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Mastro Livi School
- Thread starter razorguy
- Start date
alfredus
Auctioneer-in-Chief + organises many group buys
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razorguy
Member
Of course we can! After all, a forum is for sharing ideas and opinions, isn't it?
As far as I can tell - and according to what Mastro Livi said in the video above - stainless, carbon and damascus steel are all suited for shaving and all give an excellent shave. In my humble opinion, it is more a matter of how you feel the steel on your face.
alfredus
Auctioneer-in-Chief + organises many group buys
Staff member
Site Moderator
State Convenor - SA
Grand Society
Group Buy Caporegime
Charity Auction Team
That's exactly what I would like to hear - how do they feel/cut/glide/etc. different...
I think there is a lot of myth out there about carbon vs. stainless and it would be great to hear from an expert the actual differences.
razorguy
Member
I think there is no easy answer to this as most of the feeling and "touch" of every single steel - I would say, every razor - is different one to each other and to each one of us.
I am not an expert, of course, although it is now about 16 years I am shaving with straight razors and probably used more than 800 different straight razors, I certainly am far less than a beginner when compared to a revered expert like Mastro Livi.
It is said carbon steel is "rounder and softer" than stainless steel, but I can tell there are stainless steel blades equally round and soft like a carbon steel. I guess steel composition has a role in this as well as how it was processed and worked.
I can however tell there are steels which actually feel more aggressive than others on the skin and this does not necessarily mean it is stainless steel.
As for cutting and gliding efficiency, my very humble experience tells me quality of honing, grinding and geometry is everything. Like Mastro Livi said in the second part of the School, the edge - in order to give a comfortable shave - has to be very very thin, with a height of half a millimeter or ever less. I can witness this to be absolutely true, no matter it is a carbon or stainless steel blade. As for efficiency of cutting and gliding, stropping certainly is an essential part of the shaving experience and, in my opinion, hand palm stropping adds an extra special touch to shaving. I can personally tell when a razor was not hand stropped: I simply feel the difference on the skin.
filobiblic
Facepeeler Extraordinare
State Convenor - NSW
Group Buy Caporegime
2017 Sabbatical Fail
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I've often noted you mention palm stropping in your SOTD's. Have you made a video showing how you strop on your palm? Wouldn't the skin be uneven? Why do you think it adds more to the shave?
razorguy
Member
I did not make any video about this yet, but in one of the next episode of the School, Mastro Livi will show how to properly do hand palm stropping and its benefits for shaving.
As far as I can tell, it really makes a difference: I do not think hand palm skin is that uneven and if you properly use it for stropping, it really is effective. You can also do that by stropping on the bottom of your forearm: this too is effective. In my opinion hand palm stropping gives you an even smoother edge and refreshes the edge considerably. I do hand palm stropping before beginning each of the three usual passes I do when I shave.
stillshunter
a man of resolve, a man of conviction
State Convenor - ACT
Group Buy Associate
2015 Sabbatical Fail
Like @filobiblic I've been very curious about palm stropping since I've heard it mentioned. Looking very forward to the word (and vision) from Mastro Livi.
I've tried this the last couple of days, using the base of my palm (along the pinkie) and it appears to feel the same on my face (the shave) as stropping on leather but I have not checked the edge under the loupe yet to investigate any physical comparison between the two. I'll leave that techo stuff to others.
gthomas04
...was Drubbing's first. AKA Captain Tightarse
I would expect that the results of palm stropping would vary according to the state of the palm stropped on. For example I would have thought say a brickies palm complete with hardened skin and callouses would give a totally different result than the soft white hands of say an accountant (unless the accountant was a fervent happy clapper) then they may have some callous build up,
razorguy
Member
I guess the answer is Mastro Livi's hands. I mean, if you watch Mastro Livi hands, you would not exactly say he has the white hands of an accountant, indeed, they are pretty rough with a skin hardened by daily hard work for having touched steel bars, wheel grinders, belt grinders, wood and everything else. Not to mention the fact he built most of his laboratory and shop, so you would not tell he has the hands of a fairy. He is continuously using his hands for everything and certainly not for doing what an accountant would usually do.
Despite of this, if you shave with a razor hand palm stropped by Mastro Livi and using his hands, it is absolutely smooth and effective. I guess, just like for using hones, stones, strops and all the rest, the secret is in the technique and experience.
My job has nothing to do with razors - completely different from Mastro Livi's - and my hands are certainly more likely to look like those of an accountant and, yes, I too have a tremendous benefit from stropping my razors on my hand palms. It simply works and, after all, human skin is a sort of soft leather.
razorguy
Member
Bravo !!Please thank the barber Luigi Migni.
Steve
I will. I am sure he will appreciate your thoughtful words.
Thanks @razorguy - I definitely learned a thing or two from this one.
razorguy
Member
Now I am curious to know what is the thing or two you learned from this episode.
Well, pulling the nose up like that for a start. And stropping each pass. And 90% of men having a similar growth pattern to me.
All excellent stuff!
All excellent stuff!
Good God, that's 50 new/different straights per year. One a week roughly. You must spend hours a week on the stones and strops. I'm so glad I haven't been cursed with the straight razor bug. In terms of a razors collected/razors used ratio that's insane and puts even our very own @Mark1966 to shame.