Thread: Clarification - Kamisori Razors

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

This is coming from a cash-strapped person. Being low on cash doesn't mean that I am not willing to spend more on an item that will do the job reliably.

Amen Brother man! Clap yer hands and preach it again!

I'm glad I'm not alone in the cash arena on here though I do feel for you from first hand experience.

I'm saving up right now for a bone handled razor , strop and brush for my son's birthday coming up in August. It won't be Maestro quality (unless I get a REALLY good contract before then) but I'd still expect it to give a good close shave, like Randy said. That's why I've been sticking mostly to looking at lists Joe sends me plus Bill's website. It would take a really good product/deal to cause me to buy new.

Glen F

If I buy a new one, it will be the TI black horn 6/8 full hollow. However, I don't think I'll be doing it soon. Got a couple of antique projects going, getting a cell phone and need to get a permanent job before I splurge. When it comes to brushes, I'm sure you know about C&E BB (it ROCKS) and I don't think I need to tell you where to get a great strop without breaking the bank (coughTonycough)

Well I figured I'd better get something up here before Amy comes looking for me......lol.

I have been working with this razor for a couple of months and it has been an interesting experience.

My understanding is that this razor is made by Dovo, although I am suspect of all razors with no engraving in the tang. I know that Dovo has made razors for other people for years, so I'll leave it at that.

This razor is the one with the Black Tang and Plain Black handle. I have seen this exact razor sold by Ultimate Pro, Salter, Timor and I believe Fromm as well.

When I first took the razor from the box and opened it, I was disappointed because the top pin was not put in very well. This thing was only there to keep the blade from falling out. It opened and closed like a swing. No firmness as you would expect from a brand new razor. As far as asthetics go, this is a decent looking razor and has a very delicate edge. I usually like an edge like this.

When I first honed the razor, I tried a couple of 1-3 rotations on the Norton 4K/8K, stopped and tested. Lot of pulling and not much whisker removal. I then tried a 3-3, 1-3, 1-3 and was able to remove whisker, but a very uncomfortable feeling. This razor for some reason, really dragged more than most on both sides of the hone. I next tried a couple 1-3 rotations followed by 10 strokes on the Coticule and did the same with the Escher. Both these tries resulted in a little better whisker removal, but still an uncomfortable feeling to the face.

Next I tried a series of rotations on the Norton and did 40 circles on the 4K side followed by 5 X strokes on the 4K side and 6 X strokes on the 8K side. Stropped and tested. It was able to shave but still uncomfortable. I repeated this with a finish on the Coticule and was able to shave a little better, but still not a comfortable glide across the face. I then tried giving it 5 X strokes on the 8K followed by 10 X strokes on the Escher. This shave was just a bit better. Although I rarely uses pastes these days, I tried 10 strokes on .5 diamond paste followed by 10 strokes on .25 diamond paste and was finally able to obtain an adequate to very nice shave.

I probably should have stopped here, but I wanted to see how the razor would re-hone so I dulled it and went back to a minimal 3-3, 1-3, 1-3 pyramid rotation on the Norton followed by 10 strokes on the Coticule. Again an uncomfortable shave until I used the diamond pastes.

The next thing I wanted to see was how this razor would hold an edge, so I put it in my shaving rotation. Here I was equally disappointed as the razor started to loose it's edge within a couple of weeks. I tried to re-fresh it with a Primble Barber Hone and no luck. I tried green paste on the back of my loom strop and no luck. Again, the diamond pastes brought it around. It has since been functioning fine. I will monitor the duration that the edge lasts further.

I wanted to thank Amy for the opportunity to test this razor and the Chutzpah to come on the forum and show how much she cares about her products. I will not comment regarding whether I would buy one of these or about the price as I think this would be unfair. Like Randy, If anyone would like to play further with this razor, let me know and I'll send it to you unless Amy wants it back.

Lynn

Lynn,
Hmmm, at least you could have tried a fair number of sharpening methods before commenting <g>.


I think your rundown has covered just about every know sharpening method known to man except for the cardboard/blue jenas stropping.


Tony

Well the problem was Lynn didn't sharpen it during a full moon. If he had done that it would have become wicked sharp in seconds.

If Lynn has difficulty getting it sharp enough what hope do us mortals have.

I'm not knocking the product, it was generous of Amy to send a few out for evaluation but the question remains, how many Lynn's are out there that potential customers know about ?.

Gary

I'm taking this opportunity to thank Amy and all of the testers for an interesting experiment with a new product. Can't wait to see what's going to happen once the product gets re-developed.

I'd like to ask the so called homemeisters just how qualified they think they are!? It seems these razors shouldn't even require a honing prior to that first shave. Perhaps our so-called honemeisters are trying to pull the wool over our eyes?

You see, I was looking up SRP through Google, because my bookmark wasn't working properly. Through no fault of my own, I found a link to kamisorishears.com and decided to check it out. I found their straight razors, apparently some of the best available, with a smooth shave guarenteed no less. I wrote to the "contact us" and asked about the quality of the shaves, and whether or not a brand new razor would need anything other than a quick trip to a leather strop before that first shave. I specified I was looking for a very smooth shave.

I will say, they got back to me via email, within about an hour. I also have to say, the response seems to indicate that our resident honemeisters have either been lying to us, or sadly lacking in their skills.

"Hi,
Our straight razors are shave ready, as long as you strop the razor, you should get a good smoth* shave.

Thanks,
Zak"
*not mine!

So what's the story guys? Either Zak is mistaken or our resident pros are lacking.

Tip toeing quietly backwards out of this thread.....................

Gary

Tiptoeing my #$%. I'm running!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!