Japan

[Earcutter]

A friend of mine is off to Japan and stated that if I would like, he would be glad to pick up "whatever" it is I wanted there (he's got a second home there).

Problem is - I really don't want a Kami anymore. A Jnat though... well that would be awesome! But I don't know Jack, about Jnats. So here's the question:

Does it make sense or is it even worth it to buy directly in Japan?

If so, then where? And what do I ask for? A finishing stone is all I would want.

Thanks for any help gents.

 

[Doc226]

Not sure if you can walk in to a place and get a JNAT, but I would imagine it would be difficult to know what you are getting, unless you know what you are looking for. For JNATs I would stick with a reputable dealer.

 

[dakotaev]

It seems a lot of NOS western style straights are coming out of Japan, maybe he will stumble on something like that.

I agree about the JNATs, they vary so drastically that it might be very difficult to attain what you want without being very experienced or having an experienced dealer in that field.

 

[Kentos]

I think straight razor honing is such an arcane practice that your friend would have a hard time finding one suitable for razor. Most outdoor shopping malls have a cutlery store that might sell suitable tennen kamisori toishi.

 

[smalltank]

http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/

you could find out where this seller lives and save on shipping

 

[TstebinsB]

Problem is - I really don't want a Kami anymore.

Do you still have the Takami?

 

[Seraphim]

Shave stuff is as hard to find in Japan as hen's teeth. The best things to get that are readily available are the awesome Japanese aftershaves: Lucido, MANDOM, Tactics, etc.

Things are definitely NOT cheaper there.

 

[Luc]

This might help: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Japan

 

[Slash McCoy]

The convenience stores usually stock a very cool and very good disposable made by Kai. It is a single blade, all metal razor (well, mostly metal) with no pivot joint, though you can bend the head for your own custom angle. These are the absolute best disposables in the world, AFAIC, and they are nice to have for carryon-only air travel. You WANT a couple of packs of these. They are surprisingly cheap, too.

Me, I always stock up on matcha and those tasty seaweed and wasabi crackers. Great beer food!

 

[Seraphim]

The convenience stores usually stock a very cool and very good disposable made by Kai. It is a single blade, all metal razor (well, mostly metal) with no pivot joint, though you can bend the head for your own custom angle. These are the absolute best disposables in the world, AFAIC, and they are nice to have for carryon-only air travel. You WANT a couple of packs of these. They are surprisingly cheap, too.

Me, I always stock up on matcha and those tasty seaweed and wasabi crackers. Great beer food!

Have you actually shaved with one of those?

They are about two steps below a DE blade glued to a pair of chopsticks in my opinion.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Have you actually shaved with one of those?

They are about two steps below a DE blade glued to a pair of chopsticks in my opinion.

Yes! Very nice shave indeed! I think I did a review... let me look... Ah, here we go. I thought I included pics but I guess I didn't.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/261082

 

[Slash McCoy]

Hey, I found a couple. Here is an iphone pic

 

[Seraphim]

Ah....that's different than what I was thinking of.

 

[mainaman]

If your friend does not know anything about Jnats, do not buy at all. As soon as a seller finds out a buyer has no idea what they are buying , the seller will slip them an average at best and overpriced stone.

 

[duderdo]

If your friend does not know anything about Jnats, do not buy at all. As soon as a seller finds out a buyer has no idea what they are buying , the seller will slip them an average at best and overpriced stone.

Definitely.. I was big into checking out knife shops in Japan when I lived there and would always look at the hones if they had any, the natural ones usually started at a couple hundred dollars at least, and I seriously doubt they were finishers.

 

[Earcutter]

Do you still have the Takami?

I do!

If your friend does not know anything about Jnats, do not buy at all. As soon as a seller finds out a buyer has no idea what they are buying , the seller will slip them an average at best and overpriced stone.

Yeah thinking about it today - though I know my friend is excited about helping, I was just wondering if any of you guys knew of a place/person/thing. Asking a man to lug a 1 or 2lb rock back (no matter how often he goes) that he knows nothing about, seems like a bit much. Moreover, I know he would ask often how I liked the rock, and that would be awkward were I need to lie lol.

Thanks for all the input gents!