One of the things I've been on the lookout for is an Italian Straight. I have French, Swedish, German, English, American and Japanese, but nothing from Italy. At one point, I even tried one of the Russian razors. Over the last 6 months I'd seen one or two, but nothing in my price range or something that I wanted to own.
A few weeks ago, a razor, or rather a bunch of razors, showed up from an "artisan" in Sardinia. What was odd was that some of his razors had the bidding starting at 130.00 and others, seemingly identical, had it starting at 10 bucks. Here's the pic of the razor from the listing and it's the only pic from the listing:
View attachment 373221
Not terrible looking. I was intrigued. The text description was:
good morning
have graduated mechanical engineer mechanical engineering and congegnatore.
I'm a craftsman by profession.
my products are the best craft stores in Sardinia and in the armories
I do all the pieces are unique and inimitable, because they are made one by one.
use the best materials.
handles for use: bovine tibia bone, ram's horn worked, raw ram's horn and buffalo horns.
razors blades for use carbon steel J2 HCR 60, or 512 layers Damascus blade HCR 58
to use the knife blades carbon steel 4034 HCR 58, carbon steel 440C hcr 58, carbon steel J2 HCR 58
or damascus blade 512 layers HCR 56.
all my razor or my knife has a leather sheath and certificate of warranty.
my problem is that I can not take pictures (then settle for those that do, then when you are sure that you stay acquisterette sodisfatti) and do not have much time to devote to your computer.
I have no website because I sell to shops
then aprofitate of these anunci that I put on ebay
good auction to all of you with the hope that you remain happy all
This razor is:
handle shank bone of cattle
blade 7/8 steel 1075
HCR 60
leather sheath
to contact me
mail: pi*******[email protected]
tel / fax 3********4
skype p*****i
Although stubbornly suspicious, the little touch of the contact information at the end tipped the scales. That, and the fact that there was very little information about the razors available. The bid was 10 bucks with 12 bucks shipping and while that was 2 bucks over my "WTH" limit, I figured if it could be had for 22 bucks, then I'd share what I learned with the rest of B&B in much the same way Slash is doing with the Kriegar. Besides, I didn't really think I'd win it for a ten dollar bid.
Well, I did and it arrived this past Monday. Here are the unboxing pics.
First of all, the sheath is NOT leather. Not even close. Ok. There's one born every second, but I never use those things anyway and that's not what I was paying for.
View attachment 373225
Here's the razor
View attachment 373224
The scales certainly are bone, no deception there, but they're so huge that I suspect it's the entire leg of the cow. I mean, just really, really big. Again, I had the impression that this guy was a knife maker and this is, so I've heard, a common characteristic in razors made by knife makers, so no big deal. One can always modify the scales to a more reasonable size. Besides, I was only out 22 bucks, shipped.
Here's another look at the thickness of the scales.
View attachment 373223
The wedge looked to be, maybe, bone also, but it could very well have been plastic. I can't tell. Either way, it's a botched job with the wedge. It's not angled, nor is the fit with the scales that great. It looks almost as if they filled the gap with horn powder or epoxy. Or it might be a flaw in the wedge if it's bone.
A few other things I noticed. The blade doesn't close centered and the pins don't have collars. It also appears that they were ground or sanded after being hammered because of the circular depressions around the pins. I recognize that from my early efforts in scale making. I actually liked the look of the pins,however, because it was quite rustic. On the other hand, I also know they've got to be removed in order to sand down the scales to a reasonable size and I'm already dreading having to drill them out.
So far it's clear that there's no "craftsmanship" in the assembly of the razor or the manufacture of the scales. None at all. It is strikingly careless work. I still, however, had some hope for the blade.
Here's the razor:
View attachment 373222
cont:
A few weeks ago, a razor, or rather a bunch of razors, showed up from an "artisan" in Sardinia. What was odd was that some of his razors had the bidding starting at 130.00 and others, seemingly identical, had it starting at 10 bucks. Here's the pic of the razor from the listing and it's the only pic from the listing:
View attachment 373221
Not terrible looking. I was intrigued. The text description was:
good morning
have graduated mechanical engineer mechanical engineering and congegnatore.
I'm a craftsman by profession.
my products are the best craft stores in Sardinia and in the armories
I do all the pieces are unique and inimitable, because they are made one by one.
use the best materials.
handles for use: bovine tibia bone, ram's horn worked, raw ram's horn and buffalo horns.
razors blades for use carbon steel J2 HCR 60, or 512 layers Damascus blade HCR 58
to use the knife blades carbon steel 4034 HCR 58, carbon steel 440C hcr 58, carbon steel J2 HCR 58
or damascus blade 512 layers HCR 56.
all my razor or my knife has a leather sheath and certificate of warranty.
my problem is that I can not take pictures (then settle for those that do, then when you are sure that you stay acquisterette sodisfatti) and do not have much time to devote to your computer.
I have no website because I sell to shops
then aprofitate of these anunci that I put on ebay
good auction to all of you with the hope that you remain happy all
This razor is:
handle shank bone of cattle
blade 7/8 steel 1075
HCR 60
leather sheath
to contact me
mail: pi*******[email protected]
tel / fax 3********4
skype p*****i
Although stubbornly suspicious, the little touch of the contact information at the end tipped the scales. That, and the fact that there was very little information about the razors available. The bid was 10 bucks with 12 bucks shipping and while that was 2 bucks over my "WTH" limit, I figured if it could be had for 22 bucks, then I'd share what I learned with the rest of B&B in much the same way Slash is doing with the Kriegar. Besides, I didn't really think I'd win it for a ten dollar bid.
Well, I did and it arrived this past Monday. Here are the unboxing pics.
First of all, the sheath is NOT leather. Not even close. Ok. There's one born every second, but I never use those things anyway and that's not what I was paying for.
View attachment 373225
Here's the razor
View attachment 373224
The scales certainly are bone, no deception there, but they're so huge that I suspect it's the entire leg of the cow. I mean, just really, really big. Again, I had the impression that this guy was a knife maker and this is, so I've heard, a common characteristic in razors made by knife makers, so no big deal. One can always modify the scales to a more reasonable size. Besides, I was only out 22 bucks, shipped.
Here's another look at the thickness of the scales.
View attachment 373223
The wedge looked to be, maybe, bone also, but it could very well have been plastic. I can't tell. Either way, it's a botched job with the wedge. It's not angled, nor is the fit with the scales that great. It looks almost as if they filled the gap with horn powder or epoxy. Or it might be a flaw in the wedge if it's bone.
A few other things I noticed. The blade doesn't close centered and the pins don't have collars. It also appears that they were ground or sanded after being hammered because of the circular depressions around the pins. I recognize that from my early efforts in scale making. I actually liked the look of the pins,however, because it was quite rustic. On the other hand, I also know they've got to be removed in order to sand down the scales to a reasonable size and I'm already dreading having to drill them out.
So far it's clear that there's no "craftsmanship" in the assembly of the razor or the manufacture of the scales. None at all. It is strikingly careless work. I still, however, had some hope for the blade.
Here's the razor:
View attachment 373222
cont:
