Thread: Clarification - Kamisori Razors

Thanks for your detailed review Bill!

Very constructive feedback. Nicely done.

Thanks Bill, for a very thorough review! Also thanks to all for the advice on venusworldwide. After I asked the question, I looked over their site some more and finally found that they were based in Pakistan, which was a red light to me! With the one coming from the drawing, and the three I already have I should be set for awhile. Meanwhile, I'm going to keep my eye open for decent ones at flea markets, antique stores, etc. to work on honing skills. I'm very glad I found this forum, it's proving to be an invaluable asset in getting back into shaving w/ a straight razor.

Dennis

Thanks for the review, Bill. I was looking forward to reading it for a while. Ofcourse, people who should REALLY be grateful are Amy and other Kamisori employees. If they apply your (FREE!!!) analysis to future product development, they'll develop a loyal customer base.

Out of curiousity Bill, any idea what sort of variance in spine thickness manufacturers such as Dovo, TI or Filarmonica put out? Just curious. I don't own a micrometer, or have nearly as large a stable of razors as you

I would like to sincerely thank Bill for taking his time and writing his well thought-out review. The razor he received was our Paladin razor(white handle), which is one of our two straight edge custom razors. After analyzing the market for some time, we accordingly priced the razors at $79.95 for the Paladin and $59.95 for the Blue Blade on sale as intro prices to see the customer reaction. Some of our distributors on ebay and elsewhere have priced them cheaper at $59.95 and $49.95 with their own selling techniques. According to our research, these prices were less than other very similar razors out there that some, we found are even made by the same manufacturer. It’s been a few months now that we have started selling the new Solingen made razors and it’s been a success so far with the Blue Blade, to our surprise even going out of stock. We are in the process of restocking them. The feedback from our customers has been terrific. I do have to say, I thought Bill’s review was going to be a little more favorable but regardless, as an experienced honemeister/knifemaker in the business I do take his review into consideration and I appreciate and respect him for giving his honest and open view(as I will with the other two gentlemen). We will learn from his feedback and if there is room for improvement(which there always is with anything ), we will certainly make them without skipping a beat. Our company cares and is always dedicated in putting as much effort as possible to our implements so that it is a better overall product.

I look forward to feedback from adjustme69 and randydance .

Thanks again Bill.

Kind Regards,
Amy
www.kamisorishears.com

Say what you want, but my respect for kamisori in general (and amy in specific) went up a notch or two after reading this even if it seems like their blades aren't quite there yet. If I were running a company that's the kind of response I'd want to see my people make as well.

I really believe they are trying to make a good product and even if they're not all the way there yet they'll keep taking steps to improve. We called that "kaizen" when I worked at Toyota (constant incremental improvement). I'll take that approach any day.

-- Gary F.

I'd just like to second Gary's comments. It's very good to see a company that really cares and wants to improve. Amy, keep up the good work!

Brothers, I fear we may have upset our new friend through this thread...but personally I fall into step with the rest of us on this topic.

Amy, I understand your concern in not recieving a glowing recommendation from Bill, but the truth of the matter is as you said, he IS a knifemaker who is dabbling in straight razor making now, and as such he will likely evaluate things a simple shaver like myself and others among us wouldn't notice or even think about. Things like the uneven thickness along the spine, while Bill insisted was not detriment to the shave itself, SHOULD be cause for some concern about the consistancy of the product. As he mentioned much of the process these days is still hand work...but surely the blade blanks themselves are made from a single thickness of stock which would require the hand work to include some grinding down of the shank and spine themselves, which obviously can't be a good thing.

You also need to take Bill's review of scales and pins with a grain of salt. (Bill you know I mean absolutely no disrespect here ) But again, Bill is a pro in himself and since EVERYTHING he does is hand made he tends to hold to much higher standard in that area than many of us. Pins don't mean much to me personally...they hold the scales together and that's about it. Might change my tune someday but for now I see pins as strictly utilitarian because I've never seen anything in a pin to truly get excited about. The gleaming patent leather scales? Well as he pointed out he doesn't like plastic scales, so what can you do rights? Personally I also don't care for the patent leather look, but a slightly suede-like texture to the scales (similar to common items like normal remote controls, computer monitors casings, keyboards etc) would be VERY agreeable to my tastes, but neither I nor Bill can speak for the masses.

As to the pricing, I personally consider your pricing fair enough. On the other side of the coin your have to remember you are dealing with (at least in THIS group) men who remember, or at least in my case long for, more of the simple nature of existence of years past. One of the things ABOUT this area of the past is that we are enthusiasts of a product that could be had for around $3, as many coffins are stamped in that range for vintage razors. BECAUSE we have this fondness for old times we may not be as apt to throw down large amounts of cash on everything, though many of our guys have small fortunes in their collections and paraphenalia. Myself, I have a single Henckels somewhere in the range of 50+ years old I paid less than $25 for, and an even older Thistle Cut that has been passed down through my family for many years. Sure I'd like a "NEW" razor, and my tastes do tend to run to the $200 range, but in the end we're still talking about a blade. As is popular propaganda in our ranks "Sharp is Sharp", if a razor shaves then the razor shaves, no more no less.

Therefore, I fear brothers, we might be alienating our new friend a little and that concerns me. As it should concern all of you as well. I even see points in this post where I don't come across as warm and welcoming as I truly feel toward Kamisori and Amy herself. But gents, Amy, let us consider the benefits of working side by side in this discussion...Amy gets REAL feedback from a large and extremely tight knit community of shavers, collectors, and even makers here that could be implemented (although I do comprehend that being a larger manufacturer changes can't just be instant) and WE as a group benefit if Kamisori takes our feedback and works to change things that might need change by having a company that truly listens to the customers and improves their product giving us another quality product to add to the sorely limited number of poducers available to us due to the unorthodox nature of our obsession.

A PERSONAL NOTE TO AMY - I would like to say that Bill's review is enough to make ME want to buy one of your razors despite whatever dings/criticisms/opinions he or I might have given. Regardless of details the root of the review can be summed up in two words...good shave. That means that you are providing a serviceable product, and that is important. We are not museum curators here (apologies if there are any I'm speaking figuratively here ) we are USERS...in my opinion looks take a backseat to funtion in this more often than not. If your product produces a passable shave, holds an edge well, and isn't extremely difficult to hone well then I would consider this thread a resounding success for you as well as your company. I too am looking forward to the reviews from Lynn and Randy.

Originally Posted by Gawker

A PERSONAL NOTE TO AMY - I would like to say that Bill's review is enough to make ME want to buy one of your razors despite whatever dings/criticisms/opinions he or I might have given. Regardless of details the root of the review can be summed up in two words...good shave. I too am looking forward to the reviews from Lynn and Randy.

I also respect Bill's opinion. However, he being the consummate blade guy, has forgotten more about cutting instruments than I'll ever know. As strictly a novice user, I care about overall quality. That being said, plus his description of a "good shave" is enough for me to purchase a Kamisori.

Thanks Bill and Amy.

-Rob