I'm on vacation...I like vacations.
I think I'm just going to ramble today, no need to be all focused. I just shaved with my Iwasaki Tamahagane and I'm feeling slightly euphoric.
It took a while to hone up after the recent polishing work (that Tamahagane must be hard stuff...) but the edge was, well...superb. I honed it out on my larger stone, the big yellow Nashiji Nakayama. It was smooth as butter, and sharp as a...a...really sharp thing. It's a satisfying feeling, that; I can't imagine being a straight shaver and not honing. It's such an intimate part of the process, and I really think you can't understand a razor fully until you've brought it to shave-readiness yourself. It makes the razor YOURS. The edge (the true test of the razor) from anyone else may shave you, but it's missing the point I think.
Maybe that's just me.
******
Speaking of shaving, I visited the ol' barbershop yesterday, just for a haircut. No honing, no lessons, just a plain old haircut and a jaw, the way it ought to be at the barbershop. It was nice, the barber was in fine spirits and his very pregnant daughter dropped by...a lovely young lady. It was a good day, a good haircut, and at the end, of course talk turned to razors. The last time I saw him, my wife and I gave him a Kanayama strop as a sign of our gratitude for all he's done for me. Yesterday, he showed me how he had treated the linen with soap (I honestly couldn't tell) and showed me his stropping technique.
He got out a razor and sent it racing along the linen, using a bit more pressure than I would (it was really ZINGing) but, of course, one does develop one's technique after 40 odd years. But as he finished, the razor caught my eye...something about the shape was familiar. I asked to hold it, and of course...or course.
An Iwasaki Tamahagane straight.
I should have known that he would only have the best. It made me smile, all my excitement over it, and I could have had a shave from one any time I wanted.
******
Tomorrow is my last day in Japan for a while--we leave for America on Tuesday (packing an IM stick and some La Toja senstive, my Wapi, L'Ultima Setola and loom Strop for the trip). Two weeks back home with my mom, eating and drinking and resting up...of course hitting antique shops and fleamarkets is on my list, so maybe I'll have some new toys when I get back (fingers crossed for hones!).
Also, if anyone has any tips on shopping for good stuff in the Southeast Kansas/Southwest Missouri/Northeast Oklahoma area, let me know!
Take care, and happy shaving.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
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!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Ugh.
Been a heck of a week.
Stress comes in all shapes and sizes, and I think I got a fairly complete set this week--good and bad, big and small. And so the ol' shaving thing got set on the sidelines for a bit. So much so, in fact, that I found myself TOO TIRED to shave at night (like I ususally do), and then rushed around in the morning and had to go for a couple of one pass, no touchup, BRUSHLESS shaves. Of course, those were one-pass no touchup brushless shaves with a Filarmonica "Especial Para Barbas Duras" and T&H 1805 cream, so they actually went pretty well.
However, the shattering of my routine only added to my stress, and interfered with me being able to cope with what I was already having trouble getting past, and a nasty vicious cycle began.
But last night, I was able to take some time and get back into the groove--back to the hones, back to the nice, leisurely night shave, and wow...you know, it never ceases to amaze me how truly therapeutic this stuff has become to me, and how dependent I have grown upon those few minutes of just focusing on me and the blade. I felt like a new man last night, and today was a whole lot better than yesterday.
When I need to recenter and get my head clean of the nasties, nothing works like a session on the hones, and a good old fashioned shave.
So, sorry I neglected my poor blog here, and I promise I'll get back on the job (though not for too long--Next month is back to my mom's house, and I don't expect a lot of blogging to be done...but you never know.)
Thanks for listening.
Jim
Stress comes in all shapes and sizes, and I think I got a fairly complete set this week--good and bad, big and small. And so the ol' shaving thing got set on the sidelines for a bit. So much so, in fact, that I found myself TOO TIRED to shave at night (like I ususally do), and then rushed around in the morning and had to go for a couple of one pass, no touchup, BRUSHLESS shaves. Of course, those were one-pass no touchup brushless shaves with a Filarmonica "Especial Para Barbas Duras" and T&H 1805 cream, so they actually went pretty well.
However, the shattering of my routine only added to my stress, and interfered with me being able to cope with what I was already having trouble getting past, and a nasty vicious cycle began.
But last night, I was able to take some time and get back into the groove--back to the hones, back to the nice, leisurely night shave, and wow...you know, it never ceases to amaze me how truly therapeutic this stuff has become to me, and how dependent I have grown upon those few minutes of just focusing on me and the blade. I felt like a new man last night, and today was a whole lot better than yesterday.
When I need to recenter and get my head clean of the nasties, nothing works like a session on the hones, and a good old fashioned shave.
So, sorry I neglected my poor blog here, and I promise I'll get back on the job (though not for too long--Next month is back to my mom's house, and I don't expect a lot of blogging to be done...but you never know.)
Thanks for listening.
Jim
Friday, October 30, 2009
At The Barbershop
Kawaguchi-sensei is fast becoming a part of my life...
I went in for a hair cut last weekend, early on Saturday. I took two razors for his examination--one that I was confident in, one that I was sure he would fail.
When I got the shop, he didn't say anything, just waved me in and pointed at the counter. "Show me!" he said, when I set my dopp down.
I opened up and pulled out the Genco (confident) and Torrey (not quite there yet) that I had been honing for the past few days with nothing but heavy slurry on the Nakayamas. I would hone until the slurry broke down into a thick, black paste. The Genco did not need as much as the Torrey--after two rounds (about 20 minutes each) the Genco had a nice, even haze along the entire cutting length of the razor.
The Torrey had needed much more--it was not only an uneven, crooked bevel, but it had a nice big chip in it; at least 1mm deep, and 3mm long. I have no idea how it happened, but it did. And I honed it out on the Nakayama with slurry. Nothing else. Just slurry, and lots and lots of time.
I gave it. The chip disappeared. The bevel evened out, bit by bit...but not enough, and I knew that.
But I took them to Kawaguchi-sensei, and he told me what I thought I had figured out. The Genco was good, the Torrey was not (that brings my total of approved razors up to 2. The Torrey got a .7...so 2.7, apparently.) . I was happy--I know what he's looking for, I'm developing an eye for it. And of course the shaves told...the Genco has an exceptional edge, smooth and keen, while the Torrey is just not there yet. There is an unfinished quality. I need to make sure that the entire edge is even and knows the hone.
And, in the words of Kawaguchi-sensei, I have to hone happy. "Hone happy, and the edge will cut happy."
He really is right, too. I've been honing happy, and it shows...
I wish I could go to the barber every day.
I went in for a hair cut last weekend, early on Saturday. I took two razors for his examination--one that I was confident in, one that I was sure he would fail.
When I got the shop, he didn't say anything, just waved me in and pointed at the counter. "Show me!" he said, when I set my dopp down.
I opened up and pulled out the Genco (confident) and Torrey (not quite there yet) that I had been honing for the past few days with nothing but heavy slurry on the Nakayamas. I would hone until the slurry broke down into a thick, black paste. The Genco did not need as much as the Torrey--after two rounds (about 20 minutes each) the Genco had a nice, even haze along the entire cutting length of the razor.
The Torrey had needed much more--it was not only an uneven, crooked bevel, but it had a nice big chip in it; at least 1mm deep, and 3mm long. I have no idea how it happened, but it did. And I honed it out on the Nakayama with slurry. Nothing else. Just slurry, and lots and lots of time.
I gave it. The chip disappeared. The bevel evened out, bit by bit...but not enough, and I knew that.
But I took them to Kawaguchi-sensei, and he told me what I thought I had figured out. The Genco was good, the Torrey was not (that brings my total of approved razors up to 2. The Torrey got a .7...so 2.7, apparently.) . I was happy--I know what he's looking for, I'm developing an eye for it. And of course the shaves told...the Genco has an exceptional edge, smooth and keen, while the Torrey is just not there yet. There is an unfinished quality. I need to make sure that the entire edge is even and knows the hone.
And, in the words of Kawaguchi-sensei, I have to hone happy. "Hone happy, and the edge will cut happy."
He really is right, too. I've been honing happy, and it shows...
I wish I could go to the barber every day.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Reviews you can USe: Kanebo "Valcan" Skin Milk
I love this stuff.
Perhaps I shouldn't have given away the ending like that, but seriously. It's fantastic.
I was in the drugstore with Ms. Moneybags and she said, "Why don't you get something?" An excellent question, I thought, so I opened this one up, took a whiff, and fell in love. My wife did, too.
This is, like the other Japanese aftershaves I've reviewed, pure classic. It REEKS of dignified men in fine, but perhaps a bit out of fashion, suits...men who wear hats, and judge a man's character by his handshake.
Kanebo says this scent is a "spicy fougere", and the fine fellows at Basenotes say:
Now, as for how it feels, well, this is another one of those "milks" that is much more of a "cream". It's thick, a wee bit on the heavy side for me, but on the good side that means a little goes a long way. I find it incredibly soothing and smoothing after a shave, and the moisturizing is top notch...again, perfect for the drier, colder months.
