Kai razors

Discussion in 'Straight Razors' started by riffin, Apr 15, 2009.

  1. riffin

    riffin Active Member

    I copied this from FS thread in the Classifieds forum so I could hi-jack it... :D

    I've seen Kai razors that are like the Feather AC. Does anyone know how good they are or what kind of blades they take? They're priced similar and sure look nice.
     
  2. JimR

    JimR Active Member

    HAH?!!?

    How'd that one slip by me?

    I just looked it up on the Japanese site...

    HOLY CRAP is it cool looking.

    Check it out...
    Kai English site
    There's no direct lin\k (stupid flash) but go to "products->professional beauty care products->shaving razors" and click on the "Captain Holder Excelia".

    Too bad it's 200 bucks...
     
  3. Wow. They do look cool!

    Crap. There goes my AD again. Just when I thought I had it licked.
    I love my Feather AC so much. I get such great shaves with it. I can almost guarantee I will have one of the non-folding Kai's within a few months.
     
  4. riffin

    riffin Active Member

    The Excelia must be new. Both look very nice. Those blades sure LOOK Feather sized. That would be cool if there were more choices for Feather AC an the Cobra (@classicshaving.com).
     
  5. Yeah. That's what I was thinking/hoping.

    Any idea where someone in the US might get a hold of one of these, or is this an in-process research project?
     
  6. I requested information on how to obtain a Kai Excelia in the United States.

    I got this response...

    "Dear Mr. ZMKA

    Thank you for your interest on our product.
    Unfortunately we do not have any distributor in USA for this Excelia razor.

    We have our US subsidiary, Universal Group, in Los Angeles.
    For further inquiry, we would appreciate it if you could contact Toku
    Ishizaki at Universal Group. He would be pleased to take care of you.

    E-mail: Tokui@universalgrp.com
    Tel: 323-589-2600

    Best Regards
    Yutaka Kawai"

    This could represent an opportunity for a retailer here to begin distribution of Kai. I will continue to try to track one of these down and I'll keep my progress posted here... somewhere. :D
     
  7. Sejanus

    Sejanus New Member

    Knowing how great KAI products are in terms of Kitchen Knives.. I would love to see how these things perform.
     
  8. Greetings Toku,

    As you've been made aware I am in search of information on how and where to obtain the KAI non-folding straight shaving razor Captain Excelia.
    I've been really enjoying using a Feather Artist's Club DX and that is what peaked my interest in your product.

    Do Feather blades fit in the Excelia handle? Do the KAI blades fit in the handle of the Feather razors?

    Please let me know the price of both the razor and the blades, and please provide information on their availability.

    Thank you,

    - Will

    ..................

    Dear Will,
    I really do not have the answers.
    I will check with Japan office next Monday & reply to you.
    Thank you very much.
    Best regards,

    Toku Ishizaki
     
  9. I was really surprised to get this response this afternoon:

    Dear Will,

    We do not know if the Feather razor & Captain razor are exchangeable since we do not sell this item.
    It is hard for us to import blades without meeting FDA and custom regulations.
    We really appreciate your interest, but it is difficult for us to import blades at this moment.


    Really? Customs and FDA?

    Hmm... I didn't realize the FDA had jurisdiction over razor blades.

    I'm going to guess that KAI just isn't interested in exporting this product, because honestly this sounds like a crock.

    I guess I'll just have to take alternative means for getting one of these.
     
  10. Greetings,

    I'm disappointed to hear this, Toku.
    I appreciate your reply and attention to this matter.

    Regards,

    - Will


    And then, this morning...

    Dear Will

    Thank you for your interest on our products.
    Responding your question,
    Kai Corporation does not mention that our products fit other companies'
    product as our company policy. Basically we would not recommend to use
    our razor with other company's product because we do not exactly know
    other company products and also cannot guarantee quality of those
    products. For Excelia, CAPTAIN blade to fit it is available.
    For details, please visit our website;http://www.kai-ind.co.jp/en/
    (click Professional Beauty Products and then Shaving Rozors)

    A type of Kai blade named Speed Edge could fit some of Feather razors.
    However we recommend you use our razor for our blade.

    For prices and minimum order quantity of our products, Toku will provide
    you with those information.

    We hope you will enjoy Kai quality of razor and blade soon.

    Best Regards
    Yutaka Kawai
    Kai Corporation Japan


    Toku Ishizaki wrote:
    > 河合様
    > お答えください。
    > 石崎
     
  11. JimR

    JimR Active Member

    Wouldn't the FDA have jurisdiction over the tools used by barbers?
     
  12. I wouldn't have thought so, although they do have jurisdiction over hygiene products like deodorant, which isn't technically a food or a drug. I'm just surprised that they would have to approve a razor blade. That means that they have to approve scissors, nail clippers, tweezers, toilet paper... things I never would've guessed that FDA had to approve. I would've thought it would be Personal Care Products Council...

    Having looked at their website it appears that they do work with the FDA, but they are not directly affiliated.
     
  13. riffin

    riffin Active Member

    Kai's claim of having to meet FDA approval sounds a bit hyperbolic to me. Customs I can see. Razor ARE knives after all.

