Another thread about Kamisori

[kinopio]

Greetings everyone !

I'm not really inspired to do an introduction thread of myself right now and I don't have much to say about my shaving experience(disposable razors...), I hope it's not a problem ^^.

First I would like to thanks B&B's community, I've learned a lot about straight razors and especially Kamisori. But I have a few more questions about those Japanese razors.

I'm looking after a Kamisori that would last some decades (centuries ?).
It would be my exclusive razor. I don't have a lot to shave and it would be 1-2 shaves per week (more at the beginning for learning),
so it won't be really stressed but more worn over time (hard water will be more dangerous than my hairs ).

I'll have a Japanese natural whetstone (I don't know which one exactly, have to search more).

I'm wondering which Kamisori/steel will be the more suited for my use.

White(1,2,3) steel, Swedish steel, Tamahagane, K990, Takefu V1 ? Hard or soft steel ?

Several razors caught my eye but here is my TOP 3 : Iwasaki ones, both SK steel and Tamahagane( I know, I'm several years late)
and Machida ones (I didn't find others than Damascus, is there a non-Damascus version with the same shape ?).

I hope some members have answers ^^
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[mainaman]

Any steel that is suitable for razor will be good. Kamisori are made in Swedish (Iwasaki) , Tamahagane (Iwasaki and some otheres but very rare and expensive), White #2 (various makers). Any of those steels will take an edge that provides great shave. The most popular brands are Henkotsy(also most available), Tosuke , Iwasaki, Asuma.

 

[Kentos]

They would all do quite well. Brian Brown made me a nice 8/8 Kamisori in Damascus too.
I would buy a cheaper one first to practice and learn on before dropping big money on a top shelf Kamisori .

 

[fast14riot]

Just a bit of info, Hitachi shiro-gami steel (white paper) is as close to tamahagane as you can get in a commercially produced steel, 1%C and very little else with no V in it either. Extremely fine grained which is excellent for razor use. It will also perform as well as tamahagane for less money, but not a whole lot less. Any steel with low Vanadium should work just fine and last you years, provided you don't go crazy with the hones. Vanadium produces very large carbides that prohibit a very fine edge, like a kamisori (or any razor) needs, but works well in more obtuse applications like knives and such.

I'm making a couple kamisori now from 1084 steel and I expect them to outlast me! Its one of my favorite steels, it is the eutectoid steel which makes grain refinement super easy and HT is near impossible to mess up!

-Xander

 

[gash]

Xander, you took the words right out of my mouth.

I didn't understand the words, but still...