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...)
6 comments:
AH right, BIG J !!! Will you accept money orders? As I have no credit card or PayPal account.
One other question. Does the Lucido skin conditioner contain Parabens? I snagged a bottle before I left Japan, and find that it works awesome. Also has no scent, which is nice too.
I would love to get me one of those Kanayama strops, and probably a couple of other goodies from the Land of the Rising Sun.
Take 'er easy...
Oh ya, maybe offer those magic Naniwa honing powders too !!!
Hey Aleks, thanks man, and I will GLADLY accept IMOs in yen (of course). Right now all I plan to offer regularly is the strops, but if you need/want other stuff, you have my email.
The strop site should be going live on Friday...I'll announce it here first.
I'll check on the parabens in Lucido, though I feel like they are there...I agree, it really is good stuff, and though I prefer a scent it's not hard to add your own.
You know, I was thinking about the powders, but in extended use they're not that magical, and I can't convince the dude at Naniwa to sell in reasonable amounts (I DON'T need 20kg bags of the stuff sitting around my apartment...).
Any suggestions on what else I should think about offering?
Hmmm... Aftershaves might be hard to ship international because of the alcohol content... maybe some aftershave balms... Any type-O Schick injectors on the auction sites out there? LOL
Possibly Barber sensei could point you in the right direction to source nice water stones. Those always seem to be in demand in the straight razor forums.
That's all I can think of right now, more to ponder later.
Japanese Shave Shop? Now wouldn't that be a totally cool development...
IMHO when it comes to wetshaving websites, your blog is second to none. Your reflections on shaving, and especially the posts about the Japanese shaving experience, are both fascinating and informative. Perhaps someday, should I ever get the time to learn it properly, I will try shaving with a straight razor. If so, it will be due in no small part to your posts from across the ocean.
Many thanks for the blog and good luck with your strop shop!
TBone,
Thanks so much for the kind words! I do hope that people at least find the blog interesting, if not helpful, so when it's both I feel really great. Thank you!
I do feel like I've been neglecting it lately...but the game's afoot, and time's a wasting.
I'll get to it soon, though. Scout's honor!
Of course, I was never a scout.
Best,
Jim
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