Am I crazy to want a Iwasaki kamisori?

[SilverBlue16]

I am reading the book Sharp by Josh Donald. He owns a knife business in SF and has a chapter about this artisan and his kamisori razors. I had a DOVO flowing razor for a couple years but never really used it on a daily basis and sold it. I have a toddler and my shave time has been radically reduced. I also sold my 12K grit Naniwa stone.

Still, I love the shave that a straight gives. How would folks compare Japanese and European straights? Is a Kamisori appreciably better?

 

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

I am reading the book Sharp by Josh Donald. He owns a knife business in SF and has a chapter about this artisan and his kamisori razors. I had a DOVO flowing razor for a couple years but never really used it on a daily basis and sold it. I have a toddler and my shave time has been radically reduced. I also sold my 12K grit Naniwa stone.

Still, I love the shave that a straight gives. How would folks compare Japanese and European straights? Is a Kamisori appreciably better?

I can’t help you with which is better but I can tell you that especially with a toddler you need your Zen moment daily. Whether it’s the shave itself or honing whatever. Own a little time to yourself, everyone will thank you


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[totorlekiller]

Maintenance on a Kamisori is easier. No pesky pivot to clean.

 

[macintoshBR]

I have one. I wouldn’t call it better by any means, just different

Kamisori provides a different experience. I use straights 95% of time, but I enjoy the Iwasaki every now and then

The grinding is thicker than hollow ground straights so it does not give much feedback, but it is SHARP! The shorter blade is also useful to shave some challenging parts

 

[Polarbeard]

No you're not crazy to want a Iwasaki kamisori, but I fully agree with @Raymond Luxury Yacht above. Furthermore there are very few straight razors that are as user friendly as the Dovo Flowing and thus suitable for those that don't shave with a straight on a daily basis. The Naniwa 12.000 is also a very fine stone for keeping up an edge. In short I would have kept the Flowing and the Naniwa, but then again that's only me.

 

[Toro Blanco]

I know Josh I did not know he came out with his book, cool. I love the two but Japaneses straights in general are very good. Hard to find a bad one and have many very good ones. You could even try to get a Hayashi Diamond 1072 which is japanese made with german phoenix steel, best of both worlds! Very hard fine grained steel. Takes and holds a wicked edge.

 

[allyourbasearebelongtous]

or you can get the best of both worlds. and get a kami with a western grind.

 

[Basil]

I’ve been wanting one for a while as well. Just never seem to pull the trigger on it though.

 

[RayClem]

If you want to shave like a Samurai, then a kamisori is just the thing. Because a kamisori is ground asymetrically, honing and shaving techniques will differ from a western razor. While a western razor is ground somewhat like a knife, a kamisori is ground more like a chisel.

Also remember that, unlike a western razor, the blade does not fold up into the handle/scales to protect both the blade and the user. You will need some type of stand for the razor. If you have young ones in the household (children and/or grandchildren) who might be injured, then a kamisori might not be such a good idea.

 

[thombrogan]

Can’t comment on OP’s sanity, but I‘m finally staring at more than the wa-gyutos and synthetic stones (two of my favorite inanimate objects) over at AFramesTokyo’s site.

When you give yourself permission, will you be choosing a conventional steel or the tamahagane?

 

[Gamma]

If you have shaved with a Kamisori and you enjoyed it, then getting an Iwasaki Kamisori seems like a plausible next step.
If you have not shaved with a Kamisori, then starting off with an Iwasaki is a huge first step in that direction.
There's nothing wrong with taking big steps. But it's something to consider.

 

[Aldwyn]

I am with Keith here... Its like having your first car be a Ferrari.

Shaving with a kami is a bit different then shaving with a western blade. I know first hand, as I have been shaving with western straights for 6 years, but recently started using a kamisori a month or so ago. And I am not sure I am going to stick with it... so spending $100 on a kami to see if I dig it vs $500+ for one? Not that big of a loss if I switch back to to my European blades.

