Japanese Kamisori - Shaving and Maintenance?

[rbscebu]

I am getting close to pulling the trigger on a Japanese Yasuki Kamisori. This will be my first of this type or SR.

I have almost 600 shaves experience with traditional western type straight razors and I maintain these SR's on diamond pasted balsa strops. What is the difference, if any, between these two types of straight razors in shaving and edge maintenance?

 

[Legion]

IME the shaving isn’t much different. The honing is. I don’t do it with pastes, but asymmetrical honing is a different challenge. Especially with a razor using different steel on the edge, to the body of the razor.

 

[rbscebu]

With Kamisori, do you still use the spine as your bevel-angle guide on both sides?

 

[Eastcoast30]

With Kamisori, do you still use the spine as your bevel-angle guide on both sides?

Yes, but there is a ratio. Some do 7 on the back (omote) to one on the stamped face (ura). Some do 3:1.

 

[Biltong & Boerewors]

I have bought a kamisori from Japan for a fairly reasonable price, around £40, to try and see if I like it. They are interesting razors, and I love their history and mystique. I read somewhere they were often made by sword smiths from leftover bits of high quality steel, fused to lesser quality steel to make up the body and handle.

Upon arrival I was unimpressed with the finish, the handle was bent looking down from the spine, and I had to heat it to straighten it.

I did some research on honing techniques and settled on the 7:1 ratio. Turns out the bevel was far from set and it took a lot of honing to get a reasonable bevel. By that time I had almost ground the hollow away and it was almost wedge shaped. I knew that the razor is a bi-metal construction, the hollow side being of the softer steel and the flat side being the strip of high carbon steel. Used a rounded file to file a hollow into it again and then finished the honing.

After finishing the honing, I put it through the normal, equal on each side stropping on diamond pasted balsa to .1 micron and after that stropped like normal on clean leather.

I managed with a lot of work to achieve a good edge, but to be honest I didn't like the way it shaved. Maybe it's because I prefer thin grinds, and this is much closer to a wedge.

Another thing that I didn't like was that a kamisori, with it's asymmetrical grind is really meant to be used with a single hand, with the flat side meant to be on your face. You can swop hands, but that means that the hollow side is now on your face, and it shaves ok, but not as good as a symmetrical ground razor.

Granted I didn't spend a lot of money so maybe it's too much to ask for a good grind and finish, like most things you more or less get what you pay for, and if you expect great quality, be prepared to shell out a lot of money.

I still have it, and it's nice to try something different once in a while, but it's not my favourite.

 

[cugel]

Kamis are much harder for me to hone well compared to, say, a hollow ground solingen blade. They take a brutally sharp edge when you nail it.

 

[Kentos]

When you hone it try to put all the pressure of your finger tips on the edge closest to the bevel to help mitigate wear on the soft iron omote, as well as the hollow on the ura. I would also encourage you to not use very coarse stones to set your bevel as it will wear the thing down astonishing fast. I ruined my first kamisori doing just that, but it was a good learning experience. It might be a good idea to get a beater to practice on.

As far as shaving with it, there is a theory that a Kamisori was meant to be used only on one side. I did research on this and the only thing I found in both English and Japanese references was from some American living in Japan. Further research led me to a Japanese barber in the Ginza district of Tokyo. They have been in business for several generations and their barbers shave their clients with both sides of the Kamisori blade.

 

[joel]

Hone it really well once, then you’re done. I never had to take one to a stone a second time, including one I’ve had nearly two decades. YMMV

 

[totorlekiller]

Yes, but there is a ratio. Some do 7 on the back (omote) to one on the stamped face (ura). Some do 3:1.

I just do 1:1 like a western razor. It might not be canonical but it works and has the benefit of being simple.