We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Max Sprecher. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Max below.

Max, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Being raised in the cosmopolitan city of Antwerp, Belgium I was surrounded by an aesthetic feel of history, art and design. With my father being an interior architect and designer, it didn’t take long to understand the intense love, dedication and appreciation that went into quality design, fine craftsmanship and art. I started my career in the diamond industry at the age of 15 where I first polished diamonds for 3 years and then spend 12 years cleaving diamonds. I also got involved into silver and gold smithing. I bought my first straight razor at the age of 18. Since straight shaving has been a long life passion of mine I tried to find other people interested in the ancient and mostly forgotten art of using a straight razor. I decided to learn how to restore and sharpen them since I already had the knowledge of using them. That knowledge helped me stay true to the old ways how they were made and needed to properly function. I build a name for myself in the small worldwide razor community. Many of my customers were pushing me to start making my own. I started learning more about metallurgy and forging. My background in the diamond and jewelry industry certainly helped as it combined the precision, eye for detail and craftsmanship needed to accomplish my goal. There’s really no school where you can just go and learn how to make a straight razor. It’s something that took years to master and perfect but eventually I build a name and reputation for myself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I offer honing and restoration services on vintage or new production razors, and custom made straight razors, made in the U.S.A. These razors are all 100% handmade in my workshop by profiling and cutting bare metal, forging, master grinding, heat treating, quenching, tempering, final grinding, hand sanding and creating scales. Each razor gets my full attention.

Elegance, tradition, a timeless quality, style, the avant-garde, an eye for detail, form, function and excellent craftsmanship are my main objectives when working on any of my custom straight razors and that’s also what I’m known for.

Customers that know me understand that I am a perfectionist, don’t rush into things, and take as much time as needed to perfect my work. For me it is an art form, not a mass produced factory item that has no soul. The passion for straight razors and the positive feedback I receive from my customers is what keeps me going.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The biggest reward is being able to express yourself in your work, your vision, your ideas,… but even bigger is knowing the smile and happiness I give to my customers.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’m always challenging myself to come up with new ideas which keeps my mind and creativity flowing as I believe there’s no end to a creative journey. Getting more people involved and interest in the old and lost art of straight shaving is one of my biggest goals which in turn keeps the creative journey alive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://maxsprecher.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxsprecher/

Image Credits
Max Sprecher