Thread: Kamisori Blades

Concerning the Kamisori blades, the more modern ones with scales, some look very nice. Are these razors of good quality?

Japanese razors are good quality, I have never tried a kamisori grind(neither folding nor traditional) but I think Jamie(celticcrusaider) knows a bit more about those.

They are very good looking though, a very nice combination of western and Japanese style.

Baxxer, Thank you. I've noticed on some of these highly polished blades, there is a stamp "Best Quality" or "High Quality", which would usually be a red flag to steer clear from. I think it might be different in this situation though. I am curious how easy or difficult they are to hone. There is a tapered slope underneath the spine going from the tip to the edge just before the grind. Might be more workmanship on these than at first sight......Happy Shaving......ocam

Yes, you can't make general statements about quality on type of razor, some razors are great, some are bad.

Honing shouldn't be any different, but may be you can post a picture to illustrate your concern - I'm not understanding the issue.

Originally Posted by gugi

Yes, you can't make general statements about quality on type of razor, some razors are great, some are bad.

Honing shouldn't be any different, but may be you can post a picture to illustrate your concern - I'm not understanding the issue.

Thanks for your reply gugi. This Kamisori blade was on e-bay. Offered by an antique dealer in Japan. Perhaps it's just my eyes or the photo gave the illusion of that taper. It's on the upper portion of the blade just under the spine. Doesn't look like it would interfere with honing or stropping, but I am not familiar with the Japanese steels. I have understood that carbon content can differ even between different blades from the same manufacturer of many razors the world over.

Vintage Japanese Kamisori grind folding straights are all quality. For those blades "Best quality" should not be considered not a red flag IMO. One thing Japanese are really good at is making quality blades using quality steels.
Of course if the condition of the blade is poor, with a lot of wear etc, then one should probably look elsewhere.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Vintage Japanese Kamisori grind folding straights are all quality. For those blades "Best quality" should not be considered not a red flag IMO. One thing Japanese are really good at is making quality blades using quality steels.
Of course if the condition of the blade is poor, with a lot of wear etc, then one should probably look elsewhere.

Wow. Thanks so much for the quick reply. Everyone has been quite helpful here. I have been able to get some very instructive information since signing up. I am very grateful for this.