Thread: MMM and KAMISORI razors

Hi all, I bought a KAMISORI straight razor a few months back and I have so far had a good experience with them. I looked into this brand before purchasing and found that they are made in Korea from 440C japanese steel which is not bad quality steel compared to whats out there...Anyone tried MMM razors?, I am looking to buying one but I can't seem to find anything one them. Thanks

Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for your Kamisori?

i paid $34.95, well worth it.

As long as you think so...
For $34.95, though, I bought a mint condition Clauss and a Boker Red Injun; both outstanding razors in near mint conditon. I can't say they're better, since I've never used a Kamisori, but I feel confident saying they are.

Those razors are no good. They might be holding some kind of edge now, but when it needs to be honed, word has it, the edge construction will fall apart and never return.

You want to buy razors from Solingen Germany (not to be confused with some Pakistani blades named Solingen), or Thiers Issard from France for new razors or Wade & Butcher from Sheffield for antiques. Most good razors claim either Sheffield or Sweedish steel. Although the Japanese know how to make steel, we only see crappy straights from them. There are a few other brands which are good, like Filarmonica from Spain, etc. but Solingen Germany, like Sheffield England, has steel quality laws to ensure purity. Very civilised.

X

You put it more bluntly than I felt comfortable doing, X. I just don't feel confident in spending my money on a razor of extremely questionable quality, and 440C would make about the worst straight razor I can imagine. It goes back to metallurgy, but that's not a steel I'd feel would make a good razor. If a company like Seki or Moki made a straight, and used proper steel, I wouldn't bat an eye at purchasing a Japanese straight, but I've never seen a decent product come from either Pakistan (and crap knife you can think of) or Korea (ok, well maybe my Nikes)

what do you think of 440C or J2 420 japanese steel in straight razors?

420J2 is only suitable for butter knives and liners. It's tough, but won't get hard enough for a razor. It's extremely low in carbon. 440C would certainly get hard enough, but would be tough to sharpen, and would be extremely brittle. 440C has so much chromium in it, that it weakens the grain boundaries in the steel, usually having a large grain size (bad for razors). I don't know if you could grind 440C thin enough to make a good razor, without the edge collapsing. 440C works fine in knives, but I wouldn't trust a razor made out of it. But I don't like stainless razors anyway.

What do you dislike about the SS Joe?

X

Typically, too hard to sharpen, and heat treating stainless steel is trickier. The simple carbon steels have a much finer grain structure. This usually means they can be made much thinner, and thus, sharper, with greater toughness. This might not mean anything to most, but the toughness of the carbon steels should, theoretically, mean you have to hone them less often, even though they're not quite as hard, because the edge will bend, rather than chip out at the microscopic level. I actually prefer stainless (good stainless, that is) for most knives, because stainless usually is a better edge holder where toughness isn't a concern, but with a razor, carbon steels are for me, because they're sharper and tougher. This is only my opinion, mostly formed due to my experience as a custom knifemaker.