mastro livi razor honing...

[stalker]

hello! i have some problem to honing my mastro livi razor, i ve made 12 diluition with dilucot, and after stropping the razor not pass the HHT....the razor is inox ATS 34....do you have any advice ??? i should increase the diluition?

with the other razor i don't have any problem...

 

[Gunner777]

I would most likely send it to Mastro and let him hone it. He does hone a bit different than most of us are used to.

 

[garyhaywood]

can you post a picture of razor , i have 3 livis razors. one is damascus inox, two are 6/8 carbon the inox was a pig. the size was so big i had to make sure the edge was hitting the hone , i got there in the end . i just had a problem with the toe. you can do more than twelve dilutions. i would'nt count the amount of dilutions. I would just make sure bevel is set real nice . then i would dilute slowly and do 20 instead of 15 stroke per half set. and just dilute right untill you are rid of slurry . then finish on water . marker the edge just to make sure the bevel is making good contact ( black marker)

 

[garyhaywood]

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i'd agree with that. i have to say my last razor from livi was that dull at one end it would not even shave arm hair which was a shame,the others two were fine.

 

[rayman]

I just honed a Livi razor recently and it was an Inox. I believe it is SS because it required some fairly heavy work in the bevel setting stage. If you are not up to that level, I would advise you send it out and have it done by someone who can. Ralfy would be a good choice because he has a Charnley forest stone. Why don't you contact him?

Ray

 

[Bart]

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It sound to me that the razor doesn't have a fully developed bevel. Livi relies heavily on pasted stropping for sharpening his razors. The ones I've honed, were always heavily convexed. As soon as that was dealt with, they honed well.

Did you made dead sure that you had a fully developed bevel, before you started the dilution stage?

I fail to see what you could do with a Charnley Forest that you could not do with a Coticule.
I would not send it to Livi. It will arrive back the same as it came. I don't think you plan on sending it to Italy each time it needs honing? You got your other razors shaving well, then you'll get this one done as well. Just don't let the ATS-34 steel intimidate you.

Kind regards,
Bart.

 

[Gunner777]

Stalker if you do decide to have someone hone it for you Lynn at SRP would be a good choice since he owns many Livi's. I've shaved with a couple of Lynns Mastro Livi razors and they were very sharp and smooth when he was done with them.

 

[Smythe]

Now why would he send it to Lynn? : humor aside... let’s assume he is here for some guidance, and not let sharpening a razor with a fancy name get the better of him.

Now with all that said…

Stalker: Have you tried back-and-forth strokes (maybe with a little pressure)?, it works wonders setting the bevel. It is also possible the razor is really dull, in that case your Coticule may not remove enough steel within a reasonable time, in that case I would suggest you set the bevel on a courser stone, unfortunately you may have to buy one of you don’t already have one. Go to the nearest hardware store and get a double sided (course and fine) sharpening stone (some folks recommend a diamond hone like a DMT), and set the bevel on the fine side (you may place a bit of tape on the spine if you like… but only one layer and replace the tape as it wears through). Once the bevel is set then you may use the Coticule with milky slurry and refine the edge as you would any other razor, finish with light strokes on water only.

And if despite you best efforts, you cannot get the edge shaving sharp, there is no shame in availing yourself of our very own “Top Shelf” honing service… and unlike other services you won’t have to spend a dime more than shipping…... and I may add the quality is as good as (and some say better than) ANY paid service

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. At the very least, you will get a second opinion of the blade… just in case you got a bad one… indeed it can happen even to the best.

Now if you haven’t already done so, try back-and-forth strokes with a little pressure and let us know how that works out… we are here to help.

 

[stalker]

many thanks to all! yes i ve made all of that! after the bevel stage the razor shave barely the arm hair...aftr that 1 back and forth motion and 12 15 diluition....strange.....i ll try later..

 

[Smythe]

OK, if it does not pass the arm hair test you need to do the TNT, the razor needs to pass the TNT before you see any result with the arm hair test.

BTW I am assuming you already read this article...

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.

Please let us know the result.

 

[tat2Ralfy]

It is absolutely vital that the razor shaves arm hair easily along all of the edge, before you start to dilute, if you try to move forward before then you will never reach that final hht
have you tried using a magic marker along the edge? that way you will see when you are removing steel right to the edge along the length of the blade?

Best Regards
Ralfson (Dr)

 

[stalker]

i have solved the problem many thanks to all!

 

[garyhaywood]

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stalker i saw the razor on livi website with that brand of steel just wonderd how does it compare or shave to other steels you have? i have his inox damascus r107 and a carbonsteel razor of livis . i find they shave very nice.

gary

 

[stalker]

the top notch is the ATS 34 steel the only i have... (that is not a really ats 34) it is something like RW414......i know mastro livi in person....i ve seen the "making-of" my razor....very very interesting....
the ats 34 (rw414) is a good steel, but for my taste is too brisk......i love the sheffield steel, solingen steel (ambossmann,rudolf schimdt in particular..)......i love the silky smooth edge...i

 

[garyhaywood]

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i'd have to say you carn't go wrong with a shefield steel, my john clarkes is a very old shefield steel razor .it is silky smooth and so eeasy to hone.

gary

 

[Smythe]

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You got it shave ready?... Great... but please give us some details.

 

[stalker]

i ve added some pressure to entire process(most for the bevel work) and raise the stroke count to 20 + about 20 diluition.

 

[Smythe]

Just curious... how was the shave? was the work of the master as good as they say it is?

 

[stalker]

i've passed this razor on crox because after 20 diluition it was rough (i think that this steel is very very hard).

mastro livi razor shave well but is not superior to an old razor (puma,bambola,ambossmann,revisor).

the steel that he uses is too brisk for my taste......

 

[tat2Ralfy]

Did you consider taking advantage of this sites free honing service? a well honed coticule edge should be smoother than a crox one everytime
Or maybe add a layer of tape and finish the edge as a unicot? that way you may see an extra sharpness and smoothness without using paste