Masterpiece Shaving Theater

I have had a couple of great shaves from a great razor...and it makes me really, really happy.



I have two razors made by Shigeyoshi Iwasaki. One is the Japanese style "kamisori", the non-folding traditional form. This is the one that is really, really popular with lots of people around these "internets". It's awesome, yes, and I feel very lucky to have it, but the really special one?

This one:


It's a traditional western style folding straight...a rarity. I don't know how many he made, he might have made thousands for all I know, but I have only seen photographic evidence of three others. Unlike the Japanese style razors made by Iwasaki-san, these are not really that widely known.

I have gotten some really good shaves off this one, and there is something immensely satisfying about using it. I can feel the history--I KNOW it's history, for the most part.

It's a well used razor, a gift from my barber who used it and maintained it for decades. It's seen thousands of faces, and has kissed the finest Japanese stones in its life. It was bought new decades ago, and it made its way to me through years I can never know. There is a story that Iwasaki-san apparently liked to tell, that a razor made by his father was used by a barber 1,032 times before he had to rehone it--that is, just stropping in between...and this is a razor like that.

But perhaps the most fascinating thing for me is that this razor, this relatively simple, unassuming blade, was handmade by someone who can only be called a true master smith. Shigeyoshi Iwasaki was born in Kanagawa prefecture in 1933, the son of Kousuke Iwasaki, who was a blacksmith himself and more than that--a gifted metallurgist, who researched the system used to classify Japanese steel quality (paper steel, ball steel, etc.). So in the old way, Shigeyoshi learned at the feet of his father, living with steel from his earliest years.

Later, the younger Iwasaki became a swordsmith, working out of the "Sanjikajikoubo" forge in Niigata prefecture, Japan. He continued to study and train in traditional blacksmithing techniques, becoming a kind of unofficial "ambassador", traveling around the world demonstrating Japanese smithing techniques. I know that he continued to forge until recently; I have been told that he passed, but I've been unable to find any real confirmation. At any rate, his legacy has passed to a former apprentice, Ryouichi Mizuochi, who is currently supplying the world's hunger for Iwasaki kamisori...but who knows if he's making any more like this.

But I know who Iwasaki is, I know where he learned and what he made, and I can see his picture and pictures of the works that came from his hands, and of those works is this razor I have. A true master made the blade I hold, the blade I can use every morning (or night) to shave my humble face.

How unbelievably cool is that?

I was warned...

I was. I KNEW what to expect from the Feathers. But I still got bit.




Let me just say, I know what sharp is. I've had straight razors professionally honed, and I've shaved with DE blades thin as paper. But I've not shaved with anything, ANYTHING, that is as terrifyingly sharp as these Feather Pro Super blades.

I got the smoothest shave I have ever had, I will admit. That first pass gave a new meaning to "wiping off the whiskers". My face just came clean--and then the blood started oozing. I had NO IDEA how much I nicked myself that first pass. I mean, I didn't feel a thing--apparently, the blade is so sharp it just slides through anything it touches without even exciting the nerve endings.

I couldn't finish my second pass--it was just too scary. Luckily, I got smooth enough to have a full 20 hours with no stubble. So last night I thought, "You know what? That first shave probably dulled it enough to make a pretty good shave tonight." And I was right--the first pass last night was perfect. The second pass, however, was crap. The blade had passed from terrifyingly sharp, through perfect, and right down into uncomfortably dull. And dull for a feather apparently means jagged, because it turned my neck beet red and--you guessed it--the blood did flow.

So I learned my lesson. The Feathers go. If anyone wants one, they're $30 apiece, and if you need blades we can work something out. They're sold, thanks guys.

IN better news, a friend sent me a sample of The Gentleman's Quarter Provence Lavender soap, and I am QUITE pleased with it! A full review will come after it gets a fair shake (no feathers...) but prospects look good!

Well, I'm off to reapply the neosporin...

I GIVE UP

This freaking Rongin has broken me.

I've spent a good 4 hours trying to get this razor sharp. It has taken me over 200 passes on a 1k diamond plate and a 1k King stone and I haven't even set the bevel!!!! I think I've taken a good 1/8 inch off the edge, and all I've done is gotten half a good bevel set. The back half, toward the heel, is sharp and pops hairs easily, the front half is butterknife blunt. Ridiculous.

