I have my eye on one also. Thank you.
Post Your Pictures: Japanese Razors
- Thread starter professorchaos
- Start date
Here is my latest acquisition, a Fon Golden Star Deluxe. Believe it or not, SRAD has been on the wane here for a while.
Very nice blade. I have a Fon as well, though not nearly as nice as this one.
Still kicking myself for not PMing the moment that King Pelican hit on BST the other day.
Nice score on that one too
I only have a Toyo 775 Scheon Burg which is already displayed in this thread. It has gold etching, though. The shave is really nice, and takes a Coticule edge very nicely, but ever since I honed up my vintage Le Grelot everything else just seems to pale in comparison.
I've always been more interested in the Japanese framebacks, and especially interested in the traditional Japanese straights. I've thought about purchasing an Iwasaki on and off for over a year now. The price, and difficulty in honing have kept me from pulling the trigger, however.
How hard are the traditional razors to maintain on the stones? I'm hoping everyone is really exaggerating things (on B&B? Never!
) in this regard. I think it would be fun to have another challenge in shaving to tackle.
I've always been more interested in the Japanese framebacks, and especially interested in the traditional Japanese straights. I've thought about purchasing an Iwasaki on and off for over a year now. The price, and difficulty in honing have kept me from pulling the trigger, however.
How hard are the traditional razors to maintain on the stones? I'm hoping everyone is really exaggerating things (on B&B? Never!
) in this regard. I think it would be fun to have another challenge in shaving to tackle.
Yes, I did a test-shave. The scar on my chin is still to see
. Because of the rubber-handle, the Tosuke is easier to use. If I ever buy a Kanetake, I will wrap the handle with something, because the handles of japanese straights are to thin for my fingers.- Thread starter
- #86
Very nice blade. I have a Fon as well, though not nearly as nice as this one.
Still kicking myself for not PMing the moment that King Pelican hit on BST the other day.
Nice score on that one too
Sorry about nabbing the King Pelican. As soon as I saw it, I sent the PM. I've been kicking myself for missing out when Telly had them.
Thank you!
Yes, I did a test-shave. The scar on my chin is still to see
The handle on the Kanetake is very thin. I really have to pay attention when stropping it. It is getting easier to use, still cuts me every time I use it. I won't mute the points though or use the "wrong" side. I'm determined to learn to use it as it was intended to be used.
No problem, sounds like about 5 of us sent the PM when we all saw it. I'm sure Telly will have more goodies in the future to nab
I actually use the traditional Japanese razors almost full time, as I find they are much easier to maintain and more forgiving (less nicks and cuts) than a Western blade.
To answer the questions above, the Japanese razors are just as easy to sharpen as a Western blade, except that you are concentrating most of the attention on one side (the flat, no-writing side, or omote). You do not need to "set the bevel" in the way that you do with a Western blade, because a bevel is actually built into the geometry of the blade. And I find that the Japanese blades stay sharp for a lot longer than the typical Western blade.
About shaving with one, just USE BOTH SIDES. Really. It is painful to hear about people cutting up their throats and cheeks with a Japanese razor while contorting themselves in an effort to use only one side of the razor. I use both sides and get a fantastic, consistent, cut-free shave. Neither side produces results that are any better or worse than the other, and at the most, you might notice that you need a slightly different angle when you have the ura against your face. It's a tool, not a religious object, and you won't ruin it or anger the gods if you flip the damn razor over and hold it in a way that's comfortable for your face. Please believe me on this point!
Also, no offense intended to Henry above, but the way that these razors were "intended" to be used was for you to sit still while your servant shaves you with the razor. There's just no way that any of us can use these razors in the way that they were originally intended (my wife won't do it, and I haven't even asked my kids!), so why not use them in a way that gives an fantastic, comfortable shave AND preserves your sanity? Honestly, I think these razors would be a LOT more popular here if people had never heard about this "use one side only" business. My two cents anyway.
To answer the questions above, the Japanese razors are just as easy to sharpen as a Western blade, except that you are concentrating most of the attention on one side (the flat, no-writing side, or omote). You do not need to "set the bevel" in the way that you do with a Western blade, because a bevel is actually built into the geometry of the blade. And I find that the Japanese blades stay sharp for a lot longer than the typical Western blade.
