Life has moved on for me, and I no longer maintain any of the information on this site.
I'm leaving it up for archival purposes, but that's all.
Enjoy, and thanks!
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Monday, August 1, 2011
Worrying News From Niigata
It wasn't my intention to return to blogging on a down note, but I thought that recent events would be of special concern to readers of this blog.
<--!more-->
Last weekend, a storm front came East from China and Korea, hitting the upper part of Honshu, and apparently decided to stop. It's dumped over 1 meter of rain, and still hasn't stopped. More than 300,000 people have been asked to move to higher ground, and Sanjo City is right in the middle of the flooding.
It goes without saying, my heart goes out to all those who are losing their homes and livelihoods in this devastating flood. So far the toll in lives has been three souls, and I grieve for their families.
But foremost in my mind is that I have been unable to contact Iwasaki-shi or Mizuochi-san, both of whom live in Sanjo. Iwasaki-shi's house is on high ground, luckily, at the very edge of Sanjo, on the side of a mountain. Mizuochi-san, however, is a bit further down. I can only pray that they and their families are safe.
<--!more-->
Last weekend, a storm front came East from China and Korea, hitting the upper part of Honshu, and apparently decided to stop. It's dumped over 1 meter of rain, and still hasn't stopped. More than 300,000 people have been asked to move to higher ground, and Sanjo City is right in the middle of the flooding.
It goes without saying, my heart goes out to all those who are losing their homes and livelihoods in this devastating flood. So far the toll in lives has been three souls, and I grieve for their families.
But foremost in my mind is that I have been unable to contact Iwasaki-shi or Mizuochi-san, both of whom live in Sanjo. Iwasaki-shi's house is on high ground, luckily, at the very edge of Sanjo, on the side of a mountain. Mizuochi-san, however, is a bit further down. I can only pray that they and their families are safe.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Whittling down
I'm getting rid of stuff at a crazy pace...
So to pay for 1.) my recent Tamahagane purchase and 2.) my upcoming trip to the States and the connected shopping spree I'm planning, I need money. I've gotten rid of some things that I thought I never would, but that on retrospect I decided I didn't actually need--like my Especial Para Barbas Duras--in the hopes of breaking even and maybe coming out far ahead enough to cover some hones. Funny thing it, it's not as hard as I had thought. I've pretty much broken even and I have some good stuff coming in, for less money, and yeah...simplify? Maybe?
But at the same time, the whole local hone thing has set off some real stuff with me. Some new leads, some new connections and friendships, and some new ventures. So there might be NON-MATERIAL developments in my shaving life, which will be new; the acquisition brings its pleasures, but also its own problems...financial, spiritual, familial. It's also a good way to teach myself some discipline, and being a little more reflective about what I need and don't need.
So...that's where I'm at. What I'm doing. I'm not cutting out new stuff, not at all. But rethinking what I DO get, and why.
Meaning stones, of course.
So to pay for 1.) my recent Tamahagane purchase and 2.) my upcoming trip to the States and the connected shopping spree I'm planning, I need money. I've gotten rid of some things that I thought I never would, but that on retrospect I decided I didn't actually need--like my Especial Para Barbas Duras--in the hopes of breaking even and maybe coming out far ahead enough to cover some hones. Funny thing it, it's not as hard as I had thought. I've pretty much broken even and I have some good stuff coming in, for less money, and yeah...simplify? Maybe?
But at the same time, the whole local hone thing has set off some real stuff with me. Some new leads, some new connections and friendships, and some new ventures. So there might be NON-MATERIAL developments in my shaving life, which will be new; the acquisition brings its pleasures, but also its own problems...financial, spiritual, familial. It's also a good way to teach myself some discipline, and being a little more reflective about what I need and don't need.
So...that's where I'm at. What I'm doing. I'm not cutting out new stuff, not at all. But rethinking what I DO get, and why.
Meaning stones, of course.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Progress?
Well, I've polished up the ol' Tamahagane...
What do you think?
Just to remind you, here's a before:
And after:
I like it...now to hone it up again!
****************
In other news, I have found something so EXCITING!
I live in Yamaguchi prefecture, in western/southern Honshu, on the Seto Inland sea. I'm not far from Iwakuni City, which has an American air force base and, apparently, a NATURAL HONE MINE! I just found out today...I stumbled on a blog written by a carpenter in Iwakuni, who found the mine and met a miner who worked there, and now has some stones from that mine. There is a full range, and they even have some finishers that rival the famous ones from Kyoto!
