Thread: Japanese razor

Today I shaved with a Japanese razor for the first time. I don't know what kind it is as I can't read what is one the razor or the box. But!!! I'm BBS!! The shave went real nice, no blood no pain. I was very surprised at how easy this razor was to use. I did wrap the handle in kangaroo leather lacing before using it. I'm thinking I need a few more of these razors. Not sure exactly how to hone them, but I did give it few passes on a 16000 stone and then stropped it I'm I doing this right??
Anyways, it was a great shave.

Originally Posted by denmason

Today I shaved with a Japanese razor for the first time. I don't know what kind it is as I can't read what is one the razor or the box. But!!! I'm BBS!! The shave went real nice, no blood no pain. I was very surprised at how easy this razor was to use. I did wrap the handle in kangaroo leather lacing before using it. I'm thinking I need a few more of these razors. Not sure exactly how to hone them, but I did give it few passes on a 16000 stone and then stropped it I'm I doing this right??
Anyways, it was a great shave.

Great Shave you did it right but really every blade is different so no one can say for sure without have blade in hand the 16 put a polish on it so it was probably close to shave ready when you got it

I'd love to try a Japanese razor one day

But I've been wondering how the razor holds in the hand.
Ain't it harder to control a Japanese razor then a straight?


Maybe this can help you with the honing process:
Japanese Razor Sharpening

Originally Posted by denmason

Not sure exactly how to hone them

Hone 3 strokes on the concave side , then 2 strokes on the convex side . I usually do 3-5 repetitions to touch up the edge .

Originally Posted by Joelski78

I'd love to try a Japanese razor one day

But I've been wondering how the razor holds in the hand.
Ain't it harder to control a Japanese razor then a straight?

If you can shave with a regular straight , you shouldn't have much trouble shaving with a Japanese straight . Keep your regular straight handy , to finish up with until you are able to do all of beard with the Japanese razor .

What hone do you use?

Originally Posted by Joelski78

Maybe this can help you with the honing process:
Japanese Razor Sharpening

I found this hard to understand. Computer translations still have a long way to go!

Originally Posted by Kees

I found this hard to understand. Computer translations still have a long way to go!

Yes, indeed.
I tried to read it myself but didn't understand any of it.
I hoped the pictures would clarify some things. I'm sorry if this wasn't of any help.

There are several sites showing razor sharpening and they are all a bit different. However all recommend a 12K hone and they all recommend the usual ratio of strokes on the concave and convex sides. The differences are that some use typical honing strokes and some use back and forth honing strokes and some recommend varying degrees of downward pressure. I recently worked on a members japanese razor and I had to reset the bevel on it and with really no idea on what I was doing and no guidance I had to do some real flying by the seat of my pants honing and a lot of experimentation. I haven't gotten a verdict from the member yet so if it was a success I'll post a description of exactly how I did it. If it wasn't a success I'll just fade off into the sunset.

I will say this though, after this experience everything I've read about honing these things is going out the window as far as I'm concerned.

Originally Posted by Kees

What hone do you use?

I have had success with my Norton 8k , Shapton 15k , and my recently acquired Maruichi Nakayama Asagi hone (the one pictured in my avitar) . In short , whatever you're already using to hone your razors will work . I use the 3/2 ratio , that I already mentioned , with the edge leading . I DO NOT hone back and forth , and I don't reccomend doing so . I use the same amount of pressure that I use on any other razor , which is almost none , only enough to keep the edge in contact with the hone . I strop my Japanese razor the same way I strop my other razors , meaning that I don't use the 3/2 ratio when stropping . This method works well for me , so it should work well for anyone else , too . Hope this info helps .