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Just ordered a Mastro Livi

Well I have to be about the happiest guy on the planet today.

I have just placed an order at 'Straight Razor Design' for a Mastro Livi 6/8 regrind with Palissadro scales.

Sorry but I just had to tell everyone!...................

I feel so childish now :blush:
 
Well I have to be about the happiest guy on the planet today.

I have just placed an order at 'Straight Razor Design' for a Mastro Livi 6/8 regrind with Palissadro scales.

Sorry but I just had to tell everyone!...................

I feel so childish now :blush:

Congratz! Hope you enjoy it :001_smile

Any pics?
 
Just took a look and.....

a/ It's way to 'bling' for me.
b/ It's way over what I would ever consider spending on a razor.

I'm certain someone will love it though.
 
Just took a look and.....

a/ It's way to 'bling' for me.
b/ It's way over what I would ever consider spending on a razor.

I'm certain someone will love it though.

a/ me too
b/ me too

I sure someone will too, it just won't be you or I :wink:
 
Congrats! I have a regrind and really like it. I also happen to think that they are a very good value though as always, this is definitely a YMMV thing.

Careful though, the regrind can turn out to be a Livi gateway drug. :biggrin:

Enjoy!
 
Congrats! I have a regrind and really like it. I also happen to think that they are a very good value though as always, this is definitely a YMMV thing.

Careful though, the regrind can turn out to be a Livi gateway drug. :biggrin:

Enjoy!

How is it a good value? Seriously, I'm curious. After visiting Bill, and seeing how long it takes someone with the right tools (and skill) to take an old blade, and refinish it - and make the very easy/cheap to make scales Livi has i'm stunned they're more than $70. Seriously.

Joe Chandler, and Bill Ellis do a much superior job (regrind wise) on more reputable branded blades (such as W&B's, Pumas, etc) and have much, much nicer, more intricate and more time consuming scales with CA coats, sexy pins etc.

A Maestro handmade razor... ok - I see a point in getting one of those.... a regrind? You gotta be crazy. If he makes the boxes they come in, he puts more time in making the box, than he does the scales and getting the rust off the blade (no joke).

For 1/2 (or less) you can get a better looking razor, with more work/time put into it from Ellis or Chandler. No brainer for me.
 
Well, I don't have an Ellis or Chandler restore to compare to but given what some of those vintage blades are going for on ebay before paying for the restore work, it's getting up there.

For me, the Livi regrind is a good value because I really like the craftsmanship that went into the filework on the blade as well as the scales. Personally I don't care if it only took Mastro 2 minutes to do the regrind, I'm more than happy with the outcome.

Also, and most importantly I think it is an excellent shaver. One that I enjoy using a great deal along with my Takeda, RW, Zowadas, Friodors, Helje, etc.

Again, they may not be for everyone, obviously, and not everyone may see them as a value. I do, but that's just my take...
 
How is it a good value? Seriously, I'm curious. After visiting Bill, and seeing how long it takes someone with the right tools (and skill) to take an old blade, and refinish it - and make the very easy/cheap to make scales Livi has i'm stunned they're more than $70. Seriously.

Perhaps it's the extra $10 for the Pink Ivory that brings the Le Grelot up to $260 then :wink:
 
Perhaps it's the extra $10 for the Pink Ivory that brings the Le Grelot up to $260 then :wink:

ScottS - proving yet again he is King of the passive aggressive, off topic, unfounded, snide, immature comments.

Long live the king! :rolleyes:
 
Ultimately, each to his own chaps. Just the way it should be.

Personally, I'd rather have the Livi than another mass produced Dovo or Ti.

The regrind also seems to get pretty god reviews on shave quality and after all that is what really matters, at any price point.
 
Ultimately, each to his own chaps. Just the way it should be.

Personally, I'd rather have the Livi than another mass produced Dovo or Ti.

The regrind also seems to get pretty god reviews on shave quality and after all that is what really matters, at any price point.

The Livi regrind is a mass produced blade, which is vintage - which means it was produced at a time when straight razors were prolific. What's the significance? Well - they were likely produced in mass quantities for many years. The only thing "different/custom" are the scales - which can done much better (and cheaper) by the aforementioned fellas.

I don't mean to whiz on your parade, i'm sure you'll enjoy the razor, and i'm sure it's an outstanding razor.... just trying to point out they're a misunderstood value.
 
I have a Livi regrind amongst several other Maestro razors, including Takedas and Blue Tonge damascus.
My impressions?
Firstly the scales on mine aren't all that. They are seriously oversized, much too big for the blade and they just look too chunky for my personal taste. Also, they were covered in scratches, nothing serious enough for me to send the blade back, but noticeable none the less. It looked like someone had gone over the scales with a wire brush.
However on the plus side the blade itself is really good. It arrived shave ready out of the box and has been a consistently excellent performer since. Actually it flat out embarasses my damascus Livi's and is easily on par with my Takeda razors as well.
I have been away from the wet shaving world for a long time so I'm not sure what they are selling for at the moment, but I got mine for 120 GBP when they first came out and I don't think that was too bad a deal. The minor problems with the scales were an annoyance but the blade is easily one of my best razors.
In short, excellent blade, lousy scales. Mine will be getting new scales once I get round to it.
Regards,
Alex
 
How is it a good value? Seriously, I'm curious. After visiting Bill, and seeing how long it takes someone with the right tools (and skill) to take an old blade, and refinish it - and make the very easy/cheap to make scales Livi has i'm stunned they're more than $70. Seriously.

I gotta agree with Joel on this one the Livi regrinds are no diferent from the Wacker regrinds or having Joe C. or Bill E. regrind a vintage razor.

FYI, I've had razors reground and rescaled by Joe C. and the cost was right around the $70 - $75 mark - the Sheffield blades (one of which was a W&B) cost me under $10 each and they were in good condition.

