Thread: Hone of the Day

Originally Posted by rideon66

Irokarasu Orihi

Attachment 270973

Curious to know about honing the Orihi. Could you please tell us more?

Originally Posted by Srdjan

Curious to know about honing the Orihi. Could you please tell us more?

Just like honing any Kamisori. I am not a stickler for how many times per side. I usually start with 10:1 Omote:ura and just as I go bring it closer down till I get to about 3:1 and even 1:1 for last few. These are just really old versions made by old sword smiths I believe. You don't see them too much either. I tried to figure out the kanji, but even with the help of the masters here didn't get to much. Could be old out dated kanji. Best info on these comes from Fikira on here. Here is a post and part way down a link to his page with more info on these. http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...-kamisori.html

I am vaguely familiar with them, I do know the basics. Kanji can be outdated, yes, I read this somewhere. They are fascinating instruments, although seemingly primitive to my eyes. I wasn't really sure about the construction, so thanks for responding and making that clear!

Id definitely like an Oriho at some point. They look like fun to hone.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Id definitely like an Oriho at some point. They look like fun to hone.

They are quite fun to hone. Finding one in good condition at a good price is more difficult. These are the only Kamisori I have ever used. I have not tried the more modern style. I always wanted Anatou, or mimizori for cutting of downy hair in the ear too, but using it on yourself seems dangerous. I think they were for barbers to use on others.

Yeah, that takes us back to the argument whether kamisori were designed just to be by barbers.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Yeah, that takes us back to the argument whether kamisori were designed just to be by barbers.

That is part of the fun of shaving with these. Figuring out how to shave all over again. I am still trying for a Anatou making offers on them. I figure I can use it to get into the tight spaces of the goatee and sculpt it better. I do pretty good with the Orihi and regular straights too though. I just wouldn't want to stick it in my ear since you can't see at all.

On vacation and a little bored, time for some Thuri touch ups on the Nishikaku 6/8 hollow, Koraat 8/8 half hollow and Giesen & Forsthoff Timor 7/8 full hollow. Happy honing!

Originally Posted by rideon66

I always wanted Anatou, or mimizori for cutting of downy hair in the ear too, but using it on yourself seems dangerous. I think they were for barbers to use on others.

Wow! I just read through a few Google hits, and found one on the Bay.... very interesting looking tool. I probably wouldn't stick it in my ear, but I get how it could be convenient to maintain a goatee. Hehe, you learn something new every day!

Originally Posted by Steel

I really like India stones. Carborundum stones seem to leave deep scratches like diamonds but those India stones leave a nice fine edge. IMO

Carborundum stones are pretty bad for razors unless they're really fine. Their cut depth is more suitable for high speed steel or something that doesn't fracture.

I've not used one on a razor, but I learned a lesson about them with a Kiyotada chisel. Kiyotadas were sought after in japan for a while (still are to some point), but some of them are not as similar in hardness as you'd expect (I have three). The one of mine that is really hard will literally not tolerate having its bevel set on carborundum stones - diamonds would be out of the question. When you work the bevel on carborundum, it looks fine, and then somewhere around the final stone, it crumbles. I'd estimate the chisel to be somewhere in the 66 range, which a lot of japanese tools claim, but I haven't found to be true when trading time on a versitron (some can be sharpened on arkansas stones, too, which means they definitely aren't close to that).

Anyway, that creates an issue where the steel is too hard to sharpen easily on natural stones, but it won't tolerate anything other than slower synthetics. I got by with an india, but have been careful with the chisel not to damage anything.

totally different thing, though. Japanese carpenters didn't want to be seen sharpening a tool on a job site, so they wanted their tools to be as hard as possible, even though it made sharpening a lot harder. Some english craftsmen did that, too, taking several chisels and plane irons to work (instead of seeing if they could push one all day) and then resharpening them at night while they weren't on the job.

Long useless story, but agree - carborundum and crystolon stones in the coarse variety are a no-no (they are friable, too, when they're new), and when they're fine, I don't know what they are accomplishing on razors, because they cut deep tiny grooves - so they're not fast, but you have to make a lateral move to a slower/shallower cutting stone around the same grit level before you can move up.

Did I mention that I have about 10 carborundum stones? I got them in a machinists lot and found out quickly why so many of the old ones show up without much use, despite the fact that they cost about the same amount as a washita back then. The coarse ones did get used in shops and jobsites, though - but a washita or india stone usually followed them.