On application, it CAN be a bit tacky for a good 30 seconds, but it fades quickly into a nice, gentle soothing feeling. And that warm scent fills your head with comfort...This is, in fact, a scent I am definitely going to buy in the EdT.
The ingredients are pretty straightforward:
Water, stearic acid, Mineral Oil, Miristic acid octyldodecil, Cetanol, Polysorbate 60, lauric acid sorbitane, Alantoin, triethanolamine,Isopropyl methylphenol, Paraben, Parfum, yellow #5, yellow #203, blue #1.
Whatever that means.
I'm keeping it.
Perhaps I shouldn't have given away the ending like that, but seriously. It's fantastic.
I was in the drugstore with Ms. Moneybags and she said, "Why don't you get something?" An excellent question, I thought, so I opened this one up, took a whiff, and fell in love. My wife did, too.
This is, like the other Japanese aftershaves I've reviewed, pure classic. It REEKS of dignified men in fine, but perhaps a bit out of fashion, suits...men who wear hats, and judge a man's character by his handshake.
Kanebo says this scent is a "spicy fougere", and the fine fellows at Basenotes say:
- Top Notes
- * Green Notes, Lemon, Lime, Bergamot, Aldehyde .
- Middle Notes
- * Jasmin, Cedarwood, Sandal, Carnation, Rose, Basil .
- Base Notes
- * Musk, Moss, Tonka, Amber.
Now, as for how it feels, well, this is another one of those "milks" that is much more of a "cream". It's thick, a wee bit on the heavy side for me, but on the good side that means a little goes a long way. I find it incredibly soothing and smoothing after a shave, and the moisturizing is top notch...again, perfect for the drier, colder months.
On application, it CAN be a bit tacky for a good 30 seconds, but it fades quickly into a nice, gentle soothing feeling. And that warm scent fills your head with comfort...This is, in fact, a scent I am definitely going to buy in the EdT.
The ingredients are pretty straightforward:
Water, stearic acid, Mineral Oil, Miristic acid octyldodecil, Cetanol, Polysorbate 60, lauric acid sorbitane, Alantoin, triethanolamine,Isopropyl methylphenol, Paraben, Parfum, yellow #5, yellow #203, blue #1.
Whatever that means.
I'm keeping it.
Friday, October 23, 2009
You Can't Unsee It!
And here you go...my ugly mug for all to see.
So I finally caved to my millions of rabid fans, begging for a glimpse of my chiseled features (can you chisel marshmallows?), and here it is: my first shave video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBDRP6tSOWo
That's me shaving with a Japanese razor, or kamisori. I'm not sure who the maker is, it is one of those I got from my barber a while back. It was made in 1968 (says so right on it!) and was a size two--but years of use have worn it down a bit.
I do try to keep the flat side, the omote, against my face as I was taught to do my my barber. This leads to some unusual grips and angles, but it works, and like I said: it's about discipline. You know, people tell me that it's entirely possible to shave with both sides, and it's not that I don't believe them, I just have to ask...Why? Why would you bother to pay all that money, and get this razor with centuries of tradition, and then totally ignore that tradition? What's the point? I guess I just don't get it...
Well, anyway, it's your face and your razor...do what works for you!
The lather is Penhaligon's English Fern, worked up with a Semogue 1305 boar brush (thanks Bruno!).
The shave went well, it was BBS and comfortable...there has been some question of my stroke--that little, fast stroke. I'm not exactly sure why I do it, but it somehow feels more controlled, more precise. It works for me...
Well, I hope you recover from the shock soon...
So I finally caved to my millions of rabid fans, begging for a glimpse of my chiseled features (can you chisel marshmallows?), and here it is: my first shave video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBDRP6tSOWo
That's me shaving with a Japanese razor, or kamisori. I'm not sure who the maker is, it is one of those I got from my barber a while back. It was made in 1968 (says so right on it!) and was a size two--but years of use have worn it down a bit.
I do try to keep the flat side, the omote, against my face as I was taught to do my my barber. This leads to some unusual grips and angles, but it works, and like I said: it's about discipline. You know, people tell me that it's entirely possible to shave with both sides, and it's not that I don't believe them, I just have to ask...Why? Why would you bother to pay all that money, and get this razor with centuries of tradition, and then totally ignore that tradition? What's the point? I guess I just don't get it...
Well, anyway, it's your face and your razor...do what works for you!
The lather is Penhaligon's English Fern, worked up with a Semogue 1305 boar brush (thanks Bruno!).
The shave went well, it was BBS and comfortable...there has been some question of my stroke--that little, fast stroke. I'm not exactly sure why I do it, but it somehow feels more controlled, more precise. It works for me...
Well, I hope you recover from the shock soon...
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Handle Wrapping...
I'm wrapping a Japanese straight razor.
OK, here's the story. This is an Iwasaki, one that I've sold to a customer. He requested that I get the handle wrapped in rattan, and rather than depend on sending them of to get it done, I decided to do it myself.
However, having no idea how to go about such a thing, I asked a couple of people, and one of them, a knife-shop owner and kamisori user, recommended that I not use rattan--it absorbs water and dries slowly, so it leads to rust problems on the handle. He said that some kind of fabric is preferable. I found this waxed cotton line at a craft store, and thought I'd give it a try.
This is my first try, but I like it. The pattern is simple, but pleasing, and adds a nice texture to the grip I think. I'll work on making it more symmetrical and even, but I think this is a keeper.
What do you think? Any suggestions?
Here are pictures.
When I get a bit more adept at it, I'll post pics of the whole process...It's simple, but long.
And the finished product!
OK, here's the story. This is an Iwasaki, one that I've sold to a customer. He requested that I get the handle wrapped in rattan, and rather than depend on sending them of to get it done, I decided to do it myself.
However, having no idea how to go about such a thing, I asked a couple of people, and one of them, a knife-shop owner and kamisori user, recommended that I not use rattan--it absorbs water and dries slowly, so it leads to rust problems on the handle. He said that some kind of fabric is preferable. I found this waxed cotton line at a craft store, and thought I'd give it a try.
This is my first try, but I like it. The pattern is simple, but pleasing, and adds a nice texture to the grip I think. I'll work on making it more symmetrical and even, but I think this is a keeper.
What do you think? Any suggestions?
Here are pictures.
When I get a bit more adept at it, I'll post pics of the whole process...It's simple, but long.
And the finished product!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Duende!
So my shaves have taken a decidedly Latin turn with a lovely little package from Portugal...
I did some wheeling and dealing with some fine gentlemen of the Iberian Peninsula, and ended up with some totally sweet swag...An NOS Filarmonica Para Barbas Duras, a Semogue 1305 Boar Brush, some 444 aftershave and an alum block, and even some real Portuguese wine!!!
The razor had never been opened--it was still sealed in a plastic bag inside its lovely gold box--for decades! Of course, I got it to use, so open it up I did...
The scales are "just" plastic, but the black is stylish, and the blade is just beautiful...etched back and that sweet black rubber grip...and sooooo big.
The cool thing is, even after so many years of sitting in a box in some guy's basement or something, the edge was still shave ready! I stropped it up and shaved last night, no hones needed...and the shave!!!
I took the Fillie for a tryout with a whole range of Portuguese/Spanish products...La Toja cream, Semogue Brush, 444 aftershave...
And how did it go? Freaking awesome.
The blade is a killer. One shave down, and it's already my favorite razor. Big, beefy, sharp and smooth...and the style is pure class. This one is mine for good...
The brush was darned good, too. For the first use, it was extremely effective--the first lather from my Omegas was not nearly as good. And somehow, the bristles on the Semogue seem smoother for a first try. It was a really nice brush, and the handle shape is excellent. We might have a new contender for best boar brush...Sorry, Betty!
The La Toja (sensitive version) was perfect, as usual. I really love this cream...just great performance, lovely scent and a great after-shaving feeling.
The 444 aftershave gel..well, unfortunately, it's a bit too heavily mentholated. I tried a test run at the back of my jaw, and it started burning almost immediately...I had to wash it right off. It's a damned shame, but oh well...C'est la Vie!
I had a great shave, though, thanks to some awesome products from the land of bull fights and Flamenco...Gracias! Obrigado! And Arigatou!
I did some wheeling and dealing with some fine gentlemen of the Iberian Peninsula, and ended up with some totally sweet swag...An NOS Filarmonica Para Barbas Duras, a Semogue 1305 Boar Brush, some 444 aftershave and an alum block, and even some real Portuguese wine!!!
The razor had never been opened--it was still sealed in a plastic bag inside its lovely gold box--for decades! Of course, I got it to use, so open it up I did...
The scales are "just" plastic, but the black is stylish, and the blade is just beautiful...etched back and that sweet black rubber grip...and sooooo big.
The cool thing is, even after so many years of sitting in a box in some guy's basement or something, the edge was still shave ready! I stropped it up and shaved last night, no hones needed...and the shave!!!
I took the Fillie for a tryout with a whole range of Portuguese/Spanish products...La Toja cream, Semogue Brush, 444 aftershave...
