Please Tell Me About This Kamisori
- Thread starter mjclark
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The first 7 from the right are "irohanihoheto", which was a popular izakaya in the Kanto region, not sure if it was nationwide.
Ok so it's super off topic but that text I posted are the lyrics to the Iroha song.
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- #44
So how about this one?
Brian and stoop have already very kindly suggested "Akitsu?ki/moto" and a colleague at work reckons "Akitsu Mandai".
And what about the Circle M trademark?
Better photos will follow when it actually arrives.
This thread is a lot of fun and these kamisori are so mysterious [emoji3]
Brian and stoop have already very kindly suggested "Akitsu?ki/moto" and a colleague at work reckons "Akitsu Mandai".
And what about the Circle M trademark?
Better photos will follow when it actually arrives.
This thread is a lot of fun and these kamisori are so mysterious [emoji3]
You will need a native speaker for that one me thinks.
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- #47
And I shaved with the big 8/8 Henkotsu again this morning.
The shave is so comfortable and it feels so good in the hand.
I wonder how. the smaller kamisori behave.
The shave is so comfortable and it feels so good in the hand.
I wonder how. the smaller kamisori behave.
If you look on YouTube for kamisori honing/kamisori shaving then tons come up.
After the first 5 you quickly get the idea - more laps on Omote than Ura (10:1, 12:2, 15:3 or just make it up) and lots of people doing gymnastics using only the Omote against the face for shaving, and lots more people developing and adapting the tradition by using both Omote and Ura sides...
For some reason the big Henkotsus are rising to the surface at the moment.
Jeremy has three and now I have another.
It's 8/8(!) and the handle needed wrapping.
Before:
And after:
Maybe I should've wrapped the handle before honing it, but it just wouldn't wait!
Nice job. Traditional I guess. I guess I got spoiled on my custom by Joe Edson. He put a layer of yellow ray skin and then nylon cord, guessing here, then covered with CA to seal it. (See earlier post)
I do have two other more traditional though.
I enjoy using them a lot! I don't have a Henkotsu though so that will probably be my next kamisori purchase if I can find a decent one at a decent price.
Mike
DEFINE "decent" priceNice job. Traditional I guess. I guess I got spoiled on my custom by Joe Edson. He put a layer of yellow ray skin and then nylon cord, guessing here, then covered with CA to seal it. (See earlier post)
I do have two other more traditional though.
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I enjoy using them a lot! I don't have a Henkotsu though so that will probably be my next kamisori purchase if I can find a decent one at a decent price.
Mike
DEFINE "decent" price
That's a good one.
I guess the best answer would be, whatever I am willing to pay for it.
Mike
- Thread starter
- #51
So how about this one?
Brian and stoop have already very kindly suggested "Akitsu?ki/moto" and a colleague at work reckons "Akitsu Mandai".
And what about the Circle M trademark?
Better photos will follow when it actually arrives.
This thread is a lot of fun and these kamisori are so mysterious [emoji3]
The seller has contacted me and says that it reads "Akitsu Fuji" with "Akitsu" being the maker and "Fuji" being the epithet meaning Highest (Mountain), like Hinoshita Kaizan on the Henkotsu meaning Undisputed Champion.
So it's the Highest Akitsu.
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- #52
And also the Circle M at the top could be a representation of mountains for the Fuji brand...
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- #53
So the nimble 6/8 Akitsu Fuji arrived and took a very nice edge quickly.
Those big Henkotsus took 2 or 3 hours to get shaving, but this Akitsu went all the way through from bevel set to finish in 40mins.
And it's a joy to shave with, nimble and manoeuvrable.
The Ura on this Akitsu is more concave than on the Henkotsus too, so it feels like shaving with a hollower grind.
It took care of three days beard like a magic wand [emoji3]
Those big Henkotsus took 2 or 3 hours to get shaving, but this Akitsu went all the way through from bevel set to finish in 40mins.
And it's a joy to shave with, nimble and manoeuvrable.
The Ura on this Akitsu is more concave than on the Henkotsus too, so it feels like shaving with a hollower grind.
It took care of three days beard like a magic wand [emoji3]
- Thread starter
- #54
Back to the 8/8 Henkotsu this morning.
It's striking how differently it shaves from the 6/8 Akitsu.
The big Henkotsu feels like a quarter hollow and the small Akitsu feels like an extra hollow.
Presumably the difference in feel is due to the differing relative curvatures of the Omote and Ura in each of the razors.
I'm also trying to get my head round the question of whether changing the ratio of Omote to Ura laps when honing changes the characteristics of the final edge in any way.
Can anybody think this through for me?
It's striking how differently it shaves from the 6/8 Akitsu.
The big Henkotsu feels like a quarter hollow and the small Akitsu feels like an extra hollow.
Presumably the difference in feel is due to the differing relative curvatures of the Omote and Ura in each of the razors.
I'm also trying to get my head round the question of whether changing the ratio of Omote to Ura laps when honing changes the characteristics of the final edge in any way.
Can anybody think this through for me?
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- #56
Yes - I mean the iron Omote/steel Ura construction.