Thank god I didn't actually care about this one...but man is this discouraging. Of course, the fact that it had a ridiculous frown when I got it should have been an indication of problems, but silly me I thought I could fix it.

Obviously, I was WRONG!!!!!

**UPDATE** Well, with a little help and encouragement from the good folks at Straight Razor Place (Thanks Lee!) I finally got a decent bevel set on this one. I was being stupid (of course) and not paying enough attention to BOTH sides of the blade. Don't do that.

So, I still need to move (carefully!!!) up the progression, but the heavy lifting is done I think. From the keenness of the bevel, I have a feeling that if I am careful this could be the sharpest edge I've achieved yet. It's just wiping away the hairs on my arm coming off the 1K. I like that. And won't that be fun? The razor that almost killed me becoming my best edge? Very dramatic...

SOP

So my routine is shifting a bit. And I wonder if I what I've been doing up to now might not have been a little off?



My daily shave routine is fairly trim. I hear people talk about shaves lasting 45 minutes or an hour, and I can't get my head around it. My routine takes 20 minutes, from the time I hit the bathroom door to the time I sit down on the bed to cool off. And that period includes a shower!

Here's what I do. I fill the sink with hot water and drop in my boar. I take a fast shower, about 5 minutes, and make sure that I scrub my face with nice hot water for a good minute or so.

I get out, and first thing I do is lather up. I let the lather sit on my face while I dry off, put on alum block and deodorant, and put on some pants (NO NAKED STRAIGHT SHAVING!!!!).

After I've given the lather some time to soak in, I start the shave. I start with a mostly XTG pass...I find that the WTG pass isn't that necessary with a straight, except on my chin and upper lip, so that's the way I rock it. I sue short, quick strokes--almost like blade budffing, but I take the blade off the skin on the back stroke. I rinse, relather, and my next pass is mostly ATG, except for my neck, which I've never figured out how to hit ATG with a straight. Something to work on there...And again, short quick strokes, not long slow ones.

After the ATG pass, I DON'T rinse--I take a little water and wet the little places that still feel rough. The residual lather makes those places extra slick, without the cushion of a full lather, and I blade buff the remaining patches.

I finish up with a warm water rinse, then a cool water rinse, then usually a light balm to moisturize and help seal up any bleeders. This routine usually results in a 90-95% BBS shave, with no razor burn but the occasional nick or cut. Satisfying, but not perfect. I'm looking to up that BBS percentage, though...Any thoughts on a good way to do that?

Completely out of control...

Yeah, I don't even know what to say. These all came this weekend...One big lot, and three individual razors.


This is a tiny little Filarmonica Doble Temple Inox...a sweet litte 4/8 stainless steel blade in some ugly scales.


A Herder...this is a German brand I've been hungry for, and it's a big one, too...Looking forward to restoring it!


Two Feather replaceable blade straights--been wanting to try one out for a while, now I have two!


This is a Japanese made ABC razor...it has a big, beefy blade and two tone silver/blue pearlescent scales. Pretty sweet...


A Filarmonica 14 Sub Cero (Cryo-treated steel, very hard apparently...).


This is a Japanese made razor--again, a nice beefy blade, with some scale damage but a good blade in her.


This is the balde of a Filarmonica 14 Inox. A stainless version of the Sub Cero seen above, with green scales instead of brown. This is the last of the big lot...


This one is a vintage Dovo, made in the 50s or 60s, with GORGEOUS cracked ice scales and a history of pure beauty...I hope to bring a little of that elegance back.


Here's a Burrell Top Flight, an American Razor made in New York State...Again, there is a lot of work here, but I think it will be worth it.


And another brand I've been really looking for, a Case Red Imp wedge. This has seen some polish already, and just needs some finishing up and honing.

There is a lot of restoration to be done, but I enjoy that, and when I think about it--there is a lot of hours of entertainment here! And, all of these razors together still cost less than the Revisor.

Oh man. I have WAY TOO MANY RAZORS.

See anything you like? Make me an offer. jimsama (at) gmail (dot) com.

Seriously.

