One word, WOW!!!!

I completed my first shave with my new Jstr8, thanks O_S. When it arrived I tried it and it seemed not quite shave ready, I was trying to use the Ura side though. I spent some time last night trying out my new shoubu asagi which I got from a discount source(not 330mate). I took my time and followed the directions I have found around here for honing a Jstr8, not religiously but they did give me a starting point. I payed more attention to the photos as they seem to contradict the words below them. I did drop back to a 1k just to blunt the points a bit, just to make me feel a little safer. Today I went for another try and it shaved great. I used the Ura side towards my face on my left face, the omote side on my right face, then the neck I did omote on left, and ura on my right neck. I did three passes WTG(N-S),XTG and an opposite XTG. Alternating between the ura and omote each pass. When I was finished I had a very comparable shave to my Wstr8, not bad for a first try and even better in some spots thanks to the smaller size (#1). The areas where I used the ura more were smoother and more comfortable than the areas where the omote was used more, imo, but that could of just been better angles I guess. I also thought the razor felt better and easier to manuever while shaving with the ura towards my face. Next shave I am going to go for an ura only shave, the one after that an omote only shave, that is if I can figure out how to get both sides of the razor to every spot, and do another comparison. I love the way these razors shave and wish I would of found them sooner, the description I have seen comparing them to a sports car is spot on. If you havent tried one yet, I say go for it. On a side note this was my first razor to get shaving sharp, talk about satisfaction, shaving with a razor you sharpened yourself feels like a quite an accomplishment, I havent been able to get the smile off my face since, :), see.

Congrats. They are indeed a joy to use & not difficult to hone.
I do find the Omote is the preferable side to use but with care the Ura can get you into an otherwise difficult area to access.

omote? ura ? :confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused:

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

& not difficult to hone.

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Well thanks so much for down playing what I thought was an accomplishment. :( , kidding :) It was easy compared to the western str8s I have tried so far, I havent succeeded at any of those yet, now that I have my new favorite razor it might be quite a while longer.

If you think of a woodworking chisel. The flat side is Ura & the bevel side is Omote :)

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Originally Posted by nessmuck

omote? ura ? :confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused:

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Omote is the wedge side, Ura is the stamped side.

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Originally Posted by Jasongreat

Well thanks so much for down playing what I thought was an accomplishment. :( , kidding :) It was easy compared to the western str8s I have tried so far, I havent succeeded at any of those yet, now that I have my new favorite razor it might be quite a while longer.

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LOL.. I meant to say they are really difficult to hone :p

The extra length & often irregular grinding or warped spines etc in Western straights can be more of a challenge. Hang in there.

thanks, i will have to use those words the next time i play boggle with the wife.:)

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Originally Posted by nessmuck

thanks, i will have to use those words the next time i play boggle with the wife.:)

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You might like the words on this page too. :D
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...Japanese+razor

Well yesterday I went for my second kamasori shave. I did a WTG pass, then did one XTG pass(from right to left, so I didnt need to contort too much(arm over head)) and for the first time ever went for a full ATG pass. My left side was easy for the first two passes and the right side was easy except for about a 1" strip along the far right side, I think I just need to get a little more limber, I couldnt quite get my arm to pull back far enough to easily get the sideburn area and where the jaw meets the neck. Those spots were a little raw and had some stubble left thanks to the trouble I was having properly getting the razor in place. For the ATG I cheated and used my left hand but I did keep my previous intentions and kept the Ura against my face for the whole shave. I sat the spine right on the skin and went slow, using long continuous strokes instead of the short strokes, which really gave me a close shave but I did have a little irritation. The more time I spend with the kamisori the more I like it though. Tomorrow will be my omote only shave and judging by the video of JimR(thanks) it will be a challenge to complete the shave with just the omote side used, he made it look easy, but I feel that beard growth should guide my shave and not the ability to get the razor to reach every spot so my experience will probably differ from his. So far I am liking the Ura side against the face, it seems intuitave that way, tomorrow might change that though. My first shave seemed so easy when I wasnt trying to use just one side but to do what I needed to do to reach whichever spot and shave in the right direction. Luckily I have already spent my shaving allowance(actually have gone way, way over it :)) or I would probably be ordering a left handed custom Jstr8, since imo that would make this an easy task to conquer. Just when I thought I had RAD under control, I find a new type of razor to tempt me(one that cant be found on ebay for under 20$), just when I thought I was out they pulled me back in.

On a side note I have noticed that the finish is a little rougher on the Jstr8s. Yesterday I noticed that from the time I started shaving to the time I ended(it was quite a bit of time :)) I had a couple spots of rust starting to form. Do you guys oil your Jstr8s more or the same as your westerns? I havent had to oil a western in my climate yet, have you guys seen this too, or is it just me? I came across a thread about adding a patina finish, I like the look of a good patina, is there any protective qualities or is it just for looks?

I've been using my kamisori razors with increasing degrees of success. I use the ura against my face, which seems to work best for me. Using one hand and one side of the razor has been a bit of an adjustment for me but it has been a lot of fun to learn.

I really like these razors, although I don't think they will become an exclusive thing for me. For sure they have a regular spot in the rotation, just not every day.

Bill
I would have to say that so far I love this razor and can see myself using it regularly. However I can see a lefthanded Jstr8 in my future just to make it easier. If and when I get to where I can get two passes to clean me up I could get by with just the one, though, I think, unfortunately I doubt I will get to that point before I buy my next one.:) Do you try to complete a WTG pass first or do you cut in whatever direction is easiest? Do you find that the far right hand pass is still difficult to get to or is it getting better each shave?

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Originally Posted by Jasongreat

Yesterday I noticed that from the time I started shaving to the time I ended(it was quite a bit of time :)) I had a couple spots of rust starting to form. Do you guys oil your Jstr8s more or the same as your westerns? I havent had to oil a western in my climate yet, have you guys seen this too, or is it just me? I came across a thread about adding a patina finish, I like the look of a good patina, is there any protective qualities or is it just for looks?

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Some steels will rust quicker than others & rust can attack patinated steels too. I oil all my razors after use due to the climate here.

Today I went for shave number three and it seems my happiness over sharpening my first razor was a little premature. It didnt seem nearly as sharp. I tried to use the omote side only but I was getting some pulling. I thought the razor had maybe dulled a bit so I checked using the ura on the other side of my face and it cut better but it still took quite a few passes to get all the whiskers. Once I found that it wasnt completely dull I went back to using the omote and really worked on the angles which seemed to help a little but I had a hard time getting the omote side to everywhere it needed to be. I ended up doing just a two pass shave, my face isnt nearly as smooth as last shave but still better than any cartridge shave I have ever had. The omote side is too much of a pain to use as the one and only side for me, next shave I am going back to the ura side. I am also going to pull out my hones and see if I can get this razor any sharper, i'm going to go until I can do the hanging hair test as demonstrated on one of the sharpening a japanese straight demos. I want to just have to raise the razor to my face and have all the whiskers just jump off out of fear.:rolleyes: Off to the hones.