Thread: My Iwasaki Progress

Now my Iwasaki razor was meant to be a Christmas gift from my mother however as I hadn’t seen her to give it to her to wrap I felt it had been lying around too long to remain unused!

I’ve just completed my second shave with it and am completely delighted. Sure the shaves leave a fair amount to be desired however as far as my expectations go for my third ever attempt at a straight shave thus far my expectations have been exceeded.

The razor had arrived honed and shave ready. Prior to my first shave I looked and played with the razor a lot; my girlfriend has already commented on the fact my left arm appears to have developed alopecia as I kept checking how smoothly it could take off hair. I also badly practiced stropping the razor which dulled it greatly. Not to worry, I have a Coticule stone so decided to attempt to polish the blade. This last step worked surprisingly well and returned my razor to a fairly decent shape where it could once again pass the hanging hair test at around a 2 to 3.

My stropping is really weak, and definitely an area I need to work on. Currently I am using the 19” by 2.25” Dovo Prima Rindleder strop. Would a wider strop, and one made out of a slightly better leather, make the learning curve any easier? I suspect I am being that workman that blames his tools here and basically need to practice more.

As for the shaves, both times I used a hot towel spritzed with Rive Gauche Intense as prep, D.R. Harris Rose cream and a New Forrest Brushes prototype I was lucky enough to receive which is my favorite brush. I was also sporting several days growth partially due to laziness and partially to make the shave slightly easier.

The first pass was WTG. The second XTG on my face and WTG on my chin. The third pass was ATG on face only. For the second and third passes I use cold water instead of hot though the lather is still usually quite warm.

My face is a little tender but that’s it. Alum and a little Aloe gel have basically soothed my face; it’s nothing like the two days of razor burn I went through after my first DE shave! It’s a perfectly passable shave and at a push I’d suggest DFS on my cheeks. And I’m please to say no nicks or weepers!

I think I’ve managed to complete my shaves entirely due to the razor being slightly duller that it should ideally be. I’m certainly not having to put pressure and drag the blade to cut though I guess from my experiences, using a DE comparison, it’s closer to a Derby than a Feather feel. There were a couple of occasions where my skin tensioning wasn’t quite there / angle was slightly off and I saw my skin bunch up a little. I’m sure were the blade as sharp as when it came I’d be nursing a few cuts now.

I’m sure for these first two shave this slight dullness has helped. I’m planning on polishing my razor again on the Coticule to get it slightly sharper again.

I obviously have a lot to learn, and much practice ahead, but I am already delighted with my switch to straight shaving.

Thanks to everyone on here who’s post have educated and encouraged me, and most importantly given me the confidence that straight shaving was possible. After my first disastrous experience two years ago I never though it possible!

So far so good
Maybe a wider strop may help initially but the strop you have will force you to learn the X stroke. A good thing IMHO.
Once you dial in that edge & get the hang of shaving with it I think you can kiss razor burn good-bye. Just remember,as with all Japanese single bevel tools the omote (non stamped side) gets most of the sharpening.
I'm assuming it's not one of his western style razors

You have an Iwasaki as your first razor!?

Originally Posted by gull

You have an Iwasaki as your first razor!?

That's the way to start. Which reminds me that I still want an Iwasaki...

Originally Posted by heirkb

That's the way to start. Which reminds me that I still want an Iwasaki...

Ditto on that. I will one find mine tucked away in some dark dusty corner of an antique shop somewhere and the owner won't know what it is and ask 30$... sorry, dreaming just then.

tk6;

You remind me of me. I got my first Iwasaki over a year ago from SRD so I knew it was tuned up. It was my sole razor for 6 months. Prior to that I had picked up a couple Str8s years ago (pre-internet) and tried to hone them but I had no guidance. Then I came across SRP and the forums and started reading. I am fortunate enough to have found a couple SRP mentors in my area and they set my feet on the paths of knowledge regarding razors, stones etc, etc and I never looked back.

Like OZ said a wider strop may help, but 2.5” is plenty wide for an Iwasaki kamisori blade. The edge is tricky to hone, go easy. Mine get refreshed on the J-nats and Eschers in that order. There is no margin for error on the bevel set with one of these razors. You either have it ready or you don’t. The karibe, (I think is the correct spelling) is fragile. If I am hearing you correctly, i.e.

[QUOTE=tk6;706701]There were a couple of occasions where my skin tensioning wasn’t quite there / angle was slightly off and I saw my skin bunch up a little. I’m sure were the blade as sharp as when it came I’d be nursing a few cuts now.
I’m sure for these first two shave this slight dullness has helped. I’m planning on polishing my razor again on the Coticule to get it slightly sharper again.

You may consider sending it out to a honemeister to get the edge back to where it needs to be. Then stropping on linen and leather, maybe some CrOx. I have two Iwasaki kamisori blades. Both are great shavers. They shave very close like a full hollow ground, but are smooth like a big wedge. Like OZ said once you get that the edge dialed in no more razor burn. Have fun.
MIke

It's not my first razor, but it is one of my firsts. I recently bought a Iwasaki from Rasurpur.de. I *love* it. I've only shaved a couple of times with it as I try to rotate through the other razors.

I've been goofing off for the last few days and working from home in preparation for the holidays. My stubble was almost beard like. Today, I decided, was the day. I didn't shower, just applied hot water and a hot towel to my face for 5 minutes or so. I put a dollop of Proraso cream in my scuttle. About a teaspoon of hot water. A fantastic lather a few minutes later. I like to put on a good base of lather and then rub the brush in the scuttle to pick up lots of cream, and then a brief dash under the hot water. I rub this in and it create a very nice warm lather with a few soapy bubbles for me.

Next? I place the Iwasaki perpendicular to my sideburn line and then slowly raise it to about 25 degrees or so off my face. Slice. It sang to me. Reposition. Slice. It was a joyous moment. Reposition. Slice. Now I was no Grisly Adams or anything, but I had a good mountain man look going. Slice by slice it was disappearing. I've developed a "shaving map" of my face - where I do each part and in what order and how far and against/with/across the grain. I did three passes - with nice hot water and a warm lather resupply - covering WTG, ATG, and XTG on most of my face.

Man, it was freaken' awesome. A religious experience.

I reverently cleaned and oiled the Iwasaki afterward and put it back in its place of honor in the shave den.

Thanks for your responses.

Yup, I guess my Iwasaki is my proper first straight. (I had a ERN Crown & Sword though gave up on that a couple of years ago after a disastrous first shave!)

I really loved the look of the oriental style razors, and whilst style shouldn't be everything, I'd also read this was a pretty good razor too! When I started DE shaving I was warned off getting a Merkur Futur but that was what I wanted and if putting up with a slightly longer learning curve is the offset then so be it.

I think as I have no real experience with straights starting out with an Iwasaki is perhaps slightly easier for me as I have little to compare it to. Admittedly using only one side of the blade has had me contorting a little to find a good angle and resorting to left hand shaving but I guess I'd be searching for good angles anyway using a regular straight.

I do think I'll have to send it off to be re-honed fairly soon. I fear my attempts may be damaging it but think I'll wait until after Christmas.

I too hope to be getting a second Iwasaki when they next come into stock here in the UK!

Jamie

Once you are up and running and using it properly switching to a western razor will be a real piece of cake. Many guys use both sides thinking it's either impossible to use one side or mistakingly thinking that's the way it should be.

Those of us who do it the right way know better.