniwa Chosera 1K for setting bevels, the Norton 4K and 8K for honing, and the Naniwa Super Stone 12K for finishing. Obie: Finally, do you have advice for anyone contemplating shaving with the straight razor? Lynn: My advice is to try it, but before you do, learn something about it. I would encourage everybody to try it after theyve learned a little bit about it. And learn to respect it rather than jump into it with expectations greater than your abilities. I would encourage everyone to not only try straight razor shaving, but also wet shaving in general. Once you master the art and the craft of straight razor shaving, your daily shave will become a pleasure instead of a chore. You will look forward to it every day.