And how did it go? Freaking awesome.
The blade is a killer. One shave down, and it's already my favorite razor. Big, beefy, sharp and smooth...and the style is pure class. This one is mine for good...
The brush was darned good, too. For the first use, it was extremely effective--the first lather from my Omegas was not nearly as good. And somehow, the bristles on the Semogue seem smoother for a first try. It was a really nice brush, and the handle shape is excellent. We might have a new contender for best boar brush...Sorry, Betty!
The La Toja (sensitive version) was perfect, as usual. I really love this cream...just great performance, lovely scent and a great after-shaving feeling.
The 444 aftershave gel..well, unfortunately, it's a bit too heavily mentholated. I tried a test run at the back of my jaw, and it started burning almost immediately...I had to wash it right off. It's a damned shame, but oh well...C'est la Vie!
I had a great shave, though, thanks to some awesome products from the land of bull fights and Flamenco...Gracias! Obrigado! And Arigatou!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
I Should Have Got Flowers!!!
Holy crap, I missed our 1st anniversary!
I can't believe it...my first year as a wetshaver is behind me. It's been a weird road--I've gone through a lot of products, and a lot of ups and downs, and the tone of this whole blog has changed a lot in just a year...but I'm still at it! Which is odd for me, as I usually let things go pretty quickly.
I still have reviews I want to write, and I still have lots to learn about honing, and razors and history (and pretty much everything under the sun) and I plan to share that with you. So the blog won't be dying, and I hope it won't be boring.
But right now, I suppose it's time to get a little reflective...think about what I'm doing, and what I've done, and why...
When I first started this whole thing, this is what I said:
And you know what? I was right. I do look forward to shaving, almost always...I've had my bad days, of course. And it is a truly enjoyable ritual, and it has done me good. It's good for the world (less waste) it's good for your pocketbook (if you're not a crazy collector like me) and it's good for your soul...you look yourself in the face and focus on exactly what you are doing--if you don't, you will get hurt. The long and the short of it is, I made a damned good decision when I picked up that brush and that first awful, awful cream.
So a year later, and there's no sign of me getting tired of the daily shave...in fact, there's every sign of me getting even MORE involved--I'm signing up for more forums, and starting Shaving goods shops, and learning more and more about what I'm doing.
Let's hope it continues to go well!
So...how was your year?
I can't believe it...my first year as a wetshaver is behind me. It's been a weird road--I've gone through a lot of products, and a lot of ups and downs, and the tone of this whole blog has changed a lot in just a year...but I'm still at it! Which is odd for me, as I usually let things go pretty quickly.
I still have reviews I want to write, and I still have lots to learn about honing, and razors and history (and pretty much everything under the sun) and I plan to share that with you. So the blog won't be dying, and I hope it won't be boring.
But right now, I suppose it's time to get a little reflective...think about what I'm doing, and what I've done, and why...
When I first started this whole thing, this is what I said:
We don't have many coming-of-age rituals anymore. There's nothing that really happens and lets people know "You are an adult" now. And I feel I missed out on something. My dad never taught me to shave (my dad never really taught me shit) and looking at what shaving really is, I feel I missed out. I always treated it as a "get it done and try not to hurt yourself too much" kind of thing, which is why I had a beard for nearly ten years. Now I know, with some practice and the right tutelage, shaving can actually be GOOD for you.
It's not just the fact that traditional creams and shaving soaps are easier on your skin, better smelling, and much more economical than all the plastic, science lab stuff that people use to shave these days. It's the fact that, with a little skill and patience, the heretofore lamentable task of daily shaving can become an enjoyable ritual, a time to relax and forget your cares, and take some time for yourself. I look forward to the time when shaving becomes something I actually anticipate with pleasure, instead of dread. And someday, if I have a son, I look forward to the day when I can hand him a razor and say, "Ok boy, this is how you do it."
And you know what? I was right. I do look forward to shaving, almost always...I've had my bad days, of course. And it is a truly enjoyable ritual, and it has done me good. It's good for the world (less waste) it's good for your pocketbook (if you're not a crazy collector like me) and it's good for your soul...you look yourself in the face and focus on exactly what you are doing--if you don't, you will get hurt. The long and the short of it is, I made a damned good decision when I picked up that brush and that first awful, awful cream.
So a year later, and there's no sign of me getting tired of the daily shave...in fact, there's every sign of me getting even MORE involved--I'm signing up for more forums, and starting Shaving goods shops, and learning more and more about what I'm doing.
Let's hope it continues to go well!
So...how was your year?
Thursday, October 8, 2009
I Got My Head Checked....
Last week got me really down. Bad honing, bad shaves, and bad feelings all around. But a little perspective, and things are back on track...
I don't know about you, but wetshaving, and especially for me straight shaving, is something I picked up for the, what...the ritual? The connection to past and present, and the centering of it? The time, the focus on simple action, is what makes it important for me--being in the moment. The honing is the same--on the rocks with my razors, with the head where it's supposed to be.
But last week...it wasn't there. I wasn't in the place I was supposed to be. I was failing and getting frustrated, and my frustration led to more failure．I turned to Straight Razor Place to ask about it, and I got hugely varying advice, and more and more frustration. I very nearly gave up entirely.
But I didn't. I went to visit Kawaguchi-sensei, and got a solid grounding. Just hone. Just hone, and don't get irritated, or worry, or let yourself be tired, because it'll come out of you and into the edge, and the edge won't be any good. And he was right, that was exactly what was happening. My edges and my shaves were failing miserably, my face was hurting, my heart was low, and the snake was eating its tail.
But that visit to Kawaguchi, and some generous help from Sham on SRP, straightened my head out. Honing and shaving isn't about what other people are doing, right or wrong. It's about being, now.
So this week, with my head right and my heart high, shaving has been good again, and honing as well. I'm enjoying myself, which is what is supposed to be.
Honing is, and shaving is. Just that.
I don't know about you, but wetshaving, and especially for me straight shaving, is something I picked up for the, what...the ritual? The connection to past and present, and the centering of it? The time, the focus on simple action, is what makes it important for me--being in the moment. The honing is the same--on the rocks with my razors, with the head where it's supposed to be.
But last week...it wasn't there. I wasn't in the place I was supposed to be. I was failing and getting frustrated, and my frustration led to more failure．I turned to Straight Razor Place to ask about it, and I got hugely varying advice, and more and more frustration. I very nearly gave up entirely.
But I didn't. I went to visit Kawaguchi-sensei, and got a solid grounding. Just hone. Just hone, and don't get irritated, or worry, or let yourself be tired, because it'll come out of you and into the edge, and the edge won't be any good. And he was right, that was exactly what was happening. My edges and my shaves were failing miserably, my face was hurting, my heart was low, and the snake was eating its tail.
But that visit to Kawaguchi, and some generous help from Sham on SRP, straightened my head out. Honing and shaving isn't about what other people are doing, right or wrong. It's about being, now.
So this week, with my head right and my heart high, shaving has been good again, and honing as well. I'm enjoying myself, which is what is supposed to be.
Honing is, and shaving is. Just that.
Monday, October 5, 2009
What a week...
Man. This has been a tough one on the shave front. I've been trying some serious hone stuff, and it's been failing miserably, which means BAD SHAVES!!!! GRRRR....
My trials and tribulations trying to get used to the hone my barber gave me a couple months back are well known to many readers of Straight Razor PLace, and I'm not going to review them here because, honestly, I'd rather just forget it. Not a pretty incident. Lots of ugly feelings, and some stark realizations...*sigh* Drama.
However, on Sunday I went back to visit Kawaguchi-sensei, and it was refreshing in oh so many ways. We talked razors, he helped me with some technique, honed a razor (and I got a video...awesome, eh?) and he gave me another hone!
I truly love that man.
Watch the video, I bet you will too.
Here's a VERY rough translation:
Around the 00:20-00:55 mark
K: About this much.
Me:Ok, ok...
K: Do about this much, and it'll be really different.
{pause}
K: The hone is Best? (Even my wife doesn't understand this one...). The hone is really flat/smooth, that's why it's stuck. (He picks up the hone using the stuck nagura).
(Then he talks to the guy watching, who says "Unbelievable...")
1:02
(He starts honing the razor...)
K: Like this, yeah? Slow is fine. When you do it, about three times is good. (I think he means circles...that ISN'T the stroke he showed me before...)
J: Three times...
K: Then change sides.
{pause}
K: About like this...
{pause}
1:25ish
K: To know if you7re doing it righ, look at the color (points to slurry). (At this point, I have no idea what his WORDS are, but I get the feeling he's saying that the color of the slurry is the best indicator of your honing--the faster it changes, the better you're doing. Maybe...)
1:40
K: When the color starts to change you're honing right.
Me: The amount of steel is increasing...
{He goes over to the window to check the edge by it's color}
2:35
K: The part of the edge that I honed is right here, you see? Up to here, it honed well. This part here, that I honed, is straight. This part (points to tip) is rounded. This part, you raised the tip when you were honing. Anyway, there's no color. This is the part I honed (points to straight edge of blade). The end...
