Among the benefits of enjoying traditional shaving is the ability to meet exceptional people. A few years ago, I befriended Joe Chandler, a gifted straight-razor craftsman. I have had the priviledge of owning a razor from his early days as well as some newer models. Without a doubt Joe's work is some of the best out there.

If you have visited any forum on the Internet dedicated to wet shaving, you have most likely run across chatter about that 'cheap' straight razor from Poland.  The Wapienica, or Wapi for short, is an inexpensive, but highly regarded straight razor made in the 70s for use in Russian hospitals.  The are all steel construction, including the scales, as they were autoclaved after use on patients for sterilization.  All Wapis are sourced out of Poland and are new, old stock, which means they are unused.  Supposedly a large stockpile was found in Poland that was never used, therefore they are being sold off by a Polish eBay seller.