Thread: mirror polishing a iwasaki? sacrilege?

So my iwasaki kamisori just arrived. I removed the yeallow handle wrap and found minor rust. Now I'm thinking why not polish the whole thing instead. I have sandpaper from 240 to 1500 euro system. Would that be bad? I have noticed rust is attracted to unpolished surfaces. and the more polished they are the less it will rust. I don't care about resale value.

The surface of this razor seems to be from the clay they coat the razor in while hardening. Sometimes you get this black surface on oil quenched parts, since they are 1000C when they hit the oil so it burns and sticks to the surface, and the result is black. and it could also simply get oxidized in the kiln to this color. And those 2 finishes are porous and hold oil to prevent rust. But this clay method?? I don't know I guess it hold a bit of oil. but obviously it wasn't enough in my case.

Would you guys crucify me (or just "find me and kill me") if I removed all the black and the rust from my iwasaki?

It’s your razor so I think you should do as you please (I would try to restore the black finish for a traditional look, but that’s just my view on aesthetics).

My understanding is that the handle and spine of the razor (i.e. all except the thin sliver of high carbon steel that makes up the edge) are wrought iron. I don’t know how well the will polish up, or if it is even capable of taking a mirror polish.

No, we have the SRP Secret Police to do the really dirty work.

Like he said it's your razor so you do with it what you like.

One thing for sure, if you polish it up you will have a unique piece for sure.

Actually I tried that with a vintage kamisori. It looks pretty but something about it doesn't look right.

I was talking with a pro custom razor maker, who does it full time, has made thousands of razors, and is obviously highly skilled. We were discussing a project that involved a couple of hundred razors.

He said he was going to give them a satin finish because the cost factor of mirror polishing would be prohibitive. He said that when you get to the end of a mirror finish one moment of inattention can ruin the whole thing.

Say that to say, if you are confident in your skill level go for it. If not maybe seek an alternative. If I bought a new razor from a vendor and it came rusty I might consider sending it back for a replacement.

Mmmmm, I would not do that with an Iwasaki if I had one. Also the Mirror finish of extending onto the handle, i would think would be a slippery one. It is your razor and in theory no one should judge you for what you do with your stuff.

Maybe our more astute members on tru Kami,s, would know , but I would agree if the material in the handle is not that kind of steel,mand as mirror on the handle , like Rez said pretty slick, I think I would rustproof and reward the handle, Tc

If it's a nice Iwasaki you may want to consider experimenting with something else.

Please dont!
Its your razor so do what you want, the black part is left over from the forging process and to me adds to the beauty.

I assume you're talking about something like this?

I would buff the crap out of it, then get someone to make a handle like brass knuckles and insert the Iwasaki into it....whoa.
You will ride eternal, shiny, and chrome.