I am so so excited about this. I've gotten in touch with the blogger, and hopefully I can arrange to meet the miner as well. And, of course, see if these stones are any good for razors!
AAAAAND, in enlisting my wife's help in the search for stones, she stumbled on a little shop here in Hikari called, get this: Kobayashi Hone-stone workshop (小林砥石工房）. What a day! What fun! Why don't I have any money!?
Oh yeah, I bought the coolest razor in history, that's why.
Hmmmm....
Anybody want to buy a Filarmonica?
What do you think?
Just to remind you, here's a before:
And after:
I like it...now to hone it up again!
****************
In other news, I have found something so EXCITING!
I live in Yamaguchi prefecture, in western/southern Honshu, on the Seto Inland sea. I'm not far from Iwakuni City, which has an American air force base and, apparently, a NATURAL HONE MINE! I just found out today...I stumbled on a blog written by a carpenter in Iwakuni, who found the mine and met a miner who worked there, and now has some stones from that mine. There is a full range, and they even have some finishers that rival the famous ones from Kyoto!
I am so so excited about this. I've gotten in touch with the blogger, and hopefully I can arrange to meet the miner as well. And, of course, see if these stones are any good for razors!
AAAAAND, in enlisting my wife's help in the search for stones, she stumbled on a little shop here in Hikari called, get this: Kobayashi Hone-stone workshop (小林砥石工房）. What a day! What fun! Why don't I have any money!?
Oh yeah, I bought the coolest razor in history, that's why.
Hmmmm....
Anybody want to buy a Filarmonica?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Holy Grail
I have a story for you. Relax, it's a long one, but the payoff is worth it.
(Much of the following is adapted from my reading of this site: Skilful Blacksmith S. Iwasaki World. I have done my best to present it accurately, but my Japanese is flawed, so there may be mistakes...I'm confident in the gist, though.)
Let's go back. Back to Japan, after the Meiji restoration, when the nation was recreating itself, from its medieval, feudal period into a more modern, industrialized state...with the help, oddly enough, of Germany. The post-Meiji restoration government took Germany as a role model, a relationship which influenced its constitution, it's military structure, and its medicine...even today, a great number of medical words used in Japan are German (Magenkrebs for stomach cancer, and so on). Even the ubiquitous Japanese school uniforms are modeled on German military uniforms of the late 19th century. Even in popular entertainment, German words make far more of an appearance than any langauge besides English. Germany in many ways had MORE of an impact on pre-WWII Japan than the US has had post...and one of the ways, the one that concerns us here, is steel.
German Solingen steel has had a fantastic reputation for centuries. After Japan entered the world stage, after years of isolationism, foreign products (GERMAN products) flooded into Japan, and one of these was the cheap, high-quality Solingen steel. Germany, as a modern industrial state, could produce goods at a higher rate, and for lower cost, than the traditional Japanese hand-made economy. People turned to these newer, cheaper goods to the detriment of a great many craftsmen; village blacksmiths, especially, were losing out to the lower prices but comparable quality of Solingen steel. Many of them lost their livelihoods to the foreign products. One of those blacksmiths was named Iwasaki.
Kousuke Iwasaki (b1903-d1967) remembered his father's forge, and he remembered how he simply could not compete with German engineering. In his youth, he decided that he would find a way to make Japan competitive with Solingen steel, and to do so he decided to combine what he say as Japan's strength--it's traditional steel making, and it's legendary swords--and bring it into the modern age. He went to university to study metallurgy, and apprenticed himself to blacksmiths, to learn both the theory and the practice of steel making. He researched and quantified the steels that Japanese smiths used--White paper steel, Blue steel, and Ball steel.
Tamahagane, "ball" or "jewel" steel, was the steel of the Katana, the ultimate expression of the Japanese steelmaker's craft. It took hours, days, of backbreaking work and produced superlative edged tools. Kousuke Iwasaki researched this steel, and quantified it, making a modern material with traditional roots--he did not save it, but he made it something that was no longer a semi-mythical material, but a manufacturable steel. Japan still manufactures Tamahagane based on Iwasaki's guiding principles, although in very limited amounts, and those are mostly reserved for the licensed sword-smiths.