Now, if money is no object, and you dont care if you decide to not use it anymore after trying it, that's a totally different story.

 

[SilverBlue16]

Thank you guys. I think you all make very good, rational points. I have a Feather Artist Club Kamisori, so I should probably give that more attention before pulling the trigger on the real deal.

 

[RayClem]

Thank you guys. I think you all make very good, rational points. I have a Feather Artist Club Kamisori, so I should probably give that more attention before pulling the trigger on the real deal.

Although the AC Kamisori has a Kamisori style handle, the cutting is done by an artist club blade which has a symmetrical bevel, so it shaves like a western style razor. You can purchase razors with the Kamisori style handle that are ground symmetrically so they shave identically from either side. However, a true Kamisori has an asymmetrical grind and will shave differently on each side of the blade. The following video shows some of the challenges.

 

[Aldwyn]

What Ray said... you can give the kamis a try buy buying a shave ready one.

I bought a BOS Tosuke from etsy seller shavearmory and he put a really nice edge on it. Sharp as a ****... you may want to go that route, so you arent spending a ton to try one, but when you do try it, its the real deal with the Japanese grind, and not the Feather with the western style bevel.

 

[RenoRichard]

No nuttier than the rest of us. Kamisoris look like fun and, if you like diversity, why not?

 

[KW Driver]

what they said.

Kamis are also the only razor I felt the need to blunt the tip of after a couple good, deep cuts with the tip as I learned to use it.

I prefer western razors, and rarely shave with my kamis. some of that's a comfort of experience thing, some of it's that I don't often need or prefer such a heavy blade, and remembering the differing angles while using the omote vs. ura sides.

 

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

No you're not crazy to want a Iwasaki kamisori, but I fully agree with @Raymond Luxury Yacht above. Furthermore there are very few straight razors that are as user friendly as the Dovo Flowing and thus suitable for those that don't shave with a straight on a daily basis. The Naniwa 12.000 is also a very fine stone for keeping up an edge. In short I would have kept the Flowing and the Naniwa, but then again that's only me.

Some of us get it


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[Aggelos]

I am with @Aldwyn on this one. While Iwasaki kamisoris have a reputation of being extraordinary blades, they are by no mean the only ones around, and they are, right now, more so because the maker has stopped making, extremely pricey.

That being said, on the other hand of the spectrum, you can find vintage shave ready kamisoris for sometimes a very affordable price.
Hell, if you are lucky enough, you can discover what is to shave with the famed tamahagane for a bargain. I know I did.

 

[Manannan]

I am strongly left-handed but manage to shave using a right-handed Iwasaki Swedish Steel kamisori and a right-handed vintage Iwasaki Tamahagange kamisori (not a holy grail NOS and no new ones made for ages since vital machinery was broken during a move of premises, but see New Tamahagane kamisori tribute to Iwasaki - 'Ryoichi Mizuochi' & 'Sanjō seisakusho' - http://shavenook.com/showthread.php?tid=56373 ) - left-handed kamisori are hard to source - with a combination of using either the Ura (stamped) side or the traditional Omote (unstamped) side next to my face. I also use a sweet little kamisori with a symmetric grind made by Tony Milton (www.japanese-razor.com) at his forge in Cornwall, UK, using Suminagashi Shiro II Steel (he also makes symmetric kamisori using 1095 Damascus Steel, 01 Tool Steel and Hitachi Ao Gami blue paper steel core). Although I use a couple of Western straights (a Dovo carbon steel Mammut and a Dovo stainless buffalo horn) both of which give great shaves, I have come to prefer using a kamisori with the smaller blade being easier to use in tight corners. I find that cleaning and oiling a kamisori is much easier (no pivot to worry about), especially with an unbound raw metal handle with no fear of a rusting process quietly proceeding beneath any binding/felt. Toddlers and any very sharp things are not a very good combination, so best to keep in a padlocked box, within another padlocked box on a very high shelf (the sharp things...).