On a rainy Saturday, I came upon Neil Bohne’s booth at the Portland Saturday Market. Holiday shoppers teemed
around his booth, bestowing praise upon Neil’s unique handmade wooden and acrylic razors. Neil has a magic hand for all things wooden and sells not just his distinctive razors at the Portland Homestead Supply, but also soap molds and molded beeswax. After beginning to sell soap molds for the Homestead Supply, Neil took a soap-making class and now only uses handmade soap in his own home! Read the interview below to learn more about Neil, his unique art, and how he sees himself fitting into the homestead movement.
How did you begin making handmade shaving razors?
A few years ago, I was selling cutting boards at the Saturday Market. There were so many other artists selling cutting boards, so I thought I would change it up. I had made my Dad a razor set for Father’s Day, and it was a hit, so I started producing and selling shaving razors for the Saturday Market.
I am active in the Air Force, which is what brought me to Portland. I’ve got seventeen years in and three years left to go. I get home at 5:00 at night, work in the garage until about midnight, and sell on the weekends on the Saturday Market. When I retire in three years, I’ll be doing this full time.
What is the second piece in the razor set besides the razor?
It is a badger hair brush. The reason I use the badger hair brush is because it holds the most amount of water, and it’s all natural. The brush is used to stimulate the whiskers before a shave.
Are there other people who are occupying the same market niche as you currently?
Absolutely not. I am the only person in the Portland area that’s doing these handmade razor sets. There are people doing them in other areas, but I’m trying to differentiate mine by making unique designs, like the deer antlers, natural woods, and acrylics.
Here at the Saturday Market, there’s a lot of jewelry and clothing, but there’s not many gifts for guys, which has turned out to be a niche that’s good for me.
Where do you source all of your materials?
I have a lot of different materials that I craft my razors out of. My favorite and the more popular design is my natural-shed white deer antler razor. The antlers are from Montana. I go out in the woods and find them myself in the spring, so they are naturally procured.
I go to the scrap bins for the wood that I make my razors out of. So instead of throwing wood away or burning it, I turn it into something that’s going to last a lifetime. On some of my razor handles, I mix acrylic and put it in the voids of the wood. Those turn out just beautiful as well.
I make beeswax wood conditioner that I sell at the Portland Homestead Supply. It is all natural beeswax that I filter myself, and then I mix it with mineral oil. It’s 100% food safe for conditioning wooden cutting boards.
In terms of the process, how do you go about making the razors?
Everything starts out as either a piece or a block of wood. I cut the wood to a square size that I need, and then I drill a hole inside that for the razors, and then I turn them out. Once I get them to where I like them, I sand them down to about 1000 grit, and coat them with superglue, which makes them 100% waterproof.
When did you learn to work with wood?
I started out making cutting boards. Nature is amazing with the different types of woods and designs and styles she can make. Woodworking gets my mind off of other things and get’s me into a world of my own. I learned many of my skills watching YouTube videos. A lot of artists share their abilities and ideas on YouTube. I learned through them and through trial and error.
Have you ever taught woodworking classes?
I’ve been asked by WoodCraft to teach people how to do the acrylic work because it’s an art to work with the acrylic and get different colors. You have to get things just right. I mix the colors all myself. I make my own molds for the acrylic, then pour it in, and let it harden.
What is the purpose of a soap mold for those of us who have never made soap?
Soap molds hold soap into a form when you are making homemade soap. People use wooden soap molds because they hold heat well. If you are doing a cold process soap, you need to be able to keep heat in for twenty four hours so that the saponification can occur. If you do a hot process, the wood also holds the heat, but acts principally as a form to mold the soap.
How do you feel like your work contributes to the larger homestead movement?
The shaving razors are bringing people back to more of the pioneer days of using double edge safety razors and badger hair brushes. The soap molds are imperative because they allow people to make their own soap for use at home. The beeswax conditioner allows them to keep wood products they own from cracking or drying out.
What’s your next step for your business?
Right now, I am the sole proprietor. My shaving sets have become so popular that I’ve had a lot of local businesses ask me to do wholesale. As soon I retire from the air force, I am thinking of getting some local employees, producing more, and going wholesale with my items.