Eventually he revived his father's forge in the city of Sanjo, in Niigata prefecture. Together with his son, he started making and using tamahagane, forging it into edged tools...like razors.
Kousuke's son, Shigeyoshi (b. 1933), came to share his father's love of Japanese steel and tradition. He continued making razors after his father's death, and in time they have come to be regarded as the best in Japan. They combine exceptional craft and striking design, and have fans both in Japan and abroad.
In 1998, Shigeyoshi was invited to Germany, to an international craft exhibition in Muenchen, to demonstrate Traditional Japanese smithing techniques. There, he was award a Gold Prize for excellence, and he said of the event, that he felt he had finally brought his father's ambition to fruition...he had beat the Germans. ;)
So...why have I told you all this? So that maybe, you could understand a little of the background behind this thing right here:
That is a western style folding straight, made by Shigeyoshi Iwasaki about twnety years ago. Not only that, but it is made of Tamahagane...the steel that was so important to the Iwasaki name.
This is a rare razor. Western style Iwasaki Straights are rare enough. I have the good luck to have been given one, and it is one of only two or three I've seen, even in pictures. I'm sure that there are many more, but people don't seem to advertise the fact, and they certainly don't sell them.
Add to that rarity the fact that this particular razor is made of rare steel, usually reserved for swordsmiths, and this is one of a very few number of razors of its type...and it is now in my possession.
This is the one razor I have dreamed of having since I first heard of it. I know that, in and of itself, the razor is no better at its job than any other well made blade--there are a great number of fantastic shaving razors out there. And of course, Tamahagane is not magical, it is not brought forth from the heavens by gods...But the history, the story...I find it an exceptionally moving one, and I am so proud to have this razor.
It was purchased from a 3rd generation barber, who is closing up shop and has no one to take over for him. He told me he is keeping two razors for himself--one other Tamahagane made by Shigeyoshi Iwasaki, and one made by Kousuke Iwasaki.
He told me that he is glad that the razor will be used, rather than just looked at, and that if I hone it well, it will shave better than any other he's seen. He's used it for 20 years, so I trust he knows what he's talking about. I will soon see...
I am humbled, and exalted, by my good fortune.
Thank you for reading.
(Much of the following is adapted from my reading of this site: Skilful Blacksmith S. Iwasaki World. I have done my best to present it accurately, but my Japanese is flawed, so there may be mistakes...I'm confident in the gist, though.)
Let's go back. Back to Japan, after the Meiji restoration, when the nation was recreating itself, from its medieval, feudal period into a more modern, industrialized state...with the help, oddly enough, of Germany. The post-Meiji restoration government took Germany as a role model, a relationship which influenced its constitution, it's military structure, and its medicine...even today, a great number of medical words used in Japan are German (Magenkrebs for stomach cancer, and so on). Even the ubiquitous Japanese school uniforms are modeled on German military uniforms of the late 19th century. Even in popular entertainment, German words make far more of an appearance than any langauge besides English. Germany in many ways had MORE of an impact on pre-WWII Japan than the US has had post...and one of the ways, the one that concerns us here, is steel.
German Solingen steel has had a fantastic reputation for centuries. After Japan entered the world stage, after years of isolationism, foreign products (GERMAN products) flooded into Japan, and one of these was the cheap, high-quality Solingen steel. Germany, as a modern industrial state, could produce goods at a higher rate, and for lower cost, than the traditional Japanese hand-made economy. People turned to these newer, cheaper goods to the detriment of a great many craftsmen; village blacksmiths, especially, were losing out to the lower prices but comparable quality of Solingen steel. Many of them lost their livelihoods to the foreign products. One of those blacksmiths was named Iwasaki.
Kousuke Iwasaki (b1903-d1967) remembered his father's forge, and he remembered how he simply could not compete with German engineering. In his youth, he decided that he would find a way to make Japan competitive with Solingen steel, and to do so he decided to combine what he say as Japan's strength--it's traditional steel making, and it's legendary swords--and bring it into the modern age. He went to university to study metallurgy, and apprenticed himself to blacksmiths, to learn both the theory and the practice of steel making. He researched and quantified the steels that Japanese smiths used--White paper steel, Blue steel, and Ball steel.
