Thread: Tamahagane Razors?

For those of us unable to watch the show: what's a 'high museum' and a 'five body blade'

Bruno

try this link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/samurai/

If I were going to Tokyo, the National Sword Museum is the one to see.

In the old days, blades were tested on bodies. Testing information sometimes comes incised on the tang of the blade. The higher the number the higher the quality of cutting tool.

I really hope that nobody here wants tamahagane razors evaluated in the same manner.

I for one, do - you test the razor on a body using the tool for its intended purpose (i.e., not to cut off the head, but to shave the face) - the higher the number, the higher the quality of the cutting tool.

Oh, wait. Shigeyoshi Iwasaki already uses this method - http://www.munemasa.co.jp/english/1707-301.htm - 1032 people without needing a hone.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

In the old days, blades were tested on bodies. Testing information sometimes comes incised on the tang of the blade. The higher the number the higher the quality of cutting tool.

I really hope that nobody here wants tamahagane razors evaluated in the same manner.

And let me hurriedly add, before someone chastises me that I don't understand that the number of shaves has nothing to do with the quality of those shaves - I do, and that was meant to be humorous.