    Maybe it has to do with the design of the blade. The Kia guarded blades are of different design than the Feather Pro-Guard. Maybe they are different enough that they have get separate regulatory approval before the can be imported. If this is the case, it would explain why we haven't seen this very much before. The designs of DE and SE and Schick type of injectors are old hat.

    The market for this product is pretty small. A subset of the open razor market, which is a subset of the non-cartridge razors market which is tiny to start with. Plus the advent of the internet lets us access the product in other markets, like Japan or Europe. Importing for personal use is different than for distribution.

    Anyway, my guess is the razor division is small with limited resources and they just can't afford what it take to deploy in the US, not yet.

    In any case, one day in the slightly distant future, I plan to get one a try it, whether it's from a US source or somewhere else.

    Will, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this research and posting it here. Nice job!
     
  14. JimR

    JimR Active Member

    You do know that these are professional products, right? They aren't at ALL intended for the public. KAI is most definitely not concerned with the tiny subset of the non-cartridge public market (hence the discontinuation of their DE blades) and so are quite surprised that private individuals are even aware of them.

    Also, the feather blades and tools you use are imported on a VERY Small scale, and not for professional use, so that also changes the rules for federal regulation. I'm not sure that the FDA wouldn't have jurisdiction over imported professional barber tools.

    I am sure you won't see KAI razors distributed in the USA by any outfit larger than Classic Shaving, Vintage blades, etc, which takes the time and effort to import them themselves. Just like the Feather tools.
     
  15. You're welcome!
    It is definitely my pleasure. :)
     
  16. This makes a lot of sense, but I had no idea. And of course, this only makes these items more desirable. At least to me. Items that I have to work, look, fight, bite and kill for are always a little bit more fun to use.

    I honestly thought that someone like you, Jim, could walk into a beauty supply shop and get one of these easily in Japan. I stand humbly corrected and I appreciate your willingness to assist me (us) in the quest to procure one or several of these to accompany the inferior razors we all have in our shave dens that a KAI straight would undoubtedly rule over. Not that I have high expectations... ok, yes I do. I'm nearly positive that a KAI would become my preferred shaver within the first 5 seconds of use.

    It appears by my last reply from KAI representatives that this endeavor might require a group buy, seeing as how a "minimum quantity" has been mentioned. That minimum would make or break this endeavor. Along with the numbers of folks who decide they would want to be involved.
    I'm not sure I would want to front the overhead for this if I had to find a home for more than 5, so... we shall see...

    I can tell you this... if a group buy is required, we will need to come to a consensus on which style and how many blades we would require. Personally, I would probably want at least 100 of the sharpest blades available. Although if Feather blades work in them... well, that's a whole new can of worms.

    The quest continues... I will contact Toku and will keep our business public as has become customary of this endeavor.
     
  17. Warm Greetings Toku and Yutaka,

    Please let me know what the minimum purchase might be along with the price in US dollars. I am fairly confident that I could find buyers for several of these razors and blades as long as the cost is reasonable.

    The interested parties would be using them for personal use although I will discuss the possibility of obtaining these with professional barbers who perform daily shaves. Professionals may be interested as well.

    Please let me know.

    Thank you!

    - Will
     
  18. JimR

    JimR Active Member

    Well, the Feather RG is often available at knife stores in big cities, but I've never ever seen a KAI one. I heard rumors about a Schick version, but I've not seen one myself.

    My hometown has nothing...no knife shops, no barber/beauty supply stores...I could ask my barber, but I'd have to pay up front.

    I'd be happy to try to help out--I could probably get them without a minimum order, but I'd have to poke around a bit.

    For one or two, I might be able to find some online...
     
  19. Cool man. I might ask you to do that if we can't generate enough interest for a group buy direct from the manufacturer.

    It would be nice to get some of these in a small buy from the manufacturer so we can get a discount. They're hella expensive, although obviously I'd be willing to shell out a few bucks for the chance to have one.

    I'm hoping to get 5 solid folks interested. 4 more in addition to myself. We'd all be biting the bullet since there are no reviews on these at any of the standard forums. But we would be pioneers! And there's a damn good chance that these are some fantastic shaving implements, because KAI has a great reputation for their other cutting implements including kitchen and medical cutting devices.
     
  20. riffin

    riffin Active Member

    1) Jim - I saw that ("Professional Products") but it just didn't register. Everything makes a lot more sense. Given that barber shaves are not as popular in the US as they are in other countries, it maks sense that they don't distribute here.

    2) Will - I think the Excelia looks pretty cool and a nice change from my Feather. It would be nice to know how it differes from the Standard. If it costs twice as much, I'd have to think twice. I for one would be interested in trying a variety of their blades.

    3) I sent a message to the admin at Classic with a link. They responded that given the lack of information (just one picture) and their great satisfaction with the Feather products, they don't plan on looking into carrying this line at this time.

    4) Finally, A few months ago when I first stumbled across these that I found Kasho Scissors ans Scissor Shop Direct, both in the UK sell the Standard and one kind of blade. There may have been a couple other sites in Germany, IIRC, that were selling them too.

    Anyway, I am definitely interested. I just don't know how soon I can afford to make the jump...
     

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