Ascender is the personal razor project of Ross Lee Hjelmgren, a Minnesota artisan machinist whose background includes CAD design and machining work for the original Paradigm razors. That history gives Ascender an unusually serious pedigree for a newer boutique brand. Models like the Eagle and Skyline feel like the next chapter in Ross’s own machining story: high end, performance driven razors built by someone who has been deep inside the modern artisan razor movement for years.