ME: The end is rounded (meaning there bevel extends up onto the toe a bit from a previous smile...)
{back to the counter...}
3:01
K: If you really pushed it, you could hone the tip like this (exaggerates a tip-down position) but if you do that the edge won't be any good. To hone this out (looks carefully at the blade) it'll take about an hour. (Meaning to hone out the smiling tip on this hone...).
ME: Really?
K: If you honed it...
Me: Sooo...This part, the one you just honed...Will it shave well?
K: Not quite yet...
ME* How do you tell? Just by looking? (long pause while I search for words)Feeling with your fingers?
K: no no, no need. Just by looking, I can see in the color...a little more. But...This will cut, I think. (Tests on his arm) It'll cut.
3:54
ME: Ok, well, (Here I WANTED to ask about overhoning, but failed miserably) Can you hone too much? You said to go for an hour...
K: OK, here...One time, ten minutes. Ten minutes, ten minutes, ten minutes...to one hour. Don't just hone for one hour.
ME: Don't...
K: Even just five minutes...ten minutes. Try it.
ME: And always use this nagura? For example, at the end, hone with just water...
K: Don't.
ME: Don't.
K: Don't. It'll be rough. This (indicates slurry) will get finer over time. Just with this (stone), the color won't change (rinses stone).
{starts honing with water only}
5:05
K: (Totally don't understand...something "don't use..."
5:45
K: This color...there's no light (???) Just look at the light.
ME: (not seeing what he wants me to see) Sooo...it's not there? The color?
K: Yeah.
{back to the counter. at this point, I forgot about the camera...sorry}
6:04
K: (???)
ME: This Nagura, it's the same stone as this stone?
K: This is a good stone (???)
Here it breaks up. Sorry.
And he gave me this massive rock:
It's huge, and it's pretty, and I bet I won't be able to use it right for years. Oh well, I'll hang in there. I would love to do it justice--it's a good 50 year old hone, nice yellow with spots of nashiji...and it's so freaking big. Like, 8 inches by 3 inches by 2 inches. Weighs a good 4 pounds. A brick.
Lots of Japan in that rock...I'd like to get some of it out and into my razors!
My trials and tribulations trying to get used to the hone my barber gave me a couple months back are well known to many readers of Straight Razor PLace, and I'm not going to review them here because, honestly, I'd rather just forget it. Not a pretty incident. Lots of ugly feelings, and some stark realizations...*sigh* Drama.
However, on Sunday I went back to visit Kawaguchi-sensei, and it was refreshing in oh so many ways. We talked razors, he helped me with some technique, honed a razor (and I got a video...awesome, eh?) and he gave me another hone!
I truly love that man.
Watch the video, I bet you will too.
Here's a VERY rough translation:
Around the 00:20-00:55 mark
K: About this much.
Me:Ok, ok...
K: Do about this much, and it'll be really different.
{pause}
K: The hone is Best? (Even my wife doesn't understand this one...). The hone is really flat/smooth, that's why it's stuck. (He picks up the hone using the stuck nagura).
(Then he talks to the guy watching, who says "Unbelievable...")
1:02
(He starts honing the razor...)
K: Like this, yeah? Slow is fine. When you do it, about three times is good. (I think he means circles...that ISN'T the stroke he showed me before...)
J: Three times...
K: Then change sides.
{pause}
K: About like this...
{pause}
1:25ish
K: To know if you7re doing it righ, look at the color (points to slurry). (At this point, I have no idea what his WORDS are, but I get the feeling he's saying that the color of the slurry is the best indicator of your honing--the faster it changes, the better you're doing. Maybe...)
1:40
K: When the color starts to change you're honing right.
Me: The amount of steel is increasing...
{He goes over to the window to check the edge by it's color}
2:35
K: The part of the edge that I honed is right here, you see? Up to here, it honed well. This part here, that I honed, is straight. This part (points to tip) is rounded. This part, you raised the tip when you were honing. Anyway, there's no color. This is the part I honed (points to straight edge of blade). The end...
ME: The end is rounded (meaning there bevel extends up onto the toe a bit from a previous smile...)
{back to the counter...}
3:01
K: If you really pushed it, you could hone the tip like this (exaggerates a tip-down position) but if you do that the edge won't be any good. To hone this out (looks carefully at the blade) it'll take about an hour. (Meaning to hone out the smiling tip on this hone...).
ME: Really?
K: If you honed it...
Me: Sooo...This part, the one you just honed...Will it shave well?
K: Not quite yet...
ME* How do you tell? Just by looking? (long pause while I search for words)Feeling with your fingers?
K: no no, no need. Just by looking, I can see in the color...a little more. But...This will cut, I think. (Tests on his arm) It'll cut.
3:54
ME: Ok, well, (Here I WANTED to ask about overhoning, but failed miserably) Can you hone too much? You said to go for an hour...
K: OK, here...One time, ten minutes. Ten minutes, ten minutes, ten minutes...to one hour. Don't just hone for one hour.
ME: Don't...
K: Even just five minutes...ten minutes. Try it.
ME: And always use this nagura? For example, at the end, hone with just water...
K: Don't.
ME: Don't.
K: Don't. It'll be rough. This (indicates slurry) will get finer over time. Just with this (stone), the color won't change (rinses stone).
{starts honing with water only}
5:05
K: (Totally don't understand...something "don't use..."
5:45
K: This color...there's no light (???) Just look at the light.
ME: (not seeing what he wants me to see) Sooo...it's not there? The color?
K: Yeah.
{back to the counter. at this point, I forgot about the camera...sorry}
6:04
K: (???)
ME: This Nagura, it's the same stone as this stone?
K: This is a good stone (???)
Here it breaks up. Sorry.
And he gave me this massive rock:
It's huge, and it's pretty, and I bet I won't be able to use it right for years. Oh well, I'll hang in there. I would love to do it justice--it's a good 50 year old hone, nice yellow with spots of nashiji...and it's so freaking big. Like, 8 inches by 3 inches by 2 inches. Weighs a good 4 pounds. A brick.
Lots of Japan in that rock...I'd like to get some of it out and into my razors!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Fingers Crossed!
Well, as referenced in this post, my barber has promised me a nice big Nakayama if I can hone three razors to his satisfaction. I have four razors I think might be contenders...So I'm off to the barber shop today to see how it goes!
Just for your information, the razors are these:
A Torrey "Our 136", rehoned to a nice, smooth edge...
This ABC, which I just figured out...
A nice big Herder that had some rough beginnings, but is a great shaver now...
And my good old Genco. This one's been through it, but it's remained one of my best shavers.
So let's hope at least ONE of these is good enough for him, so I have a better idea of what to hope for!
I'll let you know...
***UPDATE***
Well, it went better than I had expected, but not as good as I secretly hoped. Of course, I knew that the chances of me coming home with the hone today were slim, but there was this tiny, selfish part of me thinking "Yeah, man, you scored it!!". I didn't, of course...
The ABC passed. He took one look at it, smoothed the edge against his arm, and said "Good!". So...YAY!
The other three weren't so hot. The Genco was unfinised at the toe and heel, the Herder had an uneven bevel, and the Torrey was all over the place. And he was right on all counts, of course, now that I look more closely. The crazy thing is, he totally chose the best shaver by LOOKING AT THE BEVEL. It makes sense, actually...if you can see that the edge is evenly polished, with a straight bevel and no random bits undone, you can see that the strokes were even and regular, and that the edge is probably ok. A little touch will tell you if the edge is keen, and with 40+ years of experience, that's enough.
He even told me exactly what I was doing wrong. I had the hone at the wrong height, causing my arms to move in parabolas instead of even, flat strokes. And yeah, he was totally right...Amazing. And helpful.
I'm greatly encouraged. Especially as I got home, took to the Genco, and polished it evenly across the bevel. The test shave tonight? Bang on, baby!!!!
I think I might have another one!
Just for your information, the razors are these:
A Torrey "Our 136", rehoned to a nice, smooth edge...
This ABC, which I just figured out...
A nice big Herder that had some rough beginnings, but is a great shaver now...
And my good old Genco. This one's been through it, but it's remained one of my best shavers.
So let's hope at least ONE of these is good enough for him, so I have a better idea of what to hope for!
I'll let you know...
***UPDATE***
Well, it went better than I had expected, but not as good as I secretly hoped. Of course, I knew that the chances of me coming home with the hone today were slim, but there was this tiny, selfish part of me thinking "Yeah, man, you scored it!!". I didn't, of course...
The ABC passed. He took one look at it, smoothed the edge against his arm, and said "Good!". So...YAY!
The other three weren't so hot. The Genco was unfinised at the toe and heel, the Herder had an uneven bevel, and the Torrey was all over the place. And he was right on all counts, of course, now that I look more closely. The crazy thing is, he totally chose the best shaver by LOOKING AT THE BEVEL. It makes sense, actually...if you can see that the edge is evenly polished, with a straight bevel and no random bits undone, you can see that the strokes were even and regular, and that the edge is probably ok. A little touch will tell you if the edge is keen, and with 40+ years of experience, that's enough.
