Elite Razor - Custom and Unique Razors and Brushes

It has been a bit eventful the past several weeks.

I am very pleased to have established a relationship with BarberBrands, Inc (www.barberbrands.com.au), who will be offering my pieces in the Australian/New Zealand market.  My first shipment will be available just as soon as the good folks in the Australian Customs Office finish admiring my work.

Unrelated, but very serendipitous, my work was recently featured in an article in the current issue of The Cutthroat Journal (see link below, pages 74-75), a Barber's and Men's grooming publication.  A good friend of my neighbor, who owns several Barber Shops in Australia, was visiting from Sydney several months ago and came by to look at my work.  Upon his return, he asked for some pictures and authored a very nice article about my shop.  A very pleasant surprise.

http://thecutthroatjournal.com/issue/

In the meantime, the response to the Manchurian White and High Mountain White premium knots has been extraordinary.  I still have a good stock, but they are going quickly.

I have had the opportunity to finish a couple of new pieces that are listed and available on my site at www.eliterazor.com.

Copper Laced Onyx - Copper Laced Onyx is a member of the chalcedony family which also includes carnelian, agate, bloodstone, etc.  Occurring naturally in a variety of colors, black onyx is polished to enhance appearance and is a member of the quartz family.  The name comes from the Greek word onyx which means nail of a finger or claw. Legend says that one day while Venus was sleeping Eros/Cupid cut her fingernails and left the clippings scattered on the ground. Because no part of a heavenly body can die, the gods turned them into stone which later became known as Onyx.



Blue Lapis - This opaque, deep blue gemstone has a grand past. It was among the first gemstones to be worked on and worn as jewelry. At excavations in the ancient centers of culture around the Mediterranean, archaeologists have again and again found among the grave furnishings decorative chains and figures made of Lapis – clear indications that the deep blue stone was already popular thousands of years ago among the people of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome. It is said that the legendary city of Ur on the Euphrates plied a keen Lapis trade as long ago as the fourth millennium B.C., the material coming to the land of the two great rivers from the famous deposits in Afghanistan. In other cultures, Lapis was regarded as a holy stone. Particularly in the Middle East, it was thought to have magical powers.



The brush shown below was made by custom request and has gone to live in its' new home.  Many thanks to Doug Korn for making some of his translucent material available to me for this piece.



I've also added a number of new razor handles.

Irish Bog Oak



Two-tone Desert Ironwood burl



As always, thanks for looking,

Bob

A few new brushes have been completed and are listed and available on my site at www.eliterazor.com.

Emerald Green and Black swirl - This brush handle is from a custom pour that Peter from Wolf Whickers did for me (Thanks, Peter).  I have several more pieces in the green and black, as well as some maroon and black and dark blue and black.


Camphor burl - Camphor Burl is a beautiful, soft, aromatic wood. It originates from China, Japan, Korea and other areas of East Asia. The camphor tree, an evergreen, grows slowly. It takes 50 years or more before one becomes large enough to distill camphor from its bark. In that time, the tree can reach 100' tall; with the spread of its branches frequently double its height.  Centuries ago, the unsanctioned cutting of a camphor tree in China or Formosa (Taiwan) was punishable by death. That's because camphorwood was reserved for sacred ceremonial items, such as the Chinese mu-yu drum used in temples. But chang-mu, as the wood is called in China, eventually flourished in foreign trade. Ship captains and other seafarers sought it for their sea chests to ward off moths.


As always, thanks for looking,

Bob

Below are several brushes I have completed over the weekend.

As mentioned in the previous post, shown below are the Blue/Black and Red/Black swirl pieces.  These are listed and available at www.eliterazor.com.  I also have several more pieces of these colors, as well as the Green/Black available.


As always, thanks for looking,

Bob

Below are a couple of new pieces have made their way out of the shop and are listed and available at www.eliterazor.com

Also, the Manchurian White 24mm Fan knots are back in stock.

Irish Bog Oak


Bethlehem Olive Wood


Ancient Kauri - Ancient Kauri is the world’s oldest workable wood.  New Zealand native Kauri trees that fell thousands of years ago are known simply as Ancient Kauri. The trees have been buried and preserved underground in swamps for more than 45,000 years.  Numerous independent radio carbon dating by world experts confirm that at more than 45,000 years old, the buried Ancient Kauri recovered in the far north of New Zealand is among the oldest of all Ancient Kauri found and certainly the oldest workable wood in the world… by a long, long way.  Ancient Kauri pre-dates the migration of Neanderthal man into North America, the hunt for mammoths and cave paintings in Europe. The Kauri forest was already buried some 25,000 years before the on-set of the last Ice Age giving scientists an important insight into Earths climatic past.  Some other ages:

–   16,000 years ago the depressions that will become the Great Lakes were fully formed

–   This region became ice-free approximately 5,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age.

–   The oldest Homo Sapiens were on earth around 40,000 years ago.

–   Wooly Mammoths and Saber Tooth Tigers became extinct about 10,000 years ago.

–   The La Brea Tar Pits in California were actively gaining specimens 40,000 to 10,000 years ago.


Oregon Myrtle - Oregon Myrtle grows in Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California.  The Myrtle tree grows very slowly, putting on only 1-12″ of growth during each of its first few years. They may take 80-120 years to reach full size.  Oregon Myrtle wood possesses a wide variety of beautiful colors and grain patterns and is noted by many as being one of the world’s most beautiful woods.  In the Bible, the Myrtle tree is of special religious significance, representing fertility and life.  In 1869 the golden spike was driven into the myrtle wood tie marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad.  The value of myrtle wood reached monetary proportions during the depression years when the city of North Bend, Oregon, issued myrtle wood script after the only bank in town failed. The coins ranged from $0.50 to $10. For years, the Chase Manhattan Bank of New York displayed a complete set of these wooden coins.


As always, thanks for looking,

Bob

Several new brushes have been listed and are available at www.eliterazor.com.  Shown below are a few of the new additions.

Desert Ironwood burl - This is a beautiful piece with great figure


Old Growth Poplar


Thuya Burl - Lots of "eyes" in this handle


Irish Bog Oak


As always, thanks for looking,

Bob

dang, that last brush is downright gorgeous!

A few new brushes that just came out of the shop.  These are listed and available at www.eliterazor.com

Jamaica Dogwood


Disco


Honduran Rosewood Burl


I don't do many Beehive handles and the one shown below was built for a custom order.  It is made of Gold Laced Onyx.


As always, thanks for looking.

Bob

I recently came across a very unique acrylic block with multiple sheets of translucent color encased in clear acrylic.  The result is a pretty cool prism effect as you turn the brush in your hand.  I was only able to acquire enough for 2 brush handles and below is the result of the first turning.  It is shown with a 24mm knot at a 49mm loft.



As always, thanks for looking,

Bob

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I was able to get some good time in the shop and finished up a number of new brushes and razor handles.  Shown below are just a few of the piece that have been listed and are available on my site at www.eliterazor.com

Barber Pole razor handle


Copper laced quartz razor handle


Alternate Horn


Sassafras


Honduran Rosewood burl


As always, thanks for looking,

Bob

A few new brushes that just came out of the shop.  These are listed and available at www.eliterazor.com

Disco





As always, thanks for looking.

Bob

Bob,

This is a gorgeous handle. I love it when Moonjava comes out in perfect slices like that. Excellent, excellent work on that.