I'm not sure its looking so good at the moment. I just got another email from Toku this morning and while gracious, his news makes me less than optimistic about the availability of KAI in the US...

We haven't run out of options yet, but getting one of these from the manufacturer looks like a dead end. We may just have to start scouring the black market. Maybe we can find a retailer in Japan to operate as a liason...

I'll see if I can get anything going in that direction. I'd prefer not to do it that way because it will be cash up front and then waiting for the order to go through... waiting for the order to be shipped to the liason... and more waiting for the product to get to the US...

I would love to make this a reality, and the harder it is to get the more attractive this razor becomes. I would be the only kid on my block shaving with a non-folding KAI.

I'll do a little poking around and will continue to keep progress posted here.

Dear Will,

Thank you so much for your reply.
Current Japanese package is not FDA approved package.
Unfortunately, it is not legal to import as is.
We will study this item if we have a market for.
Hopefully we can introduce this item legally in U. S..
Again, thank you very much & hoping we will have a good news for you in the future.
Best regards,

Toku
******************************
Toku Ishizaki
UNIVERSAL GROUP ( KAI )
KASHO, Bbeaute, NOXZEMA, Old Spice
6031 Malburg Way, Los Angeles, CA 90058
Phone: 323-589-2600
Fax: 323-589-2700

The Standard Captain, fold and non-folding ARE available on the net from Europe. See my previous post. They don't show the Excelia. I sent each of them a message asking about the Excelia and prices. I'll let you know when I hear back.

That should work.

I look forward to hearing how this works out.

I just got a reply from Kasho UK:

Wow.
Great news!

I bet the Excelia models are going to be super expensive though. As it is, the british pound is currently trading for about $1.50.

I'll bet when all is said and done, a Captain Excelia with a few packs of blades will end up costing about $300.
Looks like I'm going to have to sell some stuff off.

I've made new progress in my search for the non-folding Captain Excelia.

dridiot, a supplier who frequents B&B has messaged me that he has a supplier who can get one for me.
He is looking into costs for the razor and blades and has asked if there is demand for this item.

I replied that the cost may be prohibitive for those who have expressed interest, as I expect this razor to collect a price of something around $300 including blades, shipping, handling, etc., but naturally I won't know until I hear from him. He said he would be back to me within a week or two.

In the meantime, if you have an interest in procuring one of these, I suggest you either PM me and I will let him know, or contact him directly.

I definitely an interested in getting one. Cost WILL be an issue and I might have to put off buying until I can save enough. I'm hoping the supply enough that I CAN delay.

At a lower tier, I very interested in the blades. Since I have a Feather AC, I would be interested in seeing if and how well the Kai blades would work in a Feather.

Anyway keep us up to date!

Thanks!

I'll send this in a PM as well.

Right on.

I can pretty much say with a degree of certainty that as long as the KAI holder can take Feather AC blades, its going to be an awesome shaver. But we'll see.

KAI wouldn't give me a straight answer regarding whether it will take the Feather blades, but they didn't straight up say that they wouldn't. I find this encouraging... particularly when seeing this:



I believe the KAI blades are 5.4 cm. For some reason I remember reading that somewhere, but I don't know if thats the same as the Feathers.

Ok, ok. If the current seller falls through, I might be able to work something out--I've found an online seller with them in stock. I have no idea if it's a RELIABLE seller, but there you go. So don't despair, there is hope.

Have you guys procured the KAI Excelia razors yet? I can get one KAI Excelia folding w/ 100 KAI blades and one KAI Excelia non-folding w/ 100 KAI blades for about 20,000 JPY each, shipping included. I have no interest but if you want them, I'll contact my source.

No luck yet, Telly.

I'm just seeing your post for the first time... aaaaaand... sending you a PM.

Will your supplier be able to get you more? I'm very intersted, but can't afford at the moment. Although $200-ish is less than I thought the Excelia would go for. Thanks so much!

Not at this package price.

Received today!

[/IMG]

Thanks to Telly, I got a KAI captain excelia non-folding straight today.
Its beautiful. I also received 40 Captain Blades and 40 Captain Sharpblades which are designed for the excelia holder.

I shaved with it tonight using a Captain Sharpblade, under the assumption that those were the sharpest, which they probably are.

The brush - a shavemac D01
The SC and balm - both AdP Colonia
and I used (as always) T&H pre-shave oil.
So, right there I have the makings of an exquisite shave, as long as the razor performed well.

First impressions:
I compared this to my only other japanese non-folding barber's straight; the AC DX non-folding Feather (I customarily use their sharpest blade for that razor - the Super). The Feather is noticably heftier than the KAI... not much, but definitely a little bit. The internal mechanisms that hold the blades in place are identical.

Here they are together...
[/IMG]

I took some pictures of the guts, but they didn't come out so I didn't include them in this post.

The blades are basically the same size in every aspect, so it appears (at least for now) that they are interchangeable. The KAI doesn't expose as much blade as the Feather but to shave the action is the same. If you can use a Feather AC, you can use a KAI excelia.
No pressure, use a very slight angle, and a BBS shave is guaranteed with either of these razors. The KAI did require just a little bit of pressure on the ATG pass in some areas. The weight does make a difference.

Also, the fulcrum is different. The Feather AC DX balances just behind the head, right at the stem between the head and the grip. The Kai balances where the grip meets the stem, a bit further back from the head than the Feather.

I'm impressed with the KAI Captain Excelia, but it doesn't shave as well as the Feather AC DX in my opinion. The Feather AC DX is the best shaver I've ever used. It is an extraordinary shaver and gives a more fluid shave than the KAI Captain Excelia. However, I really enjoyed the shave I got from the Excelia and I will continue to enjoy it.

When I've used it for a while I will post a proper review but hopefully this will tide you guys over for a while. I want to try it with the Feather Super blades to give a proper comparison.

All in all I feel very satisfied with my purchase of the KAI. I will definitely enjoy using this razor, but if you're reading this to get a review and are just looking for an exceptional japanese style non-folding barber's straight, I'd give the edge to the Feather AC DX. That said, you would still get very satisfying BBS shaves with the KAI Captain Excelia. Its a really great shaver.

I will say this...

With a Feather Super Professional blade, its a damn fine shaver.

Can you compare the Kai blades to the Feathers? Is it worth getting some to try on AC?

Thanks!

very cool looking razors.

I am going to have to give a try to the Captain blade in my Feather AC.

Since I put a Feather blade in the KAI, its all I've used. I will get back to you about the Captain blades though. It would be a nice case study, I just haven't wanted to suffer through substandard shaves for the sake of research, but since you asked I suppose I will oblige giving it a try for a week or 2.

The Captains are definitely cheaper and you get more blades per dispenser. Also the action on the dispenser is a lot more smooth for me. I haven't made it through an entire dispenser of Feather Supers yet, so it could be just that this particular dispenser has issues. The Captain dispenser is perfectly smooth though.

I want one of those . (in Little Britain voice)

The Feather blades are 5.0 cm long. Standard injector blades are about 3.8 cm. I just measured both.

How long are the Kai blades? Was the earlier mention of 5.4 cm correct?