Tamahagane, "ball" or "jewel" steel, was the steel of the Katana, the ultimate expression of the Japanese steelmaker's craft. It took hours, days, of backbreaking work and produced superlative edged tools. Kousuke Iwasaki researched this steel, and quantified it, making a modern material with traditional roots--he did not save it, but he made it something that was no longer a semi-mythical material, but a manufacturable steel. Japan still manufactures Tamahagane based on Iwasaki's guiding principles, although in very limited amounts, and those are mostly reserved for the licensed sword-smiths.
Eventually he revived his father's forge in the city of Sanjo, in Niigata prefecture. Together with his son, he started making and using tamahagane, forging it into edged tools...like razors.
Kousuke's son, Shigeyoshi (b. 1933), came to share his father's love of Japanese steel and tradition. He continued making razors after his father's death, and in time they have come to be regarded as the best in Japan. They combine exceptional craft and striking design, and have fans both in Japan and abroad.
In 1998, Shigeyoshi was invited to Germany, to an international craft exhibition in Muenchen, to demonstrate Traditional Japanese smithing techniques. There, he was award a Gold Prize for excellence, and he said of the event, that he felt he had finally brought his father's ambition to fruition...he had beat the Germans. ;)
So...why have I told you all this? So that maybe, you could understand a little of the background behind this thing right here:
That is a western style folding straight, made by Shigeyoshi Iwasaki about twnety years ago. Not only that, but it is made of Tamahagane...the steel that was so important to the Iwasaki name.
This is a rare razor. Western style Iwasaki Straights are rare enough. I have the good luck to have been given one, and it is one of only two or three I've seen, even in pictures. I'm sure that there are many more, but people don't seem to advertise the fact, and they certainly don't sell them.
Add to that rarity the fact that this particular razor is made of rare steel, usually reserved for swordsmiths, and this is one of a very few number of razors of its type...and it is now in my possession.
This is the one razor I have dreamed of having since I first heard of it. I know that, in and of itself, the razor is no better at its job than any other well made blade--there are a great number of fantastic shaving razors out there. And of course, Tamahagane is not magical, it is not brought forth from the heavens by gods...But the history, the story...I find it an exceptionally moving one, and I am so proud to have this razor.
It was purchased from a 3rd generation barber, who is closing up shop and has no one to take over for him. He told me he is keeping two razors for himself--one other Tamahagane made by Shigeyoshi Iwasaki, and one made by Kousuke Iwasaki.
He told me that he is glad that the razor will be used, rather than just looked at, and that if I hone it well, it will shave better than any other he's seen. He's used it for 20 years, so I trust he knows what he's talking about. I will soon see...
I am humbled, and exalted, by my good fortune.
Thank you for reading.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Oh MAAAAN!
I love custom stuff. I LOVE having stuff that is mine, and only mine. And I've got a great one on the way.
So a while back, a guy going by the nick of "Alchemist" on SRP posted this:
He called it a "variable tension strop", aka a loom strop. I LOVE the idea of loom strops, where the leather is stretched on a fram that you can hold in your hand, no need to hang anywhere, but the one I ended up with is tiny, about 8 inches long. Looking at that beautiful monster of Alchemist's, I got all hot and bothered. So I emailed him.
And now, on its way to me, is this:
That is a custom made loom strop with a custom carrying case and a hand-forged "adjustment key" (aka wrench). How FREAKING SWEET is that? PRETTY SWEET, I think.
I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on it...
Alchemist is a great guy to deal with, by the way. He was cooperative and helpful and extremely generous--he threw in the case for free, without me even asking. He also does custom blades, apparently, so that might ALSO be coming soon. So yeah, this is just making my little day.
Christmas is coming, baby!!!
So a while back, a guy going by the nick of "Alchemist" on SRP posted this:
He called it a "variable tension strop", aka a loom strop. I LOVE the idea of loom strops, where the leather is stretched on a fram that you can hold in your hand, no need to hang anywhere, but the one I ended up with is tiny, about 8 inches long. Looking at that beautiful monster of Alchemist's, I got all hot and bothered. So I emailed him.
And now, on its way to me, is this:
That is a custom made loom strop with a custom carrying case and a hand-forged "adjustment key" (aka wrench). How FREAKING SWEET is that? PRETTY SWEET, I think.
I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on it...
Alchemist is a great guy to deal with, by the way. He was cooperative and helpful and extremely generous--he threw in the case for free, without me even asking. He also does custom blades, apparently, so that might ALSO be coming soon. So yeah, this is just making my little day.
