Thread: Kamisori experts’ opinion is welcome

gssixgun I wanted to ask you this:
In your video you say that it must be used an 8k stone.
This particular razor has never been used and never been honed. Doing the arm hair test it cuts absolutely no hair at all. So I was thinking that I should start honing on the 1k (Norton) and then pass to 4K, 8K, and finish to the Chinese stone.

Would you start on the 8k anyway?

I am using a Coticule in that Vid and I am using a slurry...

On a totally dull Kamisori yes you are going to have to set the bevel but You want to be careful using low grit stones as they "Cut" deep into the steel on these...
You are going to be using a fair bit of pressure compared to honing a Western razor so I would at the very lowest start at around 4k-6k if I wasn't using a Coticule.. It is much better to polish more and cut less on these.. In fact one of the reasons I like the Coticule for setting these is they cut shallow and start with a nice haze finish... You can achieve almost the same by using a slurry on your Norton 8k too..

I'll second Glen here,
I have not watched his vids but I found out that Coticule is great for starting work on Kamisori. You might be able to get a very nice edge of Coticule too, I personally prefer to finish kamisori on Jnat or Escher.

Don't experiment with your honing skills on that razor. You can damage one of those with the wrong technique faster than you can say Tokyo. Do your self a favor and send it out. It really needs a major hone job not a touchup.

Too late my friend.
I could get no sleep thinking of it. So I got down to my hones to work on it.
The edge looks very different, very sharp, and the arm hair test passes easily.
Too bad I shaved earlier this afternoon. Tomorrow or after tomorrow I will shave test.

What I am confused about is JimR is honing the "stamp side" of the razor against the edge and not using a backhoning motion like I commonly hear about. Also in JimRs latest blog he mentions that his new mentor tells him that 7:1 is wrong and then there is a diagram showing the motion his mentor taught him to get the correct edge.

it can be seen here:
Eastern Smooth: Iwasaki-Sensei-Lessons Learned Part 1

Originally Posted by Disburden

What I am confused about is JimR is honing the "stamp side" of the razor against the edge and not using a backhoning motion like I commonly hear about. Also in JimRs latest blog he mentions that his new mentor tells him that 7:1 is wrong and then there is a diagram showing the motion his mentor taught him to get the correct edge.

it can be seen here:
Eastern Smooth: Iwasaki-Sensei-Lessons Learned Part 1

I use both forward and back honing motion and it works fine. I do not kow if there is any real diffrence really.

It depends what you are trying to do. If you are doing major honing pretty much any good honing technique will work as long as you hone asymmetrically. For minor honing and touchups the usual back and forth strokes are appropriate. The original recommendations were a 3:1 ratio but I think many have found differing opinions on that. Some do the 3:1 some do 10:1 and some hone the non shaving side much less than 10:1.

Like with western honing you find what works best for you.

DON'T get caught up on the numbers, even if you are a Japanese style (Back and forth) honer the numbers can change,,,
Each razor just like their western counterparts can like a slightly different set...
You can even do a progressive pattern like 10-1, 7-1, 5-1, 3-1, on the same razor...
The biggest trick to honing Kamisori is learning the shifting pressure IMHO.. I also agree with Stefan that to get a "True Kamisori " sharpness on the edge you need to go to the really fine stones... I have always felt that these razors should be so sharp that the edge merely glides on the top of the skin never being pressed at all... again JMHO and what I like...


Edit: What TBS said hehehe