A Kamisori Chronicle

[paco664]

It seems that shaving every other day works best right now. The blade gives such a close a shave that only certain parts of my beard grow back within 24 hours. Still not BBS but no need to rush.
Today I tried Mikes Natural Shaving Soap. The lather took me a bit, needed lots of water but a great shave. I nicked myself pretty good just beneath my nose on an XTG pass. The cheap alum block I have did nothing but the Rite Aid styptic pencil cleared it right up. This is the closest to BBS so far. Im only using the omote against my skin in the traditional method so getting the proper angles for certain passes eludes me.

New kamisori is on the way!

do tell??

 

[gigglemonk]

My new kamisori showed up today!
Poor iPhone pics. Im in the midst of moving and havent unpacked everything.


This one is a bit bigger than my other one. The cutting edge is 1 3/4 inches as opposed to 1 1/4. And it weighs twice as much, 34g compared to 17g.

I gave it a whirl. The omote on this one is practically untouched so the asymmetrical edge is very pronounced. This and the extra weight let me see how amateur my technique actually is. It is wicked sharp and the extra mass just slices through the whiskers. I went for two passes, WTG and XTG. Some of the strokes were difficult with the new razor that weren't so difficult with the other one. Just getting used to a new tool.
A few weepers and I thought Id have some razor burn as I was more aware of the edge on my face, but no burn.
MWF, Hmphreys WH, Bath House Spanish Fig and Nutmeg ASB.

Awesome shave!

 

[Kentos]

Nice! Gotta love upgrades .

 

[gigglemonk]

I love this new blade! Its alot tougher to learn with, heavier, longer cutting edge and the more pronounced asymmetry makes it very sensitive to angle deviations. Or at least thats what I think.
Todays shave was fine, a few more weepers than usual. Also noticing that the water at my new place is totally drying out my skin. I guess RAD will wait until a water softener is purchased!
3 passes, multiple relathers due to my slow pace and the water difference. Still pleased though!

 

[gigglemonk]

Still loving this blade, but like any long term relationship, the true colors are coming into view. Its remarkably sharp. I took it to the pasted strop today and wow! The first stroke could have gone all the way to the floor! The blade length is really letting my noob status shine, its tough to get around certain spots on my neck and jawline but Im learning.
I used a new soap today and I think that sticking to one or two products will be helpful as I dont have to constantly adjust.

DFS!

 

[Kentos]

Do you think you would have had a harder time starting if the razor you have now was your first?

 

[gigglemonk]

Do you think you would have had a harder time starting if the razor you have now was your first?

I thought about that. Ive only used the current razor for 3 shaves so far and compared to the first three days with the other one I think its about the same EXCEPT:
The smaller blade required more strokes with allowed me more actual practice time.
The smaller blade also required a bit more pressure with very very short strokes, this didnt really allow me to feel the weight of a more conventional sized blade move through the whiskers.
My lather, angle of holding the razor and prep all needed work in the beginning. Now all that has improved a bit so I can focus more on the actual shave.
This larger blade feels better on my face but its a very unrefined joy.
So, to answer the question, D) All of the above

 

[Kentos]

:LOL:

I guess straight shaving is hard no matter the hardware.

 

[global_dev]

This larger blade feels better on my face but its a very unrefined joy.

can you elaborate, i don't really understand...

 

[gigglemonk]

The larger blade makes longer, smoother strokes, removing large amounts of whiskers in one fell swoop. When I complete a stroke like this, it just feels good. Though due to my noobness, I cant take full advantage as a larger blade is more difficult to navigate. So I dont have the skill to utilize the 'one fell swoop' more than 2 or 3 times.

 

[gigglemonk]

The point, the POINT, THE POINT! Midway through my shave today I finished a stroke, lifted the blade away from my face and then moved my face against the razor. The point of the razor to be exact. All I felt was the skin separating around the blade. AAAHHHHHH! SO FRIGHTENING! Luckily, it was a tiny slice. The styptic is a great tool in the den.
Never thought my heart would get racing over the aroma of lavender in the morn. I guess throw in the handmade japanese blade and a lack of focus and anything can happen.

If I get up and shave early in the morn, I can shave the following day. Looks like 30 or so hours is what my skin likes between shaves.

 

[gigglemonk]

How did a week slip by without posting? Anyhow, shaves are coming along fine. Marvelous actually. I tried my TOBS Lavender cream this morning, not quite slick enough for the kamisori IMO. Ive been using soaps almost exclusively. My new coticule arrived last week and my Jnat is on the way. Im looking forward to working with these two stones to bring an old ugly blade I have up to snuff.

The warmer weather here in So Cal has definitely changed the way my face reacts. Need to be very gentle with the shave and then a super moisturizing post shave treatment.

 

[gigglemonk]

LONG weekend. Shaved this afternoon with 3 days growth. At first I was feeling a bit rushed but once I started stropping, everything started to slow down. I gave myself a long, luxurious, relaxed shave. 2 WTG passes and 2 XTG passes. It felt as if I was in the bathroom for 2 hours. My lather is still drying out on me but I guess thats going to happen when I treat shaving as a spa appointment. I was sure I was late to meet my GF and her parents for dinner so you can imagine my relief when the clock told me it had only been a 40 minute shave. I know some people get a 4 pass shave in under 10 minutes. I am lucky to have a job that does not require I look like Don Draper.... And I take full advantage of my shaving privileges.

I still have no desire to try a western straight and my JRAD has been replaced by the merciless HAD. So this weekend Ill try out my coticule on an old beat up dubl duck I picked up.