He even told me exactly what I was doing wrong. I had the hone at the wrong height, causing my arms to move in parabolas instead of even, flat strokes. And yeah, he was totally right...Amazing. And helpful.
I'm greatly encouraged. Especially as I got home, took to the Genco, and polished it evenly across the bevel. The test shave tonight? Bang on, baby!!!!
I think I might have another one!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Nagura: The Grand Experiement Begins
I've started using these little stones I got, and I reckon I should keep track of it...
So let's start with the razors.
My main tester is a Genco Fluid Steel. The edge is essentially good, but it wasn't quite keen enough for me so I took it through a 5K/8K pyramid on my Naniwa super stones and got it to a very fine shaving edge. I shaved off of it at 8K and got an excellent edge.
So this one will be me test blade. I'm going to polish it on my Nakayama using the different nagura, and see if I can notice any difference.
First up: the Nagura my barber gave me.
This is a very hard stone, and looks identical to the Nakayama itself in color and texture. Using my barber's method, I gave the Genco 20 passes on heavy slurry, then slowly diluted, a la Bart's Dilucot method, and finished on water only.
The shave was good. Smooth, but not as keen as it should have been (the edge off the 8K was quite sharp.). I'll have to work on technique, perhaps...well, not actually perhaps...for sure!
My plan is to give this one a couple more test shaves, then polish it out on the 8K and then move to the Mejiro.
***
The other test is a bit less controlled.
I have this razor.
It's nice looking, isn't it? It's Japanese made, but marked "Imported steel" on the tail...meaning it's most likely Swedish steel (that's what everyone seems to use--good steel...). I was trying to hone it but making NO progress...it was like it was immune to the stones. I mentioned this to Glen/Gssixgun on SRP, and he said that Swedish steel can be a real SOB to hone because it's so hard. He recommended I try slurry on my $K to help cut it...and a little light went on.
Nagura time!
I got out my Botan, which according to the site where I got it, "Has a strong honing effect...and is speedy on carpenter's tools" (It also smells really really good. Like...GOOD> Weird, I know, for a rock, but it's true). The folks I bought it from said they are all ok for razors, so that's no worry. Speedy and strong sounded just the ticket, so I slurried up my King 4K and went to town.
Again, I hit the Dilucot method. I gave the razor a few sets of ten, and BOOM, it was cutting arm hairs. It hadn't done that at ALL before...and now, I was getting super smooth action. Joy! I finished out the dilucot and that edge was KEEN.
Again, I hit it on the 8K as well, botan slurry with the dilucot method, and that edge....Fantastic. I shaved with it last night, at got a BBS with no irritation. Off an 8K edge with no stropping...amazing. Glen is a GENIUS, as is Bart, and this Botan is my new best friend!
So let's start with the razors.
My main tester is a Genco Fluid Steel. The edge is essentially good, but it wasn't quite keen enough for me so I took it through a 5K/8K pyramid on my Naniwa super stones and got it to a very fine shaving edge. I shaved off of it at 8K and got an excellent edge.
So this one will be me test blade. I'm going to polish it on my Nakayama using the different nagura, and see if I can notice any difference.
First up: the Nagura my barber gave me.
This is a very hard stone, and looks identical to the Nakayama itself in color and texture. Using my barber's method, I gave the Genco 20 passes on heavy slurry, then slowly diluted, a la Bart's Dilucot method, and finished on water only.
The shave was good. Smooth, but not as keen as it should have been (the edge off the 8K was quite sharp.). I'll have to work on technique, perhaps...well, not actually perhaps...for sure!
My plan is to give this one a couple more test shaves, then polish it out on the 8K and then move to the Mejiro.
***
The other test is a bit less controlled.
I have this razor.
It's nice looking, isn't it? It's Japanese made, but marked "Imported steel" on the tail...meaning it's most likely Swedish steel (that's what everyone seems to use--good steel...). I was trying to hone it but making NO progress...it was like it was immune to the stones. I mentioned this to Glen/Gssixgun on SRP, and he said that Swedish steel can be a real SOB to hone because it's so hard. He recommended I try slurry on my $K to help cut it...and a little light went on.
Nagura time!
I got out my Botan, which according to the site where I got it, "Has a strong honing effect...and is speedy on carpenter's tools" (It also smells really really good. Like...GOOD> Weird, I know, for a rock, but it's true). The folks I bought it from said they are all ok for razors, so that's no worry. Speedy and strong sounded just the ticket, so I slurried up my King 4K and went to town.
Again, I hit the Dilucot method. I gave the razor a few sets of ten, and BOOM, it was cutting arm hairs. It hadn't done that at ALL before...and now, I was getting super smooth action. Joy! I finished out the dilucot and that edge was KEEN.
Again, I hit it on the 8K as well, botan slurry with the dilucot method, and that edge....Fantastic. I shaved with it last night, at got a BBS with no irritation. Off an 8K edge with no stropping...amazing. Glen is a GENIUS, as is Bart, and this Botan is my new best friend!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
It hurts SO MUCH Sometimes.
When honing goes well, it's an awesome feeling. Success, baby. Gotta love it. But Failure? GAAAAAAGH!
I have this Filarmonica #13 Inox. It's a lovely razor, and of course Filarmonica is quite the name these days.But it had this little chip, see? This little, itty bitty chip...
It's so small, I thought, I'll try to hone it out. Maybe it'll be a good learning experience!
So I tried it. Got out the old diamond plate, taped the spine, and started honing out that chip. The first thing I noticed was that the steel around the chip was also kind of broken, like it had been shattered when the chip happened.
The second thing I noticed was that, even after the chip was gone...the steel around where it had been was STILL broken!
Crap. The edge was crumbling right there. The steel was so weak that I could shatter it with my thumbnail, and I'm not even a Shaolin Monk!
Wellll...crap. I talked to Lynn Abrams, the godfather of razor honing, and he gave me some advice, but it all came down to this. Either throw it away, or hone and see if I can get past the weakened steel.
I found that I could actually see the weak spot on the bevel under the microscope--it reflected the light differently, so I could check as I honed. And hone I did.
For hours.
And hours.
And finally, FINALLY, today I got past the weakened steel. The razor is a good 2mm narrower than it was, but I got the defect out. HUZZAH!!!!
And I've spent 2 hours setting the bevel with no success.
GGGAHHHHH!!!!!!!
I have this Filarmonica #13 Inox. It's a lovely razor, and of course Filarmonica is quite the name these days.But it had this little chip, see? This little, itty bitty chip...
It's so small, I thought, I'll try to hone it out. Maybe it'll be a good learning experience!
So I tried it. Got out the old diamond plate, taped the spine, and started honing out that chip. The first thing I noticed was that the steel around the chip was also kind of broken, like it had been shattered when the chip happened.
The second thing I noticed was that, even after the chip was gone...the steel around where it had been was STILL broken!
Crap. The edge was crumbling right there. The steel was so weak that I could shatter it with my thumbnail, and I'm not even a Shaolin Monk!
Wellll...crap. I talked to Lynn Abrams, the godfather of razor honing, and he gave me some advice, but it all came down to this. Either throw it away, or hone and see if I can get past the weakened steel.
I found that I could actually see the weak spot on the bevel under the microscope--it reflected the light differently, so I could check as I honed. And hone I did.
For hours.
And hours.
And finally, FINALLY, today I got past the weakened steel. The razor is a good 2mm narrower than it was, but I got the defect out. HUZZAH!!!!
And I've spent 2 hours setting the bevel with no success.
GGGAHHHHH!!!!!!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
More than you want to know about Nagura...(LONNNNNG)
I'm taking this whole Japanese shaving thing to heart, learning as much as I can about all that I can, and it's really getting interesting...To me, at least.
People who are familiar with Japanese hones will have heard the word "Nagura" before. Those who haven't, well, basically when you use a natural Japanese stone to sharpen things, very often it will have a smaller stone with it that you rub all over the surface of the hone to make a thin mix of water and grit rubbed off that smaller stone. The smaller one is called a "Nagura". This is used in traditional Japanese honing to help increase the range of a hone's effect--often, a hone with a nagura will polish faster and more smoothly than just a hone itself. Why? I don't know. But I plan to find out.
Now, here's the thing that got me going on this--people dealing with straight razor honing have started using this word to describe ANY stone you use to make a slurry paste on your hones, and so we get things like "Cotigura", a portmanteau of "Coticule", the Belgian wonderstone, and "Nagura". Or people call the DMT card they use to raise a slurry on their stones a Nagura...Even Japan isn't immune to it--every little stone included with the synthetic water stones are called Nagura, as well. So I used to think that the word just meant "slurry stone", until one day in a thread on SRP where I posted videos of me honing on a Japanese natural stone using a slurry, someone asked me "Is that stone a Nagura or a Nakayama?" That question threw me. As if, Nagura must mean something much more than I had thought.
