Thread: The Zowada Michi-gane Razor Review

I’ve been straight razor shaving for about 5 years now, and for a while now I’ve wanted to invest in a spectacular custom razor.
I’m a big fan of Tim’s work and have been following the Michi-gane story for some time now, so when Classic Shaving put a couple of them up for sale, I couldn’t resist and pulled the trigger.



For those of you who are unfamiliar with Michi-gane, it’s steel that’s been smelted from Lake Superior beach sand in the style of Japanese Tamahagane. Tamahagane smelting technology has been around for about 3000 years, and was made obsolete about 150 years ago with the invention of the Bessemer furnace. There is only one company currently making Tamahagane razors in Japan (Iwasaki and Co), and only one in North America (Tim Zowada). The Michi-gane project began two years ago, with the first two blades going on sale in November 2011.
Each Michi-gane blade takes about 40 hours to make, so they tend to be expensive compared to most Damascus razors (my Michi-gane cost $2300). A single razor requires about 20 lbs of iron-rich ‘black’ Lake Superior sand, which is time-consuming to collect in quantity as it’s found only in very thin top layers or around large objects close to the water. Once a bloom forms in a handmade smelter (also time consuming to make, and only good for two smelts before it starts to disintegrate), much of the steel is lost to oxidation during the forging process. Only at that point can the blade itself be ground.



This particular piece is the second Michi-gane razor that Tim made (the first one can be seen in the Knives 2012 article), and according to Tim it’s the first one where everything went right. Tim references this exact piece here (http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...es-razors.html) in an SRP article he wrote on Hamon lines. In keeping with the Michigan theme, it has made-in-Michigan walnut scales which are removable with a hex key (the one that came with my Hart razor fit perfectly).



The steel itself has a silky smooth texture, and although it came with a high polish, I would describe the metal color as platinum grey (like you’d imagine to see on the barrel of a wild west revolver), likely the result of its rustic hand-smelted nature. The tang is embossed with the ‘TZ’ logo, and the blade has a few tiny horizontal ‘grooves’ on one side, likely evidence of the 15 ‘folds’ that take place during the Michi-gane forging process.



Unlike most of the Hart razors, the Zowada Michi-gane tang is un-jimped. SRC hardness is estimated between 62 and 63, and like a Hart, the blade is ¼ ground.

The razor arrived shaving sharp, and to prep I gave it 40 laps on a leather strop, and lathered up using a Dovo Ebony-handled brush and Taylor of Old Bond St ‘St James’ puck soap.

The shaving experience was exceptional; I would compare it to shaving with a Hart razor (not surprising since Tim trained the Hart team), although it requires frequent stropping during shaving. I like to give it several passes on leather after every two shaving passes. While it does require more stropping than most razors because of the Michi-gane’s unique nature, you get used to it quickly. Another point to mention is that Michi-gane steel stains even more easily than regular carbon steel if you don’t dry it properly. I made this mistake early on, but Classic Shaving came to the rescue and sent me some 3 micron pink paper and some 2 micron green paper which quickly fixed the problem. I’ve also used Peek metal polish with good results, and the blade and scales are now protected with Renaissance Wax.



Michi-gane is a high-carbon steel, with a carbon content of about 1%. Because, unlike modern steels, it lacks chromium, vanadium and other alloy materials, Michi-gane has relatively low abrasion resistance. For that reason, CrOx or other abrasives aren’t required; a few passes on a clean linen strop are all that’s required to keep the razor sharp for months. I currently own a “Mountain Mike” American Leather strop from Classic Shaving which I love, but the nylon webbing ‘canvas’ that comes with it wasn’t giving me enough abrasiveness, so I ordered a clean linen ‘single component’ strop from The Well Shaved Gentleman, which I’ve been thoroughly impressed with. I also like that I didn’t have to buy a new leather strop to go with it.

Sure, Michi-gane is expensive. But I remind myself that if it takes a week to make one, then the bladesmith/smelter/forger is making half what a mediocre car mechanic makes, and that’s not including materials or retailer mark up. Michi-gane is truly a labor of love. It’s also a good investment since very few of these are likely to be made due to the high cost. Great work, Tim!

You can read more about Michi-gane steel smelting and razor forging here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...ane-razor.html

That is beautifully executed razor. Having heated and bent a lot of steel in a forge in years past, I can say that the maker is indeed a craftsman of the highest order.

It's a beauty.

Thanks for sharing the very in depth review, and pictures, of Tim's new work and welcome to SRP. It may be moved to our "Reviews" section which is probably the place for it.

It is a good looking razor for sure, and the story behind it is with no doubt fascinating, but....

It requires frequent stropping during shaving.

Maybe it's just me, but the need of stropping during shaving is not what I would expect from a $2300 razor, in my ears this sound like the steel really isn't suited for a razor?

Do you know anything about how Tim Honed the razor I:E using his secondary bevel technique perhaps(which I love by the way)

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Do you know anything about how Tim Honed the razor I:E using his secondary bevel technique perhaps(which I love by the way)

I don't know for sure and I don't have a microscope to check, but he hasn't said otherwise, and I'd imagine he uses the Zowada Method to hone all his razors before he sends them out....

Originally Posted by Zephyr

It is a good looking razor for sure, and the story behind it is with no doubt fascinating, but....



Maybe it's just me, but the need of stropping during shaving is not what I would expect from a $2300 razor, in my ears this sound like the steel really isn't suited for a razor?

+1... Cool looking razor & I've only honed 2 tamahagane razors, both by Iwasaki, so my experience may be minimal but I can't see any reason why one should need to strop between passes especially with a 63HRC razor.

It is a beautiful razor. Thanks for the review, Tim made at least one with steel from a meteorite that I would have loved to have gotten. I heard it is out of this world.

+1 on wondering about stropping between passes. Not something I've had to do with a shave ready razor so I can only attribute the need to your particular whiskers. Probably a lot tougher than mine.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

It is a beautiful razor. Thanks for the review, Tim made at least one with steel from a meteorite that I would have loved to have gotten. I heard it is out of this world.

+1 on wondering about stropping between passes. Not something I've had to do with a shave ready razor so I can only attribute the need to your particular whiskers. Probably a lot tougher than mine.

Tim actually mentions the part about stropping between passes in the Knives 2012 article, and references different stropping and care techniques in his Michi-gane preview on SRP (linked above), so it's well documented. Of course, there are also advantages to Michi-gane over modern steels (ie, no pastes needed), plus the obvious intrinsic value.

That is a Beautiful piece of art. Congrats!