A weekend with Bill Ellis....

**joel** · 05-10-2008, 10:55 PM

It's been an incredibly busy week so this is the first chance i've had to mention it, but last weekend the Mrs. and I had the great pleasure of spending the weekend with Bill and his wife Cher.

Before we go any further, i've got to say Mr. Ellis and his wife are the most welcoming, and warm couple i've ever met. You truly cannot find nicer people, they'd give you the shirt of their back.... twice if they could. With that said - Bill's picture (in his avatar) and on his website couldn't be any more misleading. In his pictures - he looks like (no offense) an old geezer. Well, you meet him in person and he looks about 20 years younger and like someone you wouldn't want to piss off

So of course - we spent a ton of time in his "laboritory" where he'd saw, sand, grind, and bang on pretty "ho-hum" looking blades, slabs of wood, etc - and make them look simply gorgeous. The skill this man has is truly incredible. Watching how meticulous he was with EVERYTHING he does (he drives his wife crazy re-arranging the kitchen if anything is out of place) was a BIG eye opener as to why his stuff is so great... he's his own biggest critic.

So - I see a pile of pretty crappy looking razor blades, and I ask "What are those for?" and he says "Oh those? - I'm going to restore 'em." Well... if they were my blades - i'd chuck 'em - but he assured me they were still in great shape - and showed me how quickly he is able to turn them from a beater - into a razor in pretty good condition.

Before....

Literally minutes later...

Obviously - there is a lot more to be done on the blade to make it worthy of coming from Bill's shop - but I was amazed at his ability to turn rusty, crappy looking blades into works of art. I won't reveal all (hell any) of his secrets, but his tricks of restoring blades are really ingenious.

So - I brought along my Chronik razor for him to check out (and look at the embarrassing scale job I did on it with some TI scales) and he to was puzzled by the strange look of the steel. He said "want me to make it look nicer?" so I say "sure" and much to my horror he takes pops the scales off in about 1/2 a second, then proceeds to go to town on it with whirring belts and some spinning disks, and within a few minutes this was the result....

(The 2 pieces of wood are what he plans on re-scaling it with)

Then - Scale time...

I hold onto it, while the mad professor starts prepping something (I have no idea what) and i'm amazed at the feel of them... really smooth/silky, yet beautifully and perfectly rounded (each side/slab evenly)....

Alright - Bill's back at it....

Look at how beautifully rounded these things are....

Time to polish 'em up...

When it's all said and done....

He was really surprised how incredibly fast it took an edge, and the quality of edge it took.

(More pics available here)

Watching him work was quite a fun experience... Bill really knows what he's doing, and is a blast to hang out with. It was quite weird (yet a ton of fun) chatting with someone so knowledgeable in razors, hones, etc. I brought a bunch of razors, hones, etc - and we honed up some razors, tried out some different pastes, etc. He even went over the different razor makers work I had brought (including his own) and rated it, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses. I took detailed notes, and will post the results - but they're quite interesting, and purely fact based.

I learned quite a bit from Bill, and I look forward to learning more from him in the future. He's a hell of a guy - and a hell of a knife/razor maker. If you've had the pleasure of owning his work, you know what i'm talking about.

Stay tuned for fact based custom razor reviews.

**Beast** · 05-10-2008, 11:01 PM

I gotta ask...What's up with the turtle?

**joel** · 05-10-2008, 11:18 PM

Originally Posted by Beast

I gotta ask...What's up with the turtle?

It's a shell I brought to see if he could make razor scales out of it. Bill sawed it in half and is going to see if there is anything that can be done with it...

**djktrumpet** · 05-11-2008, 12:04 AM

It's always nice, in any field, to experience that kind of relaxed accomplishment, born of long experience. Looking forward to your follow-up posts!

David

**Philadelph** · 05-11-2008, 01:09 AM

Thanks for the pics Joel! I wish I could meet Bill at some point... and maybe I will! I have the utmost respect for him and his work. Congrats on the trip

**Shane27** · 05-11-2008, 02:53 AM

Whoa, that is amazing, and Bill sounds like an excellent guy.

Someday I will have to try shaving with a straight :)

**berzerkeleyan** · 05-11-2008, 09:20 AM

Great pictorial, Joel. And thanks for providing us a small taste of what was clearly a fun weekend for you.

I hope the wives had plenty to talk about!

**joke1176** · 05-11-2008, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by joel

It's a shell I brought to see if he could make razor scales out of it. Bill sawed it in half and is going to see if there is anything that can be done with it...

I have a turtle shell laying around too, with the same idea. If it turns out, post some pics for reference please.

**copperhead** · 05-11-2008, 10:16 AM

Excellent post and thanks for sharing this. I have never tried shaving with a straight razor but you keep making a few posts like these showcasing Bill's work and i am sure you will have another convert to straight razor shaving quite soon.

**htownmmm** · 05-11-2008, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by copperhead

Excellent post and thanks for sharing this. I have never tried shaving with a straight razor but you keep making a few posts like these showcasing Bill's work and i am sure you will have another convert to straight razor shaving quite soon.

I am absolutely jealous!

and yet i don't shave with a straight-go figure.

marty

**netsurfr** · 05-11-2008, 11:28 AM

Great post! Loved the pics...

**Vinny Bobo** · 05-11-2008, 11:33 AM

Thanks Joel and Bill! I really enjoyed this.

**jlander** · 05-11-2008, 06:05 PM

Absolutely fascinating! Can't wait to read the reviews.

**thirdeye** · 05-11-2008, 06:08 PM

Joel, that must have been one heck of a weekend and what a beautiful razor that came of it.
The turtle shell idea is awesome. Please do let us know if you both come up with a use for it.

**riooso** · 05-11-2008, 06:33 PM

There is nothing more enjoyable than watching a master at work. I have had the pleasure of seeing some truly talented people at work in their area of discipline, and it is amazing. They almost seem to glide through the process like they are playing music! Thanks for the post, much enjoyed.

Later,
R

**TstebinsB** · 05-11-2008, 06:49 PM

Bill, as everyone else has already said, you are truly a master.

**OldSchoolYoungin** · 05-11-2008, 06:50 PM

+1 to riooso it is a true pleasure to watch a professional work.

When I FINALLY decide to start straight shaving, I may have to go ahead and save up for one of his masterpieces. Out of all the straight razors that I have seen, his examples always stand out on top as being the most beautiful works of art. OK, Zowada is close, but entirely too expensive

.

Great read, Joel.

**Limey** · 05-11-2008, 08:39 PM

Joel - you are a lucky guy...Bill would be on my very short list of people I would spend a day or weekend with. I could not read your post fast enough and very much look forward to the forth coming posts and pictures. Thanks!

**papasmurf** · 05-12-2008, 07:24 AM

Joel

As I said via PM when you were on your way . you lucky SOB .

those scales look great .

**iron maiden** · 05-12-2008, 05:05 PM

On the other link, I mentioned that the "curly maple" scales looked sweet....but after closer inspection, I don't think the scales are curly maple.

So, Joel or Bill.....what are the scales made of?

Just curious, it is a beautiful razor.