Maestro Livi finally conquered

Use a straight. You know it makes sense.
mparker762
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Post by mparker762 »

I'm a big fan of the Bergischer Lowe as well - I think they're really the only razor that Dovo makes that shaves as well as a TI or the best vintage razors (Dubl Duck, Puma, etc). I didn't find mine very difficult to hone, but I already had the Shaptons at that time.

Pity Dovo uses such cheap rubber on the shank though. I finally took mine off and covered the shank in POR-15.
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Post by EverSharp »

Chris,

Ironically, I shaved with my Bergischer Lowe this morning. My shave, as usual, was incredibly close and comfortable. Tomorow, it will be a 5/8 TI Evide Sonnant which is also incredible. I could not say whcih is better. However, my next purchase will probably be a worked back TI.

I like the reliability of these brands when spending over $200.
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Occam
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Post by Occam »

Damn you enablers!!

I was in the bliss of not knowing what a Bergischer Lowe was until I looked it up due to the more than one mention of it here....

Now I can't imagine not having one!

To be honest my RAD has abated a lot lately... and I'll probably wait till I'm getting nice shaves from the TI before I get one of these.

I'm finding out for myself how true the long road to straight shaving proficiency is... honing --- check, stropping --- check, barely acceptable shave --- check, daily shave --- no... will be a while...
Ben

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Post by drmoss_ca »

Another update: yesterday I decided to fine tune the edge with a good deal of linen stropping. I used the 3" Heirloom first (this has the original canvas/cotton rather than actual linen) for 50 round trips, then the Illinois 827 'linen' (I'm sure it's manmade) for the same, and then finished with twenty roundtrips on the thick and shiny antique Fromm.
This morning's shave was the best yet from this razor. Nearly as effortless as a TI Eagle, and very nearly as close. It has inspired me to hope that this stainless damascus can be honed to something very much like a carbon steel blade, though it's not there yet. So....
I decided to do something I normally frown upon as cheating a bit (but have justified it on the grounds that this is probably the hardest steel I have honed). Using the method described by Tim Zowada I applied three layers of electrical tape to the spine and cut a second bevel by doing ten round trips on the Shapton 16k, fifteen roundtrips on the Shapton 30k, fifty round trips on the chromium dioxide/leather bench hone, and then took the tape off and repeated the linen and leather stroppings as above.
Tomorrow we shall see what Tim hath wrought.

This is a curious razor to use - large, but very light in weight. It is a lot more manouevrable than you would expect for the size. It was the lightness, along with the grey colouration of the metal that made me realise that this was not like my other damascus razors. The Livi homepage indicates that all his razors are stainless or damascus stainless. I confess that when I ordered it I had no idea it was made of stainless damascus (Lynn's website - currently down - didn't say it was) and I would probably not have ordered it if I had known that. I am not generally a fan of SS razors, but my error may turn out to be an unexpected boon if I finally discover that I can get a stainless razor (and damascus to boot!) as sharp as I like. No doubt Mike will pop up now to express his sympathy for my lack of a stainless reputation!

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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Post by EverSharp »

Your perserverance is the mark of a true devotee to our hobby. It appears that you bought the ATS34 rather than the old forgings that the Maestro found in on a visit to an old razor maker.

Good luck on your continued efforts.
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Presumably there are two steels folded into the damascus billet? If one is ATS34, do we know what was used for the other?

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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Post by mparker762 »

Presumably Lynn would know what the other steel is, or could find out.

The only carbon steel razors Livi makes are the reground razor blanks that he found awhile back, and his Takeda razor which uses Japanese Tamahagane sandwiched between two layers of tool steel.
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Post by xChris »

I think Maestro Livi uses Damasteel in his stainless damascus razors.
Chris
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Post by Squire »

Damasteel, really? Could someone verify that?
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Squire
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Post by mparker762 »

I don't know if that's all he uses, but he has used damasteel's "Blue Tonge" and "Rose" in the past. He does quite a few razors from Blue Tonge, actually.

http://www.damasteel.com/patterns.html
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Post by Squire »

I once saw a hunting knife made from damasteel and it was very attractive, never thought of it as suitable for a razor.
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Squire
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Post by EverSharp »

The maestro livi's website is http://www.coltellerielivi.com/ . All the blades and their metal composition is listed. In his current offerings: damask inox and ats34 are listed as the blade contents. The blades are a beauty to behold and worth a web visit. Honing and shaving sound like another matter based on Chris's experience.
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Post by drmoss_ca »

All went well this morning - nice and smooth. Quite a struggle to get to this point, but satisfying to get there!

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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Post by notthesharpest »

drmoss_ca wrote:All went well this morning - nice and smooth. Quite a struggle to get to this point, but satisfying to get there!
Make notes, so that when it needs honing again in five years, you'll remember what you did. :lol:
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Post by sebell »

Absolutely beautiful razor. I have an ATS-34 on the way
from the SRP group-buy -- if it's half as nice as that one
I will be especially pleased.

Sadly I cannot join in the briar pipe smoking, but I will
give my meerschaum a go and dream of your Livi ;)

- Scott
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Post by Joe Lerch »

How are you? It's been a while.

Chris, I have every one of the hones you used except the 30K.

Assuming you used the hones in order of increasing fineness, I find it curious that you ended on the UF. I would never consider it finer than 30K and probably not even finer than 15K.

What was your strategy?
Joe
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Now I've found the question....

The answer is to be found here:
http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24070
and
http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27323

As you will read, it seems that the Spyderco fine and ultrafine hones vary their effective grit by means of the pattern machined into their surface: they have to, being made of the same ceramic. I lapped the UF into something very fine, but I have no way of knowing just how fine a grit it now simulates. My impression is that my 2" stone is finer than my 3" and I am still trying to find by trial and error where they best fit amongst the Shaptons.

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
mparker762
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Post by mparker762 »

drmoss_ca wrote: As you will read, it seems that the Spyderco fine and ultrafine hones vary their effective grit by means of the pattern machined into their surface
I have seen the same phenomenon in some barber hones. I've got a nondescript brown brick barber hone that a seller threw in for free with a practice razor that I lapped on an arkansas stone. It now gleams like a piece of polished marble and in terms of grit seems somewhere close to my Shapton 30k.
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Post by dada »

Good to hear the shaves are improving!

As Michael said, I have spend many, many hours honing some razors. I'd even say that what you describe seems "normal" to me LOL

Cheers
Ivo
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Maestro Livi misspells himself Mastro

Post by lux »

Good evening fellow wet shavers,

Has it also struck your attention the Maestro Livi (the correct Italian spelling used in the title of this thread) misspells himself "Mastro" at Classing Shaving?

Kind regards,

lux
Neither this, nor non-this, nor both, nor neither.
Regnare servire est.
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