When businessman Tom Wilscam and industrial designer Wolfgang Joensson founded Hommage, a Paris-based grooming products brand, in 2004, they did so to address a growing need for high-performance, luxury tools and treatment experiences tailored to men. The company turned heads—literally—when it unveiled a $30,000 straight-edge razor made from Damascene steel—the same material used to make swords during the Middle Ages. However, it was the company’s original design, a high-gloss, polished chrome razor plated with copper and nickel (and compatible with Gillette Mach3 blades) that, combined with a polished chrome and silvertip badger hair brush, became the company’s signature shave set.

Since then, the company has rolled out four variations of that original design, incorporating texturized chrome with zinc alloys, red lacquers, black lacquers, and water-resistant, hand-stitched calf leather. However, the latest iteration pays tribute to high-performance industrial engineering and will tug at the heartstrings of most racing enthusiasts. Incorporating hand-woven carbon fiber, Hommage’s latest shave set costs $600 and is the product of 18 months of research and development. "Carbon fiber has been used on everything from high-end race bikes used in the Tour de France to Formula One racecars and luxury watches," says Wilscam, Hommage’s CEO. "The material has been chosen for its outstanding performance and weight-sturdiness ratio, and it symbolizes Hommage’s quest for excellence."

To create the razor and brush handles, Wilscam explains, the carbon fiber is hand-woven, similar to a fabric, and put into molds to create the necessary shapes. But it’s not a simple process, nor is it one that is easily replicated. "The process takes as long as needed to be perfect," he says. The brushes themselves are the handiwork of Plisson, a French company that has been fashioning shaving brushes by hand for more than a century. When both the razor and brush are finished, they’re fitted to a magnetized, polished chrome presentation stand that allows for easy access.

The complete set is packed in a gift box made of Tanzania wood, accented with rhodium hinges and finished with a gray Italian lacquer that matches the color of the carbon fiber. Each box also is equipped with an accessories tray capable of holding cuff links, glasses, tie clips, rings, and the like, or an insert designed to display wristwatches.

Hommage, www.hommage.com