View attachment 196535
As Joseph
@Primotenore notes - loose pins make for the scales getting in the way. If the pin at the hinge point is tight & the wedge set correctly the scales will stay in whatever position you place them. Ninety degrees slightly open or passed half way helps to index the angle of the blade. If the scales are pointed straight with the blade there's a counter balance action like a heavy handle on a DE making the blade seem lighter. Each SR shaver benefits from trying the different grinds. A very hollow blade may have some flex where the wedge blades are a stiff hunk of steel. All things that make more sense when you have one up against your face. To use the kamisori style the scales just aren't there. This Clone of mine has a rubberized handle with a bit of upswing at the end. My hands are becoming accustomed to the shape so indexing (the amount of angle) is happening on it's own. The rubber coating, like the cord wrap on Blair's
@b1hart gives plenty of grip. I'm not even having problems with wet or soapy hands and I'm switching left to right and reapplying lather as I go.
Thanks Joe! Not my first rodeo. I started my Wet Shave Journey with a Sight Unseen SR from Larry at Whipped Dog and a shavette using Personna hair shaper blades. Later I got into DE & SE. I haven't done the more dedicated Rule like you, Joseph
@Primotenore, and others. So my skills build up, then I backslide. Never totally loose the techniques, just need to rediscover them again. This is my first try at the kamisori style and I'm liking it. Being adverse to the idea of honing the shavette blade holder is working great!
Thanks Clint! I haven't seen you with a Pain Stick yet... You do have a razor or two that use the Feather AC blades?
Jim (?)
@jtface - there's much in common between a real carbon steel razor and a shavette. Biggest difference being the thinness of that disposable blade that can catch you without warning.
As to the different grinds traditional Japanese razors were meant to be used by a servant on the masters beard. The assumption was a right handed barber would hold the razor in his dominant hand and do the shave without switching hands. So the blade is ground asymmetrically - more flat on one side with the scooped out grind mostly done on the other. Then us Westerners got interested, and changed the traditional shape to what you are familiar with - a grind on both sides making a symmetric shape that can be used in any orientation or hand. These modern shavette type kamisori are symmetric in their shape.
Check
this thread for some honing and shopping ideas. Glen
@gssixgun has honed them, sold them, and recommended a couple ebay dealers. There are modern kami makers, but like SR's they tend to be Japanese Artisans and can ask high prices. With all vintage razors there's the same pitfalls of worn out damages antiques. Since this style hasn't been popular in Western countries there's less of a market.
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