I was really confused...and then I started thinking about the name "Nagura." It doesn't have a meaning, or not at least one that is related to what it does. The kanji for the name, 名倉, has NOTHING to do with stones, or polishing or honing. Which is odd--Japanese is usually a pretty pragmatic language when it comes to objects. The word for a hone, 砥石 (to-ishi) translates directly to "polish stone". (Or, an example I like much better, the word for honey 蜂蜜, "hachimitsu", is "bee syrup".) But Nagura? Roughly, it means something like "Famous Storehouse". That looks less like an object name, and more like a PERSON name.
Which led me on a merry chase...
I started with a simple search on the term. 95% of the hits on Google were for people. Hmmm...
Then came the motherlode. There is a seller on the Japanese Yahoo Auction site that keeps listing Japanese hones and Nagura, and they happen to have a webshop, which happens to include the word "nagura" in the URL. I investigated, and these guys take Nagura SERIOUSLY. They have pages and pages about them, and this stuff is amazing. So I started studying.
Nagura, as it turns out, are essentially super-fine hones. Due to reasons like highly variable hardness, size and immense rarity (read price), are not suitable for making actual hones. Instead, they are broken into small pieces and used with the hones from more suitable sources (like the Maruka Nakayama mine in Kyoto). And like the Nakayama mine, there is really only one serious place to get a Nagura.
According to the late Kousuke Iwasaki, when he first started making razors he had trouble with honing. he was getting breaks and chips on his edges, which he eventually found came from the inferior nagura that were being sold by the merchants--they were cheap, and easily found, and of substandard quality. So he began searching for a long lost source for the Nagura that had bene sued for centuries in the polishing of Katana...He took this selection very seriously; in his book "刃物の見方" ("Understanding Bladed Implements"), he said something along the lines of "If a razor maker can not hone a razor well, the razor will not shave well, and people will think that the razor is no good." So he worked on researching just where the best hones, and the best nagura to use with them, could be found.
The Junmikawashiro mine (純三河白-I'm not at all sure of that reading) in Aichi prefecture is the only place in Japan that produced the Nagura that Iwasaki-san found suitable for the finest honing and polishing. Not only that, he identified the different seams of the mine, and with the help of geologist Nagayuki Asano divided them based on their polishing effects, speed, and purity.
The ten seams of the mine are shown abov, in a page from Iwasaki's notebook.
They are:
1. Mejiro (White-eye)
2. Tenjou (heaven)
3. Buchikou
4. Koma (very fine)
5. Botan （Tree Peony)
6. Layered Botan
7. Mushi (nothing)
8. Atsu (？？）
9. Ban （？？）
10. Shikiban.
I personally am still learning the differences between these seams. I know that the Koma and the Mejiro are supposed to be the finest, with Tenjou next, while the Botan is fine and fast cutting...
So I bought one of each!!!! (Well, no Koma...yet...)
I'm going to keep studying these, and I hope soon not only to have a better grasp of WHY you need them, but how to use them and the differences between the three types. But what I fear, and what will truly be something to look out for, is...
Nagura Acqusition Disorder.
Oh dear...
People who are familiar with Japanese hones will have heard the word "Nagura" before. Those who haven't, well, basically when you use a natural Japanese stone to sharpen things, very often it will have a smaller stone with it that you rub all over the surface of the hone to make a thin mix of water and grit rubbed off that smaller stone. The smaller one is called a "Nagura". This is used in traditional Japanese honing to help increase the range of a hone's effect--often, a hone with a nagura will polish faster and more smoothly than just a hone itself. Why? I don't know. But I plan to find out.
Now, here's the thing that got me going on this--people dealing with straight razor honing have started using this word to describe ANY stone you use to make a slurry paste on your hones, and so we get things like "Cotigura", a portmanteau of "Coticule", the Belgian wonderstone, and "Nagura". Or people call the DMT card they use to raise a slurry on their stones a Nagura...Even Japan isn't immune to it--every little stone included with the synthetic water stones are called Nagura, as well. So I used to think that the word just meant "slurry stone", until one day in a thread on SRP where I posted videos of me honing on a Japanese natural stone using a slurry, someone asked me "Is that stone a Nagura or a Nakayama?" That question threw me. As if, Nagura must mean something much more than I had thought.
I was really confused...and then I started thinking about the name "Nagura." It doesn't have a meaning, or not at least one that is related to what it does. The kanji for the name, 名倉, has NOTHING to do with stones, or polishing or honing. Which is odd--Japanese is usually a pretty pragmatic language when it comes to objects. The word for a hone, 砥石 (to-ishi) translates directly to "polish stone". (Or, an example I like much better, the word for honey 蜂蜜, "hachimitsu", is "bee syrup".) But Nagura? Roughly, it means something like "Famous Storehouse". That looks less like an object name, and more like a PERSON name.
Which led me on a merry chase...
I started with a simple search on the term. 95% of the hits on Google were for people. Hmmm...
Then came the motherlode. There is a seller on the Japanese Yahoo Auction site that keeps listing Japanese hones and Nagura, and they happen to have a webshop, which happens to include the word "nagura" in the URL. I investigated, and these guys take Nagura SERIOUSLY. They have pages and pages about them, and this stuff is amazing. So I started studying.
Nagura, as it turns out, are essentially super-fine hones. Due to reasons like highly variable hardness, size and immense rarity (read price), are not suitable for making actual hones. Instead, they are broken into small pieces and used with the hones from more suitable sources (like the Maruka Nakayama mine in Kyoto). And like the Nakayama mine, there is really only one serious place to get a Nagura.
According to the late Kousuke Iwasaki, when he first started making razors he had trouble with honing. he was getting breaks and chips on his edges, which he eventually found came from the inferior nagura that were being sold by the merchants--they were cheap, and easily found, and of substandard quality. So he began searching for a long lost source for the Nagura that had bene sued for centuries in the polishing of Katana...He took this selection very seriously; in his book "刃物の見方" ("Understanding Bladed Implements"), he said something along the lines of "If a razor maker can not hone a razor well, the razor will not shave well, and people will think that the razor is no good." So he worked on researching just where the best hones, and the best nagura to use with them, could be found.
The Junmikawashiro mine (純三河白-I'm not at all sure of that reading) in Aichi prefecture is the only place in Japan that produced the Nagura that Iwasaki-san found suitable for the finest honing and polishing. Not only that, he identified the different seams of the mine, and with the help of geologist Nagayuki Asano divided them based on their polishing effects, speed, and purity.
The ten seams of the mine are shown abov, in a page from Iwasaki's notebook.
They are:
1. Mejiro (White-eye)
2. Tenjou (heaven)
3. Buchikou
4. Koma (very fine)
5. Botan （Tree Peony)
6. Layered Botan
7. Mushi (nothing)
8. Atsu (？？）
9. Ban （？？）
10. Shikiban.
I personally am still learning the differences between these seams. I know that the Koma and the Mejiro are supposed to be the finest, with Tenjou next, while the Botan is fine and fast cutting...
So I bought one of each!!!! (Well, no Koma...yet...)
I'm going to keep studying these, and I hope soon not only to have a better grasp of WHY you need them, but how to use them and the differences between the three types. But what I fear, and what will truly be something to look out for, is...
Nagura Acqusition Disorder.
Oh dear...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Whew...What a week. (And a Soap Review in There somewhere...)
Well now, it's been a full one again. I thought things were settling down, but I was wrong. But I managed to fit in some smooth shaves...
The strop shop is open, but no one's bought anything yet. I do keep getting questions about stuff I don't have, though. So...there's SOMETHING going on! I've got some new things in development as well, so hopefully again this week I'll have another big announcement. And of course, I'm busy trying to keep my shaves going right, so...So Time has not been on my side, but it's good to be busy I think. Isn't it?
Maybe?
******
I've had some good times on the hones.
I have an "F. Herder Abr. Sohn" blade--it's a big, swooping blade with lines that strike me as just right. It's not the prettiest, but it's certainly not bad off. It cleaned up nicely and, most importantly, it honed up EASY. Zip zip, up the ladder, and BOOM! A sharp, smooth shaver...it's enough to make me realize that people MEAN it when they say that Solingen blades are good ones. Man, I love it when a plan comes together.
******
And in other news, I've been trying some new soap, Pre de Provence, from France.
I'll admit, the first two shaves I had with it did not go well. I ended up with terrible irritation--a bright red, speckled face. It lasted for a couple of days...And I was worried it was the soap. I gave myself a few days of Mitchell's Wool Fat to heal up (always a good idea when your face is feeling rough) and last night I gave the PdP another go.
It was great! A very thick, creamy lather with nice cushion. It wasn't quite as slick as it could have been, there was some drag on the razor, but it went well. And afterward my skin felt quite nice. MWF is still my best as far as skin care goes, but this one is pretty good.
The scent is...not my favorite. It's kind of astringent...it reminds me of this scented candle my mother used to burn when I was a kid, one that burned my nose. But it's not that bad, just not one of the mellow, pleasant scents I prefer.
Sooo..How's it going on your side?
The strop shop is open, but no one's bought anything yet. I do keep getting questions about stuff I don't have, though. So...there's SOMETHING going on! I've got some new things in development as well, so hopefully again this week I'll have another big announcement. And of course, I'm busy trying to keep my shaves going right, so...So Time has not been on my side, but it's good to be busy I think. Isn't it?
