Hi everyone,
I joined just to ask. Sorry if it seems rude. I cannot find anything.
First, a little about me. I live in Japan and fell in love with Japanese Kamisori. I restore old Kamisori razors and give them a new life. I also use and sell Japanese natural whetstones. I have only recently come online after 17 years in Japan.
Nagamasa is a fairly common name who made Tamahagane razors. Yet, despite rigorous searching in both Japanese and English, I can find basically nothing about him or where he comes from. It didn't bother me much, until a few months ago, when I came across a very strange razor on Yahoo Auctions.
I found a western style razor with Nagamasa's name on it in English. It is so strange. It seems that it shouldn't exist, yet here I have it. I have searched and searched, and have come up empty. I can't even find a single photo of a western style razor made by Nagamasa online, anywhere.
This seems like a last ditch attempt before I drive to Niigata and ask Mr. Mizuochi himself if he can point me in a better direction.
It is on Ebay for a ridiculous amount of money, because I actually hope no one buys it. Feel free to look at the photos in more detail.
Some details that are hard to see in the photos.
1. The blade is shorter than a western style razor, yet longer than a Kamisori.
2. It is not symetrical. The front is slightly more hollow than the back, but it is double beveled. Almost like a kamisori that became a western straight.
3. While the razor looks very similar to some early Iwasaki razors, the stabilizer isn't ground down on the bottom half like an Iwasaki razor. It is like there isn't a stabilizer at all.
4. The scales fit absolutely perfectly. The egde of the blade bacially 'locks' in to the scales.
5. It definately seems handmade. The hone wear on the spine is not symetrical, on either side, yet the edge is perfectly straight, on both sides. The front spine has hone wear in the middle, and the back side had hone wear towards the toe.
6. There are no marking other than 'Nagamasa' and 'Made in Japan'.
Bascially, I want to know if what I have is what I think it is. There is no record of Nagamasa making western style razors. There are no photos online of Nagamasa western style razors. But here one is...
Does it belong in a museum or something??
Any and all info is appreciated. Much thanks!
I joined just to ask. Sorry if it seems rude. I cannot find anything.
First, a little about me. I live in Japan and fell in love with Japanese Kamisori. I restore old Kamisori razors and give them a new life. I also use and sell Japanese natural whetstones. I have only recently come online after 17 years in Japan.
Nagamasa is a fairly common name who made Tamahagane razors. Yet, despite rigorous searching in both Japanese and English, I can find basically nothing about him or where he comes from. It didn't bother me much, until a few months ago, when I came across a very strange razor on Yahoo Auctions.
I found a western style razor with Nagamasa's name on it in English. It is so strange. It seems that it shouldn't exist, yet here I have it. I have searched and searched, and have come up empty. I can't even find a single photo of a western style razor made by Nagamasa online, anywhere.
This seems like a last ditch attempt before I drive to Niigata and ask Mr. Mizuochi himself if he can point me in a better direction.
It is on Ebay for a ridiculous amount of money, because I actually hope no one buys it. Feel free to look at the photos in more detail.
Some details that are hard to see in the photos.
1. The blade is shorter than a western style razor, yet longer than a Kamisori.
2. It is not symetrical. The front is slightly more hollow than the back, but it is double beveled. Almost like a kamisori that became a western straight.
3. While the razor looks very similar to some early Iwasaki razors, the stabilizer isn't ground down on the bottom half like an Iwasaki razor. It is like there isn't a stabilizer at all.
4. The scales fit absolutely perfectly. The egde of the blade bacially 'locks' in to the scales.
5. It definately seems handmade. The hone wear on the spine is not symetrical, on either side, yet the edge is perfectly straight, on both sides. The front spine has hone wear in the middle, and the back side had hone wear towards the toe.
6. There are no marking other than 'Nagamasa' and 'Made in Japan'.
Bascially, I want to know if what I have is what I think it is. There is no record of Nagamasa making western style razors. There are no photos online of Nagamasa western style razors. But here one is...
Does it belong in a museum or something??
Any and all info is appreciated. Much thanks!