While a regrind made from a blank may take a little more effort/cost a little more, Bill's video clearly shows how little time it takes a skilled craftsman with the right tools to grind a blank into a razor.

This doesn't mean that the Livi regrinds (which I've not tried) aren't good or even great shavers, it does suggest that they may not be good values and/or there's a fair bit of profit being made along the distribution chain.

What's most important is that YOU like your razor and that it gives YOU good shaves. We all have razors we may have paid too much for - doesn't really matter in the scheme of things if you like the way it shaves.
 
Cant we just be happy with the guy instead of tearing him apart and making him feel bad about something he has every right to be proud of? If this is the way gentlemen act then you should take a refresher course. Kato1 Congrats on your new razor, I hope you really enjoy it and it gives you those magic shaves we all seek.
 
From my perspective, and please correct me if I'm wrong.

1/ The Mastro Livi 'Regrind' is actually a cast vintage blank that has never being worked upon and ground into a servicable state. (yes/no?)

2/ Mastro Livi's grinding is the first work ever done to any of these blades since they were fordged, albeit 70 years ago. (yes/no?)

3/ If my take is correct, then by definition these blades are not regrinds as they have just undertaken their first grinding. (yes/no?)

4/ A vintage blade that has been reground is.... an old blade that was initially ground at the time of production and has since seen service. It has been used and honed. It has probably also suffered varying degrees of neglect and corrosion before it has been reground (removing more metal) to give it a second life. (yes/no?)

If the answer to all the above is yes, then I can only conclude that the Livi probably shares much more in common with a new Dovo or Ti than it does with a vintage reground razor. After all, it is only the surface corrosion that has had to be ground from the blank to make it serviceable.

Had this razor been given to Joel, Lynn Abrams, or indeed anyone else with significant experience of str8's, I wonder would they have been readily able to tell its history or would they have just reviewed it as a brand new razor? :confused:

Ultimately gentlemen it's a razors ability to provide a smooth, comfortable and close shave that is the acid test. You can have the most expensive TZ, Livi, Ti etc etc., but if it can't perform it's primary function well then it's worthless.

To conclude:

I am sadened by the tone of some of the posts made by individuals on this thread. Surely we do not need to get personal with one another? Debate, together with well informed and evidenced opinions are far more powerful and would serve to benefit us all!
 
Cant we just be happy with the guy instead of tearing him apart and making him feel bad about something he has every right to be proud of? If this is the way gentlemen act then you should take a refresher course. Kato1 Congrats on your new razor, I hope you really enjoy it and it gives you those magic shaves we all seek.

I understand why you might get the sense that this is ungentlemanly, but that's not the case.

I truly hope that Kato loves his new razors and that he gets nothing but superlative shaves from it.

However, there is a legitimate reason for the comments above.

One of the issues that consistenly comes up is the fact that what is said about high end razors in the forums and what is said about the same razors in PMs often differs - I've had several offline discussions with folks who were unhappy with their high end razor/custom razor, but who decided to suffer in silence rather than to share their experiences/views publicly for fear of being attacked. And, after seeing how making negative views of the work of high end/custom razor makers known in the public forums can generate a storm of controversy, who's to blame them.

What this means is that whenever someone makes a post about a high end/custom razor they've just purchased, you get a ton of "looks great!", "I can't wait to get me one of those!" or a bunch of drooley smileys. What this does is elevate these razors on a pedestal - to the point where a lot of folks (in particular newbies) think that this is what they should aspire to or need to get a great shave. The lack of good feedback, both good and bad about many of these high end products is problematic and we encourage folks to speak their minds here.

With the Livi regrinds, there is the added issue of the possible confusion between the regrinds and Livi's custom razors. It is possible that people believe that the regrinds are less expensive versions of the custom razors Livi makes.

As was posted by a vendor of the Livi regrinds:

Hello guys,

these razors are attractively priced because the blanks have been forged with the desired degree of hollowness in the original casting process. Mastro Livi restored these blanks to their original state, without having to go throught the lenghty process of grinding the razors to the desired degree of hollowness.

The razors on my website are just samples, hence the snakewood razor can be ordered at any given time, and Mastro Livi will mate the requested handle onto them.

Cheers

Vincent


This is no different than what the master craftsman at TI or Dovo do when they take a mass-produced TI or Dovo blade blank and finish it to the point where its a usable razor. Its very similar to the process that Bill or Joe perform when regrinding vintage razors. As stated in the bolded text above, it is NOT the same as making a razor out of a blank - there is far less work involved.

Does this mean that the Livi regrinds aren't good razors - no, but it does mean that they aren't "custom" razors in the sense that word is usually used.

Joel and my posts were in no way intended to deminish the pleasure Kato should get from both owning and shaving with his new razor. The Livi regrinds get very good reviews in terms of shave quality.

As Joel said, the Livi regrinds are a "misunderstood value" - and that's worth pointing out to folks so they understand what they're buying before they decide whether they want to plunk their cash down for one of these.

Kato - I hope you don't take any offence, as none was intended. As I said above, I hope you enjoy your razor and that you get many great shaves from it!
 
I have not taken offence from anyone here. I would just like it to remain a personable forum.

To put a slightly clearer perspective on the Livi.

The Livi is costing me about £166 sterling. A Dovo 5/8 mother of pearl in the UK would cost me £168.

In the US the Livi is $310 and the Dovo $248.

As you can see that means the Livi represents better value in the UK than in the US.

I'm under no illusions about what the Livi is, or where it has come from.

I'm also not saying that just because I can get the Livi for the same price as the Dovo in the UK that it makes it a better razor.

It just means the Livi is my prefered razor of choice.

'To Each His Own' :smile:
 
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