Maybe?
******
I've had some good times on the hones.
I have an "F. Herder Abr. Sohn" blade--it's a big, swooping blade with lines that strike me as just right. It's not the prettiest, but it's certainly not bad off. It cleaned up nicely and, most importantly, it honed up EASY. Zip zip, up the ladder, and BOOM! A sharp, smooth shaver...it's enough to make me realize that people MEAN it when they say that Solingen blades are good ones. Man, I love it when a plan comes together.
******
And in other news, I've been trying some new soap, Pre de Provence, from France.
I'll admit, the first two shaves I had with it did not go well. I ended up with terrible irritation--a bright red, speckled face. It lasted for a couple of days...And I was worried it was the soap. I gave myself a few days of Mitchell's Wool Fat to heal up (always a good idea when your face is feeling rough) and last night I gave the PdP another go.
It was great! A very thick, creamy lather with nice cushion. It wasn't quite as slick as it could have been, there was some drag on the razor, but it went well. And afterward my skin felt quite nice. MWF is still my best as far as skin care goes, but this one is pretty good.
The scent is...not my favorite. It's kind of astringent...it reminds me of this scented candle my mother used to burn when I was a kid, one that burned my nose. But it's not that bad, just not one of the mellow, pleasant scents I prefer.
Sooo..How's it going on your side?
Friday, September 11, 2009
A landmark...Honing again...
So after some rocky shaves this week, I decided to scale back and do some safer shave--I got out the Mitchell's Wool Fat, and some nice razors, and kept it simple.
I
I
Monday, September 7, 2009
Some updates...Call me The Kamisori Kid...and VIDEO TIME!!!
Blame Aleks for the title...
So I have been BUUUUU-SYYYY lately. Sorry for the brief hiatus, but it's been a good busy.
I will soon be opening a wee bit of a strop shop, making the fantastic Kanayama Cordovan Stops of Tokyo, Japan (of which I recently acquired an AMAZING example...truly a masterpiece. Details soon, I promise) available to all comers. It's not exactly a business for me, it's more of a labor of love for my wife and I, but it should be fun. Things should be up and running later this week. I'll be honest...if this goes smoothly, and if I learn how to do this kind of thing, there's a tiny little part of my brain that is thinking "Japanese Shave Shop"...maybe some razors, some aftershaves and stuff. Nothing big, just something to open up the market a bit. But this is pure speculation, of course...right now, one step at a time.
So keep your eyes open for the soon to be Eastern Smooth Productions "Kanayama Strop shop!"
In other news, you guys might remember me soliciting questions for Ken Hill, at Schick Japan. He had agreed to do an interview, and so I thought you guys might like to take part. Unfortunately, I never received a reply to the questions, and finally just last week I got an email from him apologizing and informing me that he would be leaving Schick Japan this summer...so it looks like that interview is a wash-up. However, I would like to wish Ken the best of luck with his new venture, and of course welcome him to the discussion whenever he wants to drop by!
And finally, in the more on-topic world of shaving--things are afoot. I've been finding something odd lately; despite the weird physical contortions and acrobatics involved in their use, I have been getting UNBELIEVABLE shaves from my kamisori. Seriously, faceturbating masterpieces. It's enough to make me want to swer off the folders for good! So what I'm thinking is, a good long stretch of "Kamisoris every day". Might throw in a couple of test shaves with my honing here and there--gotta practice for that new stone!--but my real weapons will be the Kamisori of the Kawaguchi collection.
With that in mind, tonight I'll be shaving with one of the Chikushinos I got not so long ago. I know NOTHING about these razors. The name isn't even for sure--my wife had to guess at the reading of the name. All I know is that one of them is marked "1968", and that they are "well used". Some might even say "battered". But we'll see how they shave.
Oh! I almost forgot--I have made my first shave-related videos, demonstrating the "Kawaguchi Honing Method", the way I learned to hone Kamisori from my barber. The razor in this video is the one I will be using this week. Enjoy!
(A screw-up, but amusing)
(The final cut...)
So I have been BUUUUU-SYYYY lately. Sorry for the brief hiatus, but it's been a good busy.
I will soon be opening a wee bit of a strop shop, making the fantastic Kanayama Cordovan Stops of Tokyo, Japan (of which I recently acquired an AMAZING example...truly a masterpiece. Details soon, I promise) available to all comers. It's not exactly a business for me, it's more of a labor of love for my wife and I, but it should be fun. Things should be up and running later this week. I'll be honest...if this goes smoothly, and if I learn how to do this kind of thing, there's a tiny little part of my brain that is thinking "Japanese Shave Shop"...maybe some razors, some aftershaves and stuff. Nothing big, just something to open up the market a bit. But this is pure speculation, of course...right now, one step at a time.
So keep your eyes open for the soon to be Eastern Smooth Productions "Kanayama Strop shop!"
In other news, you guys might remember me soliciting questions for Ken Hill, at Schick Japan. He had agreed to do an interview, and so I thought you guys might like to take part. Unfortunately, I never received a reply to the questions, and finally just last week I got an email from him apologizing and informing me that he would be leaving Schick Japan this summer...so it looks like that interview is a wash-up. However, I would like to wish Ken the best of luck with his new venture, and of course welcome him to the discussion whenever he wants to drop by!
And finally, in the more on-topic world of shaving--things are afoot. I've been finding something odd lately; despite the weird physical contortions and acrobatics involved in their use, I have been getting UNBELIEVABLE shaves from my kamisori. Seriously, faceturbating masterpieces. It's enough to make me want to swer off the folders for good! So what I'm thinking is, a good long stretch of "Kamisoris every day". Might throw in a couple of test shaves with my honing here and there--gotta practice for that new stone!--but my real weapons will be the Kamisori of the Kawaguchi collection.
With that in mind, tonight I'll be shaving with one of the Chikushinos I got not so long ago. I know NOTHING about these razors. The name isn't even for sure--my wife had to guess at the reading of the name. All I know is that one of them is marked "1968", and that they are "well used". Some might even say "battered". But we'll see how they shave.
Oh! I almost forgot--I have made my first shave-related videos, demonstrating the "Kawaguchi Honing Method", the way I learned to hone Kamisori from my barber. The razor in this video is the one I will be using this week. Enjoy!
(A screw-up, but amusing)
(The final cut...)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Unorthodoxy, Thy Name is Jim...
I LAUGH in the face of tradition. Ha! HA HA!!!!
Most people like to do things that they know work. They like to avoid risks, and not put themselves in unknown situations. Me? I'm a THRILL SEEKER!!!
Well, not really. But in my little obse...hobby here, I like to play around with things and see what works and what doesn't. So when I was talking to a representative at Naniwa Abrasives about some of their products, and he mentioned that they have abrasive powders up to 3000 grit, I was very intrested.
Now, a lot of people use abrasive powders in honing razors, but usually only in finishing--for example, .5 micron Chromium Oxide powder, or .5 or .25 diamond, suspended in a paste or spray. These are used to put the final polish on a razor's edge, but I was thinking, what about the REST of the process? If they work at the end of a honing session, why not the beginning. So I requested some samples of the powders, and I was generously given some.
I got samples of 400, 1000, 1500, and 3000 grist White Alumina and Green Carbon. I decided to start with Green Carbon (Silicon Carbide) as it is VERY hard, close to diamond, and I thought this would be a good stepping stone to the diamond pastes used in the finishing stages. I got some wood (medium density fiberwood--Daiso saves the day again!) and made a thin paste with cutlery oil.
I applied this to a pice of the board and had a nice 1K hone!
I repeated the process with the 3K, and then got some 1micron, .5m and .25m diamond paste to use as finishers. The jump from 3000 grit to 1m is pretty big--3000 is about 4m--but since diamond is a pretty fast cutter, I felt it was an ok risk to take.
My first razor was the Rongin was whining about before. I had had tons of trouble setting a bevel, so I thought I'd try the pasted wood. Using a mix of pasted wood strop and diamond plate, I was finally able to get the bevel set. Then I moved up to the 3K, and it was AWESOME. The hone really put a keen, smooth edge on the razor, it was popping hairs an inch off my arm--off the 3K!!!!
The diamond pastes finished up the job, and I shaved...and it was an awesome edge. These pasted hones are really something else. I'll continue to experiment, especially with full bevel setting, but I think this is pretty cool--a full set of hones for less than $10. Maybe not perfect, but pretty darn neat, I think.
Most people like to do things that they know work. They like to avoid risks, and not put themselves in unknown situations. Me? I'm a THRILL SEEKER!!!
Well, not really. But in my little obse...hobby here, I like to play around with things and see what works and what doesn't. So when I was talking to a representative at Naniwa Abrasives about some of their products, and he mentioned that they have abrasive powders up to 3000 grit, I was very intrested.
