This is a discussion thread for this review of my Robert Williams Custom Swayback here. Comments are welcome.http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1082786#post1082786
Very nice razor. It looks like the Japanese razor I couldn't get but the curves aren't as pronounced on this one.
It was being made around that time. Robert and I talked about that one but as attractive as it looked to me the curve looked a bit too radical to be a practical shaver.
As a quick question, since you did that as I could see in the review, how does one hone a non-flat/straight edge? The description was a bit too uhh... undescriptive for my n00b-brain to understand.
Beautiful thing though, absolutely smashing!
Robert and I discussed the jimps and I wanted them to be exactly like those on another of his razors that I have. The scales are perfectly balanced to the blade and if they appear thick or ungainly in the photo they do not to my eye or hand. The "terrible ding" is a natural flaw in the otherwise perfect ivory scales. Thanks for looking out though JB, you do have an eagle eye.Beautiful razor, interesting review, with a certain "Spartan" quality about each of them that seems to fit like a bespoke suit.
I'm not much for ornamental jimps, preferring the sharp-edged, "toothy" type over those which look good but don't grip; also, I find jimps to be a good indication of how much the artisan values "little" things -- in the first photo you can see how the eighth upper jimp is cut significantly deeper than the rest.
I'm also not much for the disturbing trend in custom razors toward burly, bulky scales; this is all the more off-putting when the material is ivory (pre-ban, or otherwise), which should be as delicate as its source was massive. Unfortunately, these scales look like the plastic from a booth in a 1950s NJ diner.
Likewise, there is a terrible ding in the back scale, opposite the shank, which is clearly visible in the first and final photos. With all the discussion during the past year about "fit and finish", I'm quite surprised that this one left the shop as-is.
But hey! it's someone else's money, and not mine... so, I'll close with this: the design, manufacturing, and etching on this blade are beautiful, and I know that it gives Slant-Fan pleasure to heft, hone, and shave with it; thus, it's a Good Razor.
As the guy who got his Robert Williams custom just before Slant-Fan got his, I think it is a great looking razor. The real question is, however, how does it shave?
Beautiful razor, interesting review, with a certain "Spartan" quality about each of them that seems to fit like a bespoke suit.
I'm not much for ornamental jimps, preferring the sharp-edged, "toothy" type over those which look good but don't grip; also, I find jimps to be a good indication of how much the artisan values "little" things -- in the first photo you can see how the eighth upper jimp is cut significantly deeper than the rest.
I'm also not much for the disturbing trend in custom razors toward burly, bulky scales; this is all the more off-putting when the material is ivory (pre-ban, or otherwise), which should be as delicate as its source was massive. Unfortunately, these scales look like the plastic from a booth in a 1950s NJ diner.
Likewise, there is a terrible ding in the back scale, opposite the shank, which is clearly visible in the first and final photos. With all the discussion during the past year about "fit and finish", I'm quite surprised that this one left the shop as-is.
But hey! it's someone else's money, and not mine... so, I'll close with this: the design, manufacturing, and etching on this blade are beautiful, and I know that it gives Slant-Fan pleasure to heft, hone, and shave with it; thus, it's a Good Razor.
What does an artisan do with a piece that has one-or-more visible flaws? Toss it? Fix it? Sell it as a "factory-second"? Or does s/he "spin it", turning the flaw into a "feature"?
Every single one of my "custom" straights has a flaw or two. In some cases (not necessarially the one's you would imagine) you have to look very hard to find it. I don't mind any of the flaws. In fact, I expect them. They come with the territory. Afterall, these things are hand made.