In a different posting I wrote about my experience with my first straight razor shave which was also my first kamisori shave, and my first experience with a straight razor of any kind. Lots of very helpful feedback, comments and suggestions encouraged me to stick with it. I some of comments and suggestions made were spot on. I decided to bite the bullet and did a few things based on the advice:
- I bought a traditional strop in addition to the strop paddle (i got it from Portland Razor Co) I assume that based on their reputation is should be fairly acceptable for a rookie.
- I bought a Japanese NOS western style handmade razor from JNS
Back to the main point of my thanks. A few days ago I prepared myself for a second try at shaving, however I did it in a much more controlled and informed approach.
First menta preparation, I dressed up in my full martial arts gear and went down to the dojo repeating over and over again: "you can do this, you can do this". I grabbed one of my trusted bokken and did 1000 cuts. I felt ready. back up to a hot shower. Ok, I can do this, fear is my enemy, face my fear... then during the shower, the academic in me took over and I did something that most of you probably would not do: I worked on both the straight razor and the kamisori in the same shave so I could compare. Here is the report.
- I spent some time working in concentrated effort however light touch and pressure on the strop. I did about 50 laps of the canvas side and about a 100 on the leather side of the paddle with the kamisori, and the same with the regular strop with the straight razor. The regular strop seems more suited for the longer razor, while the kamisori works better on the paddle.
- I spent more time warming the face and hydrating the brush, however, As suggested, I worked on a thin denser layer of soap on the face as opposed to a thicker foamy layer as I did the time before.
- Next, and on this advice received was absolutely spot on, with both I worked on a very small angle, almost flat against the skin, and as described, magic happened, removing the soap brought the hair along with it.
- I did a few short strokes with each instead of long strokes and that allowed me better sensitivity to the response. I discovered that, just as predicted, if distracted for a moment I would revert to more pressure and force, as I am used to the DE Safety razor, and also, if distracted or encouraged to go a bit faster, the angle would elevate and start scraping, but this time I was aware of it and immediately corrected it, going back to a shallower angle having better sensitivity to the feedback from the skin and hair.
- I used the kamisori only with my right (dominant) hand, and I used both hands for the SR (i figured I might as well start training correctly with both hands, and that was a good choice as the left was very light and without the DE habits of my right hand)
- from your advice, LOTS of patience and stretching the skin as much as possible helped enormously.
- This time I finished the entire shave with a couple of passes, going back and forth between the two blades, and NO skin born, cuts or blood except for a couple of tiny nicks. Incredible smooth shave on the sides and fairly good one in the neck.
Some additional thoughts;
1) The straight razor is, also as predicted, easier to use, however, the kamisori gives much more control and precision.
2) technique is vastly different for each type, except the common theme: shallow angle, just a bit higher than the angle of the blade in the SR, and the same angle as the bevel of the omote side of the kamisori.
3) I do not believe I will need a hone for a few weeks at least, since both razors were actually honed and shave ready and I am planning to add a healthy set of strop laps everytime. On my first experience I thought that the kamisori might not have been honed and that I chipped the toe inadvertently, however my technique and method were completely off and once I followed comments, shaving with it was a transformational experience. Also, from research I found that the blade was not chipped, but rather, the corner was muted as it seems to be the case with all Iwasakis.
4) the next step is subjective. The shave left the face very smooth, and somehow, it felt different the feeling after a shave with a DE. It also took a long time but the level of concentration necessary wiped out anything from my mind for most of the tie, and that in itself was relaxing, so now there is no turning back and it seems that I am getting into a rabbit hole with generous and very helpful guidance. Your comments alone made me go from almost quitting to an extraordinarily enjoyable experiment and precursor of others. I am now looking forward to the next. Thank you.
Straight Razor: Japanese Straight Razor NOS Handmade Black Teuti edge is 65 mm and width is 21 mm
Iwasaki Kamisori 50 mm
- I bought a traditional strop in addition to the strop paddle (i got it from Portland Razor Co) I assume that based on their reputation is should be fairly acceptable for a rookie.
- I bought a Japanese NOS western style handmade razor from JNS
Back to the main point of my thanks. A few days ago I prepared myself for a second try at shaving, however I did it in a much more controlled and informed approach.
First menta preparation, I dressed up in my full martial arts gear and went down to the dojo repeating over and over again: "you can do this, you can do this". I grabbed one of my trusted bokken and did 1000 cuts. I felt ready. back up to a hot shower. Ok, I can do this, fear is my enemy, face my fear... then during the shower, the academic in me took over and I did something that most of you probably would not do: I worked on both the straight razor and the kamisori in the same shave so I could compare. Here is the report.
- I spent some time working in concentrated effort however light touch and pressure on the strop. I did about 50 laps of the canvas side and about a 100 on the leather side of the paddle with the kamisori, and the same with the regular strop with the straight razor. The regular strop seems more suited for the longer razor, while the kamisori works better on the paddle.
- I spent more time warming the face and hydrating the brush, however, As suggested, I worked on a thin denser layer of soap on the face as opposed to a thicker foamy layer as I did the time before.
- Next, and on this advice received was absolutely spot on, with both I worked on a very small angle, almost flat against the skin, and as described, magic happened, removing the soap brought the hair along with it.
- I did a few short strokes with each instead of long strokes and that allowed me better sensitivity to the response. I discovered that, just as predicted, if distracted for a moment I would revert to more pressure and force, as I am used to the DE Safety razor, and also, if distracted or encouraged to go a bit faster, the angle would elevate and start scraping, but this time I was aware of it and immediately corrected it, going back to a shallower angle having better sensitivity to the feedback from the skin and hair.
- I used the kamisori only with my right (dominant) hand, and I used both hands for the SR (i figured I might as well start training correctly with both hands, and that was a good choice as the left was very light and without the DE habits of my right hand)
- from your advice, LOTS of patience and stretching the skin as much as possible helped enormously.
- This time I finished the entire shave with a couple of passes, going back and forth between the two blades, and NO skin born, cuts or blood except for a couple of tiny nicks. Incredible smooth shave on the sides and fairly good one in the neck.
Some additional thoughts;
1) The straight razor is, also as predicted, easier to use, however, the kamisori gives much more control and precision.
2) technique is vastly different for each type, except the common theme: shallow angle, just a bit higher than the angle of the blade in the SR, and the same angle as the bevel of the omote side of the kamisori.
3) I do not believe I will need a hone for a few weeks at least, since both razors were actually honed and shave ready and I am planning to add a healthy set of strop laps everytime. On my first experience I thought that the kamisori might not have been honed and that I chipped the toe inadvertently, however my technique and method were completely off and once I followed comments, shaving with it was a transformational experience. Also, from research I found that the blade was not chipped, but rather, the corner was muted as it seems to be the case with all Iwasakis.
4) the next step is subjective. The shave left the face very smooth, and somehow, it felt different the feeling after a shave with a DE. It also took a long time but the level of concentration necessary wiped out anything from my mind for most of the tie, and that in itself was relaxing, so now there is no turning back and it seems that I am getting into a rabbit hole with generous and very helpful guidance. Your comments alone made me go from almost quitting to an extraordinarily enjoyable experiment and precursor of others. I am now looking forward to the next. Thank you.
Straight Razor: Japanese Straight Razor NOS Handmade Black Teuti edge is 65 mm and width is 21 mm
Iwasaki Kamisori 50 mm