Now, a lot of people use abrasive powders in honing razors, but usually only in finishing--for example, .5 micron Chromium Oxide powder, or .5 or .25 diamond, suspended in a paste or spray. These are used to put the final polish on a razor's edge, but I was thinking, what about the REST of the process? If they work at the end of a honing session, why not the beginning. So I requested some samples of the powders, and I was generously given some.
I got samples of 400, 1000, 1500, and 3000 grist White Alumina and Green Carbon. I decided to start with Green Carbon (Silicon Carbide) as it is VERY hard, close to diamond, and I thought this would be a good stepping stone to the diamond pastes used in the finishing stages. I got some wood (medium density fiberwood--Daiso saves the day again!) and made a thin paste with cutlery oil.
I applied this to a pice of the board and had a nice 1K hone!
I repeated the process with the 3K, and then got some 1micron, .5m and .25m diamond paste to use as finishers. The jump from 3000 grit to 1m is pretty big--3000 is about 4m--but since diamond is a pretty fast cutter, I felt it was an ok risk to take.
My first razor was the Rongin was whining about before. I had had tons of trouble setting a bevel, so I thought I'd try the pasted wood. Using a mix of pasted wood strop and diamond plate, I was finally able to get the bevel set. Then I moved up to the 3K, and it was AWESOME. The hone really put a keen, smooth edge on the razor, it was popping hairs an inch off my arm--off the 3K!!!!
The diamond pastes finished up the job, and I shaved...and it was an awesome edge. These pasted hones are really something else. I'll continue to experiment, especially with full bevel setting, but I think this is pretty cool--a full set of hones for less than $10. Maybe not perfect, but pretty darn neat, I think.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
A Trip to the Barber
I went to visit Kawaguchi-sensei today (he really does deserve the title now...)
The other day I ran into my barber and his family out shopping, and asked him if he wouldn't mind giving me a honing lesson. He gladly agreed, so today I packed up my razors (I KNEW it would come in handy!!!) and my Japanese Natural stone and headed off for a haircut.
Luckily he wasn't busy (he rarely is...which is ok, barbering is more of a hobby for him, he actually runs a large rehabilitation center in Hiroshima...no joke!) and dived right into the razors. He examined my previous honing critically, tut tutting and muttering "Not quite..." under his breath. He wasn't impressed with the ugly Torrey I have, but he really seemed to like the Revisor. Good taste!
Then we start with honing. He gave me some pointers on straight razors, showed me the right way to use the nagura--PUSH when you raise a slurry, really get it nice and thick--and the best strokes to use. He uses a kind of circular X stroke, ending with just the tip of the razor on the hone. I practiced a bit with his guidance, and I do think it helped a lot.
Then we started on Japanese kamisori. He brought out a huge Maruka Kiita stone--it had to weight 5 pounds, and talked about how rare they were these days, and how this one had cost an arm and a leg. Apparently the stone I have isn't ideal for kamisori, because they need a longer stroke and pressure--a bigger stone is better suited, according to my barber.
He gave me guidance starting with body position. First off, he said you start with the right posture, with the hone on a table at about waist height or a little lower, your body centered above it with your eyes aligned with the center of the hone. This position helps regulate the length and proportion of your strokes.
He put the razor on the hone at about at 30 degree angle handle leading, Omote ("flat" side, NO kanji side, etc) down. He told me to place the first two fingers of the left hand in the hollow of the blade ("ura" or Kanji side up) and put pressure on the blade--not a lot, but some. The right hand on the handle is only for balance--no pressure at all from the right hand. In that position, do about TEN back and forth strokes--Up and down, edge then spine leading. Then, flip the razor (Kanji side DOWN now) and do ONE spine leading stroke.
If the razor needs more sharpening, continue that pattern until it's done.
It's not exactly what I've learned before, but I've experienced the results and they are really, really good.
So I practiced that, as well.
Then, we talked a little about razors and shaving--and he was explicit: when you use a Japanese kamisori, the "Omote" is against the face. The honing makes an assymetrical bevel that cuts best when used a that way. When you use it the other way, your angle has to change a LOT or you raise the risk of cuts. He siad it like it was obvious, which it kind of is...but I had to ask.
I asked him a little about the razors he gave me before, when he bought them and who had made them, and he had no idea. "40 years ago? 50? " he wondered, then went rummaging through the drawer that had produced the razors in the first place. This time, he brought out some razor boxes--including one stamped by Iwasaki-san himself!!! It's almost like having a signature! The boxes gave no clues to when they were made, but he gave them to me anyway...and they are awesome!
(Iwasaki's stamp is the red circular thing at the bottom right.)
And, of course, when he opened one of the boxes, out slipped an Iwasaki kamisori he had forgotten he had...he looked at it, then held it out. "Take this one too!". Of course I accepted...I wonder how many decades it sat in that drawer? Amazing...ANOTHER gift from this amazing man.
After my stumbling thanks, and after we had chatted a while, I decided I should actually get a haircut so I sat in the chair and we talked some more while he trimmed me up. We talked about this and that, the way barbers do, then he mentioned that I should keep practicing honing, and if I ever wanted more help or just to talk, I should come by any time--I think he really likes that I'm interested. Then, the real kicker: he gave me a challenge. If (when!!!) I hone three razors to his satisfaction, he said he'd give me that enormous kiita he used to hone the Kamisori... It was pretty cool. He said, "You like this stuff, and you'd actually use it, so I'd like for you to have it. Hurry up and take it from me!"
I'll do my best, Kawaguchi-sensei!
The other day I ran into my barber and his family out shopping, and asked him if he wouldn't mind giving me a honing lesson. He gladly agreed, so today I packed up my razors (I KNEW it would come in handy!!!) and my Japanese Natural stone and headed off for a haircut.
Luckily he wasn't busy (he rarely is...which is ok, barbering is more of a hobby for him, he actually runs a large rehabilitation center in Hiroshima...no joke!) and dived right into the razors. He examined my previous honing critically, tut tutting and muttering "Not quite..." under his breath. He wasn't impressed with the ugly Torrey I have, but he really seemed to like the Revisor. Good taste!
Then we start with honing. He gave me some pointers on straight razors, showed me the right way to use the nagura--PUSH when you raise a slurry, really get it nice and thick--and the best strokes to use. He uses a kind of circular X stroke, ending with just the tip of the razor on the hone. I practiced a bit with his guidance, and I do think it helped a lot.
Then we started on Japanese kamisori. He brought out a huge Maruka Kiita stone--it had to weight 5 pounds, and talked about how rare they were these days, and how this one had cost an arm and a leg. Apparently the stone I have isn't ideal for kamisori, because they need a longer stroke and pressure--a bigger stone is better suited, according to my barber.
He gave me guidance starting with body position. First off, he said you start with the right posture, with the hone on a table at about waist height or a little lower, your body centered above it with your eyes aligned with the center of the hone. This position helps regulate the length and proportion of your strokes.
He put the razor on the hone at about at 30 degree angle handle leading, Omote ("flat" side, NO kanji side, etc) down. He told me to place the first two fingers of the left hand in the hollow of the blade ("ura" or Kanji side up) and put pressure on the blade--not a lot, but some. The right hand on the handle is only for balance--no pressure at all from the right hand. In that position, do about TEN back and forth strokes--Up and down, edge then spine leading. Then, flip the razor (Kanji side DOWN now) and do ONE spine leading stroke.
If the razor needs more sharpening, continue that pattern until it's done.
It's not exactly what I've learned before, but I've experienced the results and they are really, really good.
So I practiced that, as well.
Then, we talked a little about razors and shaving--and he was explicit: when you use a Japanese kamisori, the "Omote" is against the face. The honing makes an assymetrical bevel that cuts best when used a that way. When you use it the other way, your angle has to change a LOT or you raise the risk of cuts. He siad it like it was obvious, which it kind of is...but I had to ask.
I asked him a little about the razors he gave me before, when he bought them and who had made them, and he had no idea. "40 years ago? 50? " he wondered, then went rummaging through the drawer that had produced the razors in the first place. This time, he brought out some razor boxes--including one stamped by Iwasaki-san himself!!! It's almost like having a signature! The boxes gave no clues to when they were made, but he gave them to me anyway...and they are awesome!
(Iwasaki's stamp is the red circular thing at the bottom right.)
And, of course, when he opened one of the boxes, out slipped an Iwasaki kamisori he had forgotten he had...he looked at it, then held it out. "Take this one too!". Of course I accepted...I wonder how many decades it sat in that drawer? Amazing...ANOTHER gift from this amazing man.
After my stumbling thanks, and after we had chatted a while, I decided I should actually get a haircut so I sat in the chair and we talked some more while he trimmed me up. We talked about this and that, the way barbers do, then he mentioned that I should keep practicing honing, and if I ever wanted more help or just to talk, I should come by any time--I think he really likes that I'm interested. Then, the real kicker: he gave me a challenge. If (when!!!) I hone three razors to his satisfaction, he said he'd give me that enormous kiita he used to hone the Kamisori... It was pretty cool. He said, "You like this stuff, and you'd actually use it, so I'd like for you to have it. Hurry up and take it from me!"
I'll do my best, Kawaguchi-sensei!
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