Christmas is coming, baby!!!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Fitjar--The Norwegian Treat!
So I've tried a few samples of these increasingly popular Norwegian artisan creams, and yep...good stuff!
A good friend in Tokyo sent me samples of pretty much the full range of creams from Fitjar Soaps (the Norwegian name is "Fitjar Såpekokeri", which is pretty cool...). These are handmade in what I can only call a little slice of Paradise...
The owner/maker, Jorunn, has a blog with pictures of her home in Torsdagsøy, in the Fitjar islands on the western coast of Norway, somewhere very beautiful, and trhe pictures are like looking at a fairytale. Seriously, check out the blog. I'm a big fan.
Anyway, the creams run across a good range of scents, with names that tickle the imagination, names like Miklagard, Folgefonn, Fjellheim (and of course, more direct names like Citrus Kick and Bee my Honey), and they are all of a similar thick, heavy texture.
I have to be honest--I have samples of almost all of them, but the scents elude me in all but the subtlest notes. Meaning, in plain language, they all smell basically the same: a clean, soapy cream scent. There are very light touches of other scents, especially the rose in East Indies, and the tea-herbal scent of Calmomilla. This might be a result of the Essential Oils used in the creams, as I seem to remember reading that they often lose scent faster than fragrance oils. The samples all came form a user, who had had these for a month or two at least, so you might get a stronger scent in a fresher batch. The scents, though, really are secondary here/
The shave from these creams is unique. They whip quickly into a thick, deep cream that actually was too heavy for me at first. I found that I really had to give these creams several tries tweaking the water ratios to get the optimal texture--not too heavy, not too thin. But once I got it worked out, they really are special. They give phenomenal cushion without dragging too much on the blade and the skin care/moisturizing are top notch. They just feel good to use...but I MUST emphasize, be careful with the water ratio, because it is easy to make them too think and for me, that actually led to some irritation. I added a lot of water before I found the sweet spot, but it really is worth it.
The ingredients: Aqua, stearic acid, cocus nucifera, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, olea europea (olive) oil, sodium hydroxide, essential oils.
I would recommend them, but I would also recommend samples first--I get the feeling that some people might have trouble with the textures, so give yourself some time to get used to them first.
But they are good stuff, without any doubt.
Enjoy!
A good friend in Tokyo sent me samples of pretty much the full range of creams from Fitjar Soaps (the Norwegian name is "Fitjar Såpekokeri", which is pretty cool...). These are handmade in what I can only call a little slice of Paradise...
The owner/maker, Jorunn, has a blog with pictures of her home in Torsdagsøy, in the Fitjar islands on the western coast of Norway, somewhere very beautiful, and trhe pictures are like looking at a fairytale. Seriously, check out the blog. I'm a big fan.
Anyway, the creams run across a good range of scents, with names that tickle the imagination, names like Miklagard, Folgefonn, Fjellheim (and of course, more direct names like Citrus Kick and Bee my Honey), and they are all of a similar thick, heavy texture.
I have to be honest--I have samples of almost all of them, but the scents elude me in all but the subtlest notes. Meaning, in plain language, they all smell basically the same: a clean, soapy cream scent. There are very light touches of other scents, especially the rose in East Indies, and the tea-herbal scent of Calmomilla. This might be a result of the Essential Oils used in the creams, as I seem to remember reading that they often lose scent faster than fragrance oils. The samples all came form a user, who had had these for a month or two at least, so you might get a stronger scent in a fresher batch. The scents, though, really are secondary here/
The shave from these creams is unique. They whip quickly into a thick, deep cream that actually was too heavy for me at first. I found that I really had to give these creams several tries tweaking the water ratios to get the optimal texture--not too heavy, not too thin. But once I got it worked out, they really are special. They give phenomenal cushion without dragging too much on the blade and the skin care/moisturizing are top notch. They just feel good to use...but I MUST emphasize, be careful with the water ratio, because it is easy to make them too think and for me, that actually led to some irritation. I added a lot of water before I found the sweet spot, but it really is worth it.
The ingredients: Aqua, stearic acid, cocus nucifera, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, olea europea (olive) oil, sodium hydroxide, essential oils.
I would recommend them, but I would also recommend samples first--I get the feeling that some people might have trouble with the textures, so give yourself some time to get used to them first.
But they are good stuff, without any doubt.
Enjoy!
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