Kell's Original Shave Soap...Review!

There's a new soap making the rounds at The Shave Den, and I got some samples to try out.




Dan Kell, of Missouri, has made his own shave soap. His website, Kell's Original, is ALL shave soaps, which I like a LOT. The soaps he sells are a Hemp Oil blend, with three varieties: Hemp, Hemp\Aloe, and Ultra Aloe, and Dan's story, as he puts it on his website, is "I started playing around with soap and managed to blend up a soap from a combination of several that let me shave every day, enjoy it, and do away with the after shave balm. I shared a bit of my extra with some friends. They liked it so I shared it with a bunch of people from one of the internet forums and they liked it too. And thus was born Kell's Original."

The soap Dan came up with is clear, and comes in a tin or as a plain refill in a variety of scents including classics like lavendar and sandalwood, as well as more unusual ones like Amber (yay Amber!), Juniper Sage and Casbah Mint.

The ingredients are very nice, natural and gentle:
Hemp blend ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil (Grade A extra virgin), Safflower Oil, Glycerine (vegetable origin), Hemp Seed Oil (unrefined), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifer), Soy bean protein (conditioner), Wheat Protein (conditioner)

Hemp/Aloe ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil (Grade A extra virgin), Safflower Oil, Glycerine (vegetable origin), Hemp Seed Oil (unrefined), Aloe Vera Gel, Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifer), Soy bean protein (conditioner), Wheat Protein (conditioner)

(Apparently the Ultra Aloe blend is identical to the Hemp/Aloe with twice as much aloe).

One thing I noticed was the absence of Bentonite Clay. This is a very common ingredient in shave soaps, used to give some added slip and body to the lather. I asked Dan about this, and he explained that bentonite is, at its base, a mixture of volcanic ash and glass and that he didn't like the idea of putting that on his face when he shaved...Sounds reasonable, I reckon!

So we have a shave soap specifically made and tested to avoid skin irritation? Yeah, I can get behind that! I picked up 4 samples, Casbah Mint, Sandalwood, Lime and Amber. I have used the Sandalwood for the last four shaves, and it's a dry, spicy sandalwood rather than the warm, sweet one I typically prefer. But how does it shave?

Fantastically. Really. It's a smooth, thick lather that has tons of slickness. The cushion is a little less than some, but it didn't have any adverse effect at all on the shave. I got 4 great shaves in a row, and that's a good sign indeed. It was a soothing, gentle shave soap and it was a pleasure to use. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other scents, especially the amber...

There are a couple of different things about this soap I should mention. One, it doesn't need as much water as some of my other soaps...try shaking a bit more out of your brush than you might otherwise. Also, my shave routine includes a "water pass", where I do some touch ups with just water--most shave soaps and creams seem to leave just a little residue on the skin after the shave that, with just a little water, is slick enough for a bit of a shave. This soap does not. I'm not sure why, it might be the bentonite, and it might not be a bad thing, but something to be aware of.

Anyway, if you're looking for a nice all-natural shave soap, with an emphasis on skin-care, then I think you've got a good option here. Oh, and for our international readers don't be dismayed by the ridiculous shipping charge that the Shopping cart automatically generates--it's some kind of glitch. Email Dan and he'll get you fixed up.

Give it a try!

The View From Japan: Not Really a Shave Soap

Well, you can't win them all...

I mentioned this "shave soap" before, but I figured I might as well let you know just what went down on the shave.

And finally, there's a new soap: Narcissist for Men Shaving and Facial soap

I gave this one as much as I could. Almost three shaves, 4 or 5 practice lathers...and it was all the same. Utter failure.

I tried, I really did...I used all kinds of different water ratios, time, even tried a badger brush. But this soap simply can't produce a stable lather. On the brush, the lather is thick and creamy. The scent is fresh and soapy, with a touch of cedarwood, and it SHOULD have made for a great shave, but once the lather hit my face, it fizzled away to nothing. A thick layer of sticky soap that did nothing to help your shave. It's kind of lubricating, but so is snot. The shaves I tried were hardly worthy of the name. Uncomfortable, unenjoyable, and unhappy.

Soooo...yeah, I can't even believe they market this as shaving soap. *sigh*