Kanayama Canvas

alpster said:

I kind of took the attitude that the old man intended for the canvas to be stiff. I have used it (100s of times) with no effort to "break it in". I didn't wash, bend, scrape or roll it. It is still as stiff and hard as when I got it and I am convinced that it should be that way. I get excellent results with it. I can usually take a freshly honed blade, straight off the stones and improve the HHT with just the Kanyama canvas.

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Gamma said:

^this

Additionally - I think Mr. Naomi's intention hits the nail on the head.

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I had an extremely nice shave off of a near wedge today that I didn't previously have the best of luck with. Difference today is that my stropping included 20 on the Kanoyama canvas, followed by the suede and leather material. Being a canvas newb I thought perhaps it would degrade a delicate jnat finish, but the edge was amazing.

The K canvas arrived today and I used it "as is." It was like using a thick, frozen seat belt, and the shave was great.

shaverjoe said:

The K canvas arrived today and I used it "as is." It was like using a thick, frozen seat belt, and the shave was great.

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So did you notice a clear improvement over the suede component alone? I really am seeing a clear difference in my edges after two shaves using it, but not sure yet if the canvas is the sole contributor. I had been using black latigo and felt.

I don't see anything off the suede. But I like stropping on it.

Gamma said:

I don't see anything off the suede. But I like stropping on it.

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@Stubble- ^This.

I'm very happy with the results from using all three materials for a few weeks now.

I originally bought the canvas to be used coming off the hone and then suede/cordovan. I stayed away from stropping with it regularly pre-shave, it felt too squirrelly, like driving on ice, slip and sliding, and the auditory sound was freaking me out. After reading one of the post here, I gave it a go pre-shave strop, 10- 20 canvas/40-50 cordovan, and it would appear, to me, that it improves the keenness of the edge as compared to cordovan only. Although it does not feel as comfortable as the other two strops, I just let it fly. It is now part of my regular routine. The results continue to impress. Thanks!

Yep, the first time you put a razor on the sound/sensation is kind of wild, you wonder what it's doing to your edge. But it's all good. It gets smoother with use too.

Cheers, Steve

I'm curious if anyone has compared the K linen to N. Miller's linen (which has taken some time to loosen up, for me)?

I have used both extensively and enjoy both. Wildly different sensations of stropping! The canvas is loud and zippy fast. I liken it to stropping on noisy ice. Neil Millers linen is much quieter and feels much softer under the blade. Despite the vast difference in feel when stropping I find that both do an excellent job of adding that last bit of perfection to my edges. I hone on coticule hones the vast majority of the time and both of these materials are capable of bringing out the best in a coticule edge. I don't think I could discern any difference between an edge stropped on Neil's linen and finished on his cordovan or the same edge stropped on Kanayama canvas and finished on his cordovan. Both are exceedingly good strops. The hardware and level of finish is nicer on Neil's strop, but both perform excellently.

Thank you!

Thank you guys for this!

Gamma said:

this

View attachment 538139

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I am kinda liking that alot !! Nice job Keith

Gamma said:

this

View attachment 538139

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I am kinda liking that alot !! Nice job Keith, i for one have tried the cotton piece and don't see a difference in the edge compared to just the suede and cordovan so it does not get used.

I've used the suede, unwashed canvas, washed canvas and prefer the softer washed canvas. It does shorten about 1" when you wash it.

I find linen will bump a jnat edge a bit but usually mine don't need that bump. The Kanoyama canvas, washed or unwashed, seems to smooth the edge and works well with a jnat edge.

Cheers, Steve

This stuff is amazing. I honed two gold dollars the other day to test the diffrence in feel on the face.
One was finished on an 8K nani. the other with a tomo slurry on a shobou asagi.
Both razors were stropped on the untreated canvas and leather of my new 70k
Used both on 1 side of the face and couldnt feel any diffrence. both felt really smooth. I anticipated the synth edge to be much harsher.
I was pretty amazed actually. I used to strop on solingen strops. One 2 inch with linnen backing and a nappy 3 inch.
Somehow with these i always felt as if stropping hardly did anything beneficial to an edge.
For now i'll keep the canvas untreated. I know i'm going to strop way more often now

I have to admit that last few shaves I have used the K Linen and leather for the pre shave and suede and leather post, I initally took the K linen and pulled it see-saw style over and corner of some angle iron to soften it some and have just been useing it the way it is, I started the first few days before use using a ZY razor and stropped it like I hated both the razor and linen and it has quiteted down alot but still pretty stiff.

I do 25/50 on linen/leather pre and 25/25 post with suede/leather, the edge seems to be slighly smoother and less surgical but it may be the placebo effect of doing something different, I figured I would try it for a few weeks and see it my JNAT edges degrade or stay the same or possibly get better.

I guess I'm getting to the point where my edges are lasting a long time without frequent touch ups. I would like to think it's because I use the K linen/canvas. I usually do 10-15 linen/30-35 leather pre, then 10 suede post to dry the blade.

I wonder if you guys are letting the Kanayama canvas hang a bit looser when stropping on it. I am frustrated trying to get good results with it. I don't think I am hitting the apex of the bevel - I might not be hitting the bevel at all in fact. The stuff is so hard and zippy.

Would anyone give a good description of their technique when using this stuff?

Thanks!

Pull it tight.