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Reputable ebay sellers for straights

AframesTokyo isn't updating their stock quite as quickly as I'd like, and I'm getting tired of waiting, so I guess it's off to the bay. Can anyone recommend some reputable sellers? I'm looking for Japanese hitachi white #1, which seems ripe for fraudsters and liars considering the premium that's put on "Japanese" anything.
 
AframesTokyo isn't updating their stock quite as quickly as I'd like, and I'm getting tired of waiting, so I guess it's off to the bay. Can anyone recommend some reputable sellers? I'm looking for Japanese hitachi white #1, which seems ripe for fraudsters and liars considering the premium that's put on "Japanese" anything.
Have you thought about artisan / custom blades?

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Not really looking for something made by a dilettante, which is what most artisans seem to be when it comes to straights - knife makers who just dabble in straights as a hobby. Would prefer something from a reputable maker like Yuji Amano/Takami brand.
Cheaper too, as most artisans seem to think their experiments in hitachi steel are worth as much as a NOS Iwasaki
 
Whats the avg price for hitachi1 western style? I feel like the going rate for a custom in the steel of your choice for a 6/8s like iwasakis would be at least half to quarter of what ive seen for an iwasaki 6/8s style.
 
Not really sure, I'm really new to straights and just started looking, trying to find my bearings. So far, it seems to just be "as much as anyone's willing to pay at a particular time". Seen no-name US blacksmiths advertise custom engraved white #1 starting at $350, seen NOS Japanese straights go for $70 on ebay from old listings. Super hard to find, let alone price unless you can read Japanese and wander onto their part of the web. Overall it seems to be like most specialty items - almost worthless because there's no demand, unless a seller can find the right buyer, then the price inflates like a balloon

The name "Iwasaki" immediately doubles the price of any razor it's attached to, also a magnet for fraudsters, so I'm going for something lesser known, like a Takami or such
 
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Is takami brand doing more than japanese kamisori style? I could find none in my english search.

Old listing prices are OBE and hard to follow as a trend. People pay crazy prices sometimes both low and high.

Most of us are decent at trying to read the kanji once we know what to look for lol.
 
I'm really not sure. I targeted Takami just because I saw it mentioned several times on old B&B posts (like 8+ years) that Takami was one of the better known/high quality Japanese blacksmiths that also did western style, along with Iwasaki (well, before he retired, no idea about now).
If anyone has a list of quality Japanese blacksmiths currently making western straights, I'd love to know
 
If you get creative with the searches, you can find some odd things, like this for example:
"Amano-san" is short for Yuji Amano, the blacksmith that produces under the Takami label
It's close to what I'm looking for, but I've already got a kamisori style
 
Yeah i saw that. I meant western folding.

Tbh, some of the custom guys are the real deal and you get exactly what you want.
 
My main concern with US blacksmiths is that white #1 is finnicky, and takes time to make well; add in that it's rare in the US due to the maker hitachi mostly keeping their stuff in-country and only exporting to a few stores outside Japan, and therefore expensive to get ahold of and learn - so I'm concerned someone will just rush to market on the "industrial tamahagane" name and try to sell it.
TBH I'm scared to shell out a couple big ones for a razor made of a steel the blacksmith may not have really understood, but I'll check out any blacksmiths if you've got any names and say they're good
 
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I dont know, some of the “regulars” are pretty knowledgeable and good to go. A couple of years ago, one of the guys did a phenomenal hitachi white paper for me. I’d shoot them a message and see what they can do.

Brian brown was the one who did it, but i am sure sprecher, buddel, bluesman, edson, could probably take care of you.
 
Many thanks, I'll look them up, though from an initial glance it seems they're all quite a bit more expensive than a Japanese NOS or even new. I guess they're selling at the prices they're charging, but once it crosses the $200-$300 line, I start looking at NOS on ebay for Iwasaki's; the $600+ price point of some of these kinda makes me choke.
Guess I've got some choices to make, but in the meantime, anyone else have any ebay sellers to keep an eye on for straights from Japan?
 
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syn3, zen razors ,and shavearmory have treated my good and have some nice razors. Just looked and shavearmory has something right now you might like its is NOS and in your price range.
 
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