Thread: Shaving with a Kamisori

Glen, the most unusual series of videos I have ever seen. Is it a common practice in Japan for a woman to have a complete face, nose, forehead, eyebrow and on and on shave? That and I'd like to have whatever the shavee was on, I haven't had as good a rest as she seems to be having in a long time.

I had seen one of them in the past, I finally found them again by accident through a link to another Vid so I figured I would post them..

I honestly don't know to much about the reasons, I had been told once that the gals were Geisha and that the traditional White makeup would show the fine hairs so they have it shaved before they wear it.. Sounds logical but I don't know if it is accurate

I do know that watching a true artist work a razor gave me some ideas that improved on my meager techniques using a Kamisori so I figured I would share

After I wrote my reply I realized that it had something to do with being a Geisha. And yes, the delicacy of touch the shaver demonstrated made me feel like I had been attacking my face with a large wood axe. I think if I tied a helium filled balloon to my shaving hand I could achieve the feather light touch needed for a good shave. My arm usually feels like it has a 50 lb weight attached to it and I'm attacking a side of beef.

This guy Hirakawa, has another channel, with honing and shaving vids. He seem to have removed the Kamisori shaving videos, he uses both sides of the razor.


Hirakawa Itirou - YouTube

One of the other things that was apparent to me when I first watched this a few years ago was the level of keenness that had to be on the razor's edge to make what he was doing even possible.. It really helped me when I was learning to hone Kamisori

Ok found the right guy, it was not Hirakawa , it was this guy

barberyanagi - YouTube

he has several kamisori shaving vids, he has very nice technique IMO

here the first one of the series

thanks Stefan I didn't want to say that looks like two different techniques, besides the difference in razors...

Some really good stuff hidden away, did you note the use of the Pigtail style laps on the one sharpening vid, that was pretty cool to see being used in Japan as well as seeing Liam using it in England...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

thanks Stefan I didn't want to say that looks like two different techniques, besides the difference in razors...

Some really good stuff hidden away, did you note the use of the Pigtail style laps on the one sharpening vid, that was pretty cool to see being used in Japan as well as seeing Liam using it in England...

Glen,
I saw the honing technique, I have seen it in one of JimR's vids with his barber as well, probably pretty popular in Japan.
One thing I have noticed on a lot of western razors owned by barbers in japan is extreme honing towards the tip. The razor basically look like slants with the heel wider than the tow. I always wondered what was the reason for that kind of honing. I wonder if it was from improper execution of the pigtail stroke.

Could be Stefan, one thing I noted in the vids too is that the barbers seem to really use the tips quite a bit, much more than I do when I am shaving myself, in fact I tend to be rather heel strong when I shave regardless of Type of Razor,, So maybe a combination of the honing and that they are trying to get the front of the razor to be a touch sharper