Inoue Tosuki Kamisori...

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09-26-2011, 04:04 PM
mjbryant

Inoue Tosuke Kamisori...
Good day to you all & a shave free of nicks...

I purchased this kamisori because the description stated it was made by Inoue Tosuke. The kangi on the paper and presentation box match what I have seen when doing research on this kamisori as meaning Inoue Tosuke.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...3/P1020869.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...3/P1020857.jpg

It, as far as I can tell, matches one being advertised on another sales board as a stainless steel model. I see no "weld" line on my kamisori that would identify it as made from hard/soft metal.

The name on the handle is written like I have never seen; most that I have seen state "TOSUKE" & the handle is embossed differently and seems to be a lighter blue than this one.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...3/P1020863.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...3/P1020862.jpg

Kamisoris look larger in their pictures and against a H.L. Thater ebony brush this one seems tiny - the cutting edge is 46 mm; from spine to edge is 16 mm; & its total length is 146mm.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...3/P1020860.jpg

I read somewhere, in the very large amount of information on SRP & I will search again till found, the translation of what is stamped inside this razor's presentation box.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...3/P1020870.jpg

If anyone has any information regarding this kamisori, I would appreciate having it. Like...
- Estimate of when made
- Metal composition - is it stainless?
- Is it a true Inoue Tosuke made razor & not a Tosuke handled one?
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...3/P1020853.jpg
09-26-2011, 11:02 PM
thebigspendur

1 Attachment(s)

I'm no expert but that doesn't look like a Tosuke. I'm very skeptical of any Stainless ones until I actually see one.
09-26-2011, 11:33 PM
FiveOhNine

Good purchase, should be a magnificent shaver! Grip isn't a Tosuke, but the razor is.
09-27-2011, 12:14 AM
JimR

The box says it's a special new edition Stainless Tosuke...first I've seen, but that's what it says.

The razor is stamped "Tosuke" but lacks most of the other usual markings.

Interesting...you might have a collector's item there.
09-27-2011, 12:21 AM
mainaman

what is the size of this one?
I honed a 4/8 one in exactly the same box recently but did nit pay attention to the grip markings.
09-27-2011, 12:43 AM
pixelfixed

Nice blade,made by the company tosuki perhaps,but not made I think by Inoue Tosuki.
His name is heavily marketed on modern blades.
09-27-2011, 12:50 AM
JimR

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Nice blade,made by the company tosuki perhaps,but not made I think by Inoue Tosuki.
His name is heavily marketed on modern blades.

I don't understand, why would you say that? His name is clearly on it. His ADDRESS is on it. What leads you to believe that there even is a "Tosuki" company?

As far as marketing goes, I've yet to see any "marketing" of Kamisori anywhere except shaving fora.
09-27-2011, 12:55 AM
pixelfixed

Is plenty of marketing on ebay for Tosuki blades,as you well know he is long gone.
The blades he actually made are not signed like that (as you well know)
09-27-2011, 03:00 AM
FiveOhNine

I have seen a large number of 'Tosuke' razors and nothing I have seen leads me to believe any of them were not made by the man himself....except, if memory serves, some of which that were started by him and then finished by someone else, post mortem (Ichihara Kityotaka iirc, which were marked as such).
09-27-2011, 03:19 AM
JimR

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Is plenty of marketing on ebay for Tosuki blades,as you well know he is long gone.
The blades he actually made are not signed like that (as you well know)

I don't know, in fact. In fact, I know very little about Inoue TOSUKE except that he's a razor maker.

However, a quick google image search shows lots of stamp patterns on TOSUKE razors, and in fact a couple of Stainless ones. Here's a sample: Tosuke Razors
Notice there's a stainless one stamped just like the OP's razor.

But hey, what do I know. (Apart from the fact that his name's TOSUKE.)
09-27-2011, 06:50 AM
mjbryant

Some Information that I found...

Thanks for all the help with this razor!

JimR, a special thanks for your help, and your blog Blogs | Eastern Smooth and the wonderful information that is available there (I also corrected the "TOSUKE" misspelling in my original post).

Here is some aditional information that I found for this razor...
Google is good!

On the ura side of the rubber grip is written "Kikusui" & I found in Wikipedia:

"Kikusui (菊水町; -machi) was a town located in Tamana District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. On March 1, 2006 Kikusui was merged with the town of Mikawa, also from Tamana District, to form the new town of Nagomi and no longer exists as an independent municipality. As of 2005, the town had an estimated population of 6,523 and a density of 170 persons per km². The total area was 38.27 km²" and this: "The Kikusui ("Floating Chrysanthemum") raids, a series of ten large kamikaze suicide raids carried out by Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army aircraft against Allied ships off Okinawa in 1945"

And, are those floating chrysanthemum's on this kamisori's handle?????

Also, "Kikusui", among many other Google hits, is a brewer of saki and a hotel.

I think the name on the omote side of the rubber grip is "Yasuki" and it is the name of the steel. Some reference is made in an advanced honing post by "alx" from January 2011 here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...urr-edge.html; there is at least one more post with a mention of "Yasuki" steel in SRP.
If I am correct and that is the name of the steel from which this razor is made, details can be found here: http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/medi..._M_WE_D_en.pdf

So I believe that my razor is an "Inoue Tosuke - Yasuki Kamisori" & the Master' name is not on the rubber grip, it is stamped into the ura. But, "What do I know" - read that somewhere...
09-27-2011, 08:18 AM
Bruno

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimR

The box says it's a special new edition Stainless Tosuke...first I've seen, but that's what it says.

The razor is stamped "Tosuke" but lacks most of the other usual markings.

Interesting...you might have a collector's item there.

It's also ground from 1 piece instead of the usual design with high quality steel welded to a separate handle.
But it looks well made.

Interesting case here.
09-27-2011, 08:22 AM
Bruno

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimR

I don't understand, why would you say that? His name is clearly on it. His ADDRESS is on it. What leads you to believe that there even is a "Tosuki" company?

As far as marketing goes, I've yet to see any "marketing" of Kamisori anywhere except shaving fora.

Japanese themselves hardly know what a kamisori is.
A couple of years ago when I was one of the first to get a dozen or so for members here, I asked around on a sumo forum filled with Japanese people and Japanophiles living in Japan. None of them understood what I was looking for. Eventually I found one person who understood me and who knew where to look for them.

I agree with Jim here. Very few people know what a kamisori is, even in Japan, and there is no 'marketing' anywhere outside of a couple of shaving forums.