I have Jeff, I’ve honed an Iwasaki and a Zowada ‘timahagane’ both belonging to Alex Gilmore. I did not have any issues with either. Some of the Iwasaki razors were extremely hard (and were marked on the box and sometimes the tang), but then so are some Swedish razors like Torblöm and Berg. There isn’t much that a Shapton Glass HR won’t tame though, cutting hard, wear resistant steel is what they were designed to do.
Wednesday morning shave, SSA 7/8” Eskilstuna Sweden. Really nice razor. Soap Monsieur Splash Floris No 127 Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk
Fine, fine shave with my favorite Lund - super efficient and smooth - loving the Baume.be Hot water preparation Argan Oil PSO T&H Wellington Super Badger Baume.be Shaving Cream Lund 6/8 Castle Forbes Lavender After Shave Balm Happy shaving - Karl
After redoing the edge, I did a two pass head shave. I did clean up with a DE but this blade mowed that hair like no tomorrow. Blade: Raketa, edge Welsh stone progression Soap: Proraso White Brush: Boar AS: Alum, followed by homemade menthol witch hazel splash.
January 12th ASW (made by Wet Shaving Products) Shave Soap and Aftershave - Old Virginia Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Star Jelly Evan's MrEE Aluminum w/Simpson Trafalgar T2 Ralf Aust Great 2.5 pass shave, everything performed very nicely. The 'Old Virginia' is a very rustic 'leather and tobacco' aroma put together by Lee at Wet Shaving Products for Asylum Shave Works (but discontinued). If you're looking for it...it's nearly the same as WSP's 'Tobacco', but this version seems slightly deeper/darker. You can see the soap is very dark brown, so I always use a synthetic or boar knot to lather this with. Had a little fun in the 'studio' with the image today. The highlight on the blade etching is done with an extra flashlight that I can very tightly focus the beam to be the LED itself that makes the light. The LED is a rectangle....so it works pretty neat. Captured with an iPhone.
Thursday morning shave, CVH MK No.24 3/8”. Very handy little razor that is easy to manoeuvre. Splash Floris No 127. Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk
Awesome photography and shave kit, as usual, Blair! Enjoy your day! I’ll be attempting to wrap my new tamahagane kamisori today. The blade is amazingly sharp! I’ve covered it in cardboard to preserve my fingers.
Thanks Jeff! I guess that most of the razors sold here in Sweden was 4/8” razors like CVH MK No.24. The one I used this morning is actually made for Barber Shops used for trimming neck hair and beard lines. Often sold with the grind attachment. Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk
Friday morning shave, CVH Frame back Soap Edwin Jagger Sandalwood Brush KENT Pure Badger Splash Floris Turnbull and Asser Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk
SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, JANUARY 14, 2022 My son has been pushing me to shave with a Japanese Kamisori from his collection. Ben collects primarily Japanese western style straights, but also has close to 60 vintage Kamisori. He claims that this particular Kamisori is 250 years old. I would dispute that. It was, according to Ben, found in a Japanese warehouse where it had apparently been stored for 80 years or so. It bears the four stamps identifying it as tamahagane or Japanese gem steel. This vintage Japanese kamisori one piece straight razor blade rather appears to be the type used for shaving over 100 years ago in Japan based on my research. Ben is a good trusting soul, who tends to take sales tropes as gospel. In reviewing the history of these little shave knives I learned that the makers of samurai swords turned to the making of these blades during the Meiji Era (1868 - 1912) when sword making became illegal. So that would make this particular shave tool about 190 years old at the oldest to a little over 100 years at the youngest. If it was made by a master Japanese blademaker, as Ben related, in the tradition of the samurai sword with laminated forged high carbon steel that is reputed to hold an edge like no other in the world, then I needed more verification. So I called my old friend, Toshio Tatara who reviewed the Kanji. Written on the blade are the words, "Betsu uchi" (specially made) that might tend to indicate such blade construction. This was, of course, mostly supposition on my part There’s clearly no doubt that this little shaving knife is certainly melting hair, scary sharp. I considered redoing the bevel, but after a HHT and a styrofoam peanut test that awed me, I decided not to in light of the following. This little blade didn’t just pop through the surface as my well-honed western straights do, but rather guillotined it right through to the towel below with just the weight of the blade. I decided to shave as is. Was I nervous? You betcha! Given the level of sharpness demonstrated, I ran it through the constroption and then did 80 strokes on my roo-skin bench strop. I will say that the shave was amazing, albeit much, much slower than usual, as I worked slowly and one-handed to keep the stamped side out. I really took my time using the short strokes my son recommended, as opposed to my normal long strokes with my western straights. After the first pass there were only a few scattered patches requiring cleanup, and those were the usual whisker swirls on either side of the Adam’s Apple. Following that first WTG pass, my face above the jawline was as smooth as it normally would be after my two longer stroke passes with one of my western straights. I chose to do flatblading on the neck areas - as scything strokes seemed too risky - to finish up, and that finish left me as smooth as glass. Great respect developed for this little Japanese shaving knife this morning. If I ever have to effortlessly remove more than 24 hrs of growth, this is the little tool for the job. Ben has ordered a similar vintage tamahagane Kamisori from a vendor he knows in Japan for my upcoming birthday. The noggin shave with the wonderful Rex Ambassador that followed, cleaned up my dome in the usual two ATG passes. What does one say, however, after such an amazing mug shave? Well one thing’s for sure! I could definitely grow to like these little asymmetrically ground Japanese shaving knives! RAZOR: Vintage Tamahagane Kamisori (Mug), Rex Ambassador (Dome) BLADE: Feather DE (Dome) PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a heavy scrub with Argan Oil BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat POSTSHAVE: Cold water rinse with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with RR Blue Floid AS Dupe Splash.
https://ibb.co/w7Mb69t Honed up the kamisori and got a decent shave with it. Gotta tune the edge in more. Brush: Horse Synth Soap: Proraso Green A/S: Alum, Mentholated Witch Hazel
Shell Silver Steel for frameback Friday, cream and AS were AdP and a SOC boar did the lathering honors.
Jeff, it’s almost certainly not that old; it’s the newer style kamisori but I’m not sure at what time the styles changed. The old style that the buddhists allegedly brought from China is the orihi or ‘gutter’ type, and you can see how it got its name. Razors made before Japan opened up to the west were typically not stamped ‘tamahagane’, because that’s all the steel that there was then, so no need for an identifying stamp.
Thanks, Steve! I didn’t think so! That’s what I told my son, but he’s stubborn like his mother was! The oldest it could be is about 150 years from when Japan first opened its markets. I figured a 10 yr lag to 1870. It’s probably much younger, but honestly, the best part was the amazing edge. Great shave today.