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- #57
And another kamisori came packaged with this natural Nagura:
Any suggestions as to what this is and how I use it?
Any suggestions as to what this is and how I use it?
Nice one Marcus
A Japanese Korean friend (we did Kenjutsu together at university) explained to me why these Kamisori are so cheap when sold to Westerners. In Japan, until the late 90s these kamisori would've cost ten times as much, but someone buying a master sword-maker kamisori would expect to be wined and dined by the seller (in the traditional style..?), maybe a round of golf, and possibly even loaned the razor, to be shaved by a barber. This meant that often the seller was out of pocket by the time the potential buyer turned around and says "Respectfully, this item does not meet my standards, I cannot buy". Now, it's much easier to chuck it on ebay, where one of us will say "That is soooo cooool" and they just stick it in a box and the sale is done. At the time, I didn't really believe that story, but it makes some sense when I consider how much I'm happy to presume on people willing to sell my shaving related items, something I would never do to someone who sold me - say - my flat. Lol
I'm going to ask the wife for one for my birthday, but I'm lairy of the stropping/honing/balsa/pastes required, 'specially with the really curly blades. On the plus side, I've spent years wrapping handles for daito bokken (wooden swords), so feel this is something I could do. (BTW - I got my first Wardonia - but that's another post).
A Japanese Korean friend (we did Kenjutsu together at university) explained to me why these Kamisori are so cheap when sold to Westerners. In Japan, until the late 90s these kamisori would've cost ten times as much, but someone buying a master sword-maker kamisori would expect to be wined and dined by the seller (in the traditional style..?), maybe a round of golf, and possibly even loaned the razor, to be shaved by a barber. This meant that often the seller was out of pocket by the time the potential buyer turned around and says "Respectfully, this item does not meet my standards, I cannot buy". Now, it's much easier to chuck it on ebay, where one of us will say "That is soooo cooool" and they just stick it in a box and the sale is done. At the time, I didn't really believe that story, but it makes some sense when I consider how much I'm happy to presume on people willing to sell my shaving related items, something I would never do to someone who sold me - say - my flat. Lol
I'm going to ask the wife for one for my birthday, but I'm lairy of the stropping/honing/balsa/pastes required, 'specially with the really curly blades. On the plus side, I've spent years wrapping handles for daito bokken (wooden swords), so feel this is something I could do. (BTW - I got my first Wardonia - but that's another post).
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- Thread starter
- #59
That's very interesting Robin!
And if you have any good handle wrapping tips please let me know.
I'm currently using rattan which I soak beforehand.
This morning's shave is with the Yamamasa Ue:
It's the smallest kamisori I've yet used at 9/16, very nimble and manoeuvrable.
"Ue" is a term of respect meaning "exalted" or "above" and this kind of description seems to be characteristic of kamisori names.
So this is the "Exalted Yamamasa" up there with the Henkotsu Hinoshita Kaizan= "Undisputed Champion Henkotsu" and the Akitsu Fuji="Highest Mountain Akitsu".
And what a fabulous shave!
And if you have any good handle wrapping tips please let me know.
I'm currently using rattan which I soak beforehand.
This morning's shave is with the Yamamasa Ue:
It's the smallest kamisori I've yet used at 9/16, very nimble and manoeuvrable.
"Ue" is a term of respect meaning "exalted" or "above" and this kind of description seems to be characteristic of kamisori names.
So this is the "Exalted Yamamasa" up there with the Henkotsu Hinoshita Kaizan= "Undisputed Champion Henkotsu" and the Akitsu Fuji="Highest Mountain Akitsu".
And what a fabulous shave!
That's very interesting Robin!
And if you have any good handle wrapping tips please let me know.
I'm currently using rattan which I soak beforehand.
This morning's shave is with the Yamamasa Ue:
It's the smallest kamisori I've yet used at 9/16, very nimble and manoeuvrable.
"Ue" is a term of respect meaning "exalted" or "above" and this kind of description seems to be characteristic of kamisori names.
So this is the "Exalted Yamamasa" up there with the Henkotsu Hinoshita Kaizan= "Undisputed Champion Henkotsu" and the Akitsu Fuji="Highest Mountain Akitsu".
And what a fabulous shave!
Very cool morning shave Ｏ(≧∇≦
Ｏ. So, that's another bleedin' thing I have to add to the shaving list - "learn (a lot) more about Kamisori".
I must get out my samurai / martial history of Japan books, and look up the history of the name 'Yamamasa' (most books require copious foot & back notes, a result of individual samurai changing their names every few years, to conform to fashions in poetry, developments in ceremony and - less frequently - changes of employer). I've seen quite a few 'Benkei"'s when searching for Kamisori on Ebay. I've assumed - given the size of the blade in those so named - that their size echoes the character 'Benkei', the giant but loveable monk from Japanese history/mythology (the one with the beard).
Wrapping tips? The best advice I can give is "Wrap the skinny end, not the naughty end"
It is perhaps lucky that every sword I've wrapped is made of wood. From what I can see, in the past the Japanese wrapped everything in shark skin, and they have a saying "Dog skin at home, shark skin outside" ("Don't wear your shellsuit outside, even if it's just to the shops")