About shaving with one, just USE BOTH SIDES. Really. It is painful to hear about people cutting up their throats and cheeks with a Japanese razor while contorting themselves in an effort to use only one side of the razor. I use both sides and get a fantastic, consistent, cut-free shave. Neither side produces results that are any better or worse than the other, and at the most, you might notice that you need a slightly different angle when you have the ura against your face. It's a tool, not a religious object, and you won't ruin it or anger the gods if you flip the damn razor over and hold it in a way that's comfortable for your face. Please believe me on this point!
Also, no offense intended to Henry above, but the way that these razors were "intended" to be used was for you to sit still while your servant shaves you with the razor. There's just no way that any of us can use these razors in the way that they were originally intended (my wife won't do it, and I haven't even asked my kids!), so why not use them in a way that gives an fantastic, comfortable shave AND preserves your sanity? Honestly, I think these razors would be a LOT more popular here if people had never heard about this "use one side only" business. My two cents anyway.
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- Thread starter
- #89
No offense taken
. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that if I am going to use one, I have to use both sides. I tend to be a little stubborn sometime.No offense taken
Actually, I have to confess that I started exactly where you are now -- trying to use the razor the "right" way because that's the way it was intended to be used, and hey, they must have understood something about the blade when they made it like that in the first place, right?
All very convincing and logical, but I would slice the crap out of my skin and then put the razors away for another 3 months.
And that's what gets me most frustrated -- because actually these traditional Japanese razors are EXCELLENT shavers, easy, forgiving and fun, but I didn't learn this simple truth until I just decided to start shaving with both sides of the blade.
I really just don't want to see anyone else be as misguided as I was about these things! So try out your kamisori already, or I'm going to have to come over there!!
- Thread starter
- #91
You are smarter than I am. Even though I cut (gouge really) myself each time I use it, I continue.
Frankly, I don't think it is possible to shave with one and not use both sides of the blade. I've come to the conclusion that I don't bend in ways required to do so. It is the combination of awkward contortions, short blade and spiked ends that continue the blood letting. Only one of those conditions is variable.
Decided to take a pic of mine anyway;
Purchased not that long ago from our very own JeffE! By the way Jeff, what did you finish the edge on? It was wicked sharp!
Purchased not that long ago from our very own JeffE! By the way Jeff, what did you finish the edge on? It was wicked sharp!
Like Jeff, I've also come to the conclusion that the traditional Japanese razors are best used on both sides. I wasn't going to be bothered with trying to be a 'purist' about it.
Also, I've been 'bitten' by the spikes on occasion. I haven't muted any of the points on my razors, but I did get one well-used Tosuke that had a muted point. That's my favourite razor to use, as I just don't have to worry about the spikes when I use it.
Also, I've been 'bitten' by the spikes on occasion. I haven't muted any of the points on my razors, but I did get one well-used Tosuke that had a muted point. That's my favourite razor to use, as I just don't have to worry about the spikes when I use it.
I did, and I'm very happy you like it!! As I recall, I used a coticule and then my CF stone, which always gives a great edge. Anyway, thanks for the kind words! --Jeff
my second time I honed a kamisori, I used it double side use and it works just fine,
I bought that Kanetake from pelicano so can't wait to try a kamisori.
I might mute the spike points when I get it, since I don't like gouging my face every time...and a spike point at both heel and toe sounds like a disaster waiting to happen for me. I will try using with both hands and both sides of the blade.
I might mute the spike points when I get it, since I don't like gouging my face every time...and a spike point at both heel and toe sounds like a disaster waiting to happen for me. I will try using with both hands and both sides of the blade.
I think you will do better with just one hand at a time instead of both.
Nice!
It's excellent to see fella's enjoying each other's edges
What is the CF stone you're using?
Yup, it requires too many contortions that, for me, end up risking me dropping the blade. I mostly use the face (no stamps), because it's comfortable for me to do so, but some areas are just much much easier to do with the back of the blade.
Also, my little experience with these razors and CrOx suggests that they can be good friends. I've had two kamisori professionally honed and the edges felt a tiny bit too harsh for my face. These were from guys who knew how to hone, too. I tried a friend's kamisori that was finished with a few laps on CrOx and it was perfectly smooth. Tried a few laps on my Henkotsu kamisori and got the same results. Don't know what it is with these razors, but it seems that I don't like them off of the stones like I do western razors. And I doubt that this was because of bad honing; just something about my face probably...
- Thread starter
- #100
Interesting...how exactly do you use pastes with a kamisori? Mine wasn't shave ready to my standards so I did my research and honed away. Got a very sharp razor using a 3:2 ratio. It could use a little smoothing though. Do you maintain the same ratio on the CrOx?
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