Thread: My holy grail, Iwasaki western Tamahagane

Thanks for the follow up. I suspect you're right regarding the difficulty estimating the date. What I do know is the workshop was founded in 1946, and according to Mr. Takeshi Aoki of Tokyo A-frames, he spoke with Iwasaki and was told that the first tamahagane western razors were made in 1952. It has also been said that the last of the Tamahagane Western razors was made in the mid 1980's. According to Takeshi, the numbers began in the 500's, and the highest serial number that I have seen was 1901.6. The serial numbers correspond to the batch number. Each batch had 9 or fewer razors. Half of the razors failed to meet Iwasaki's stringent inspections. The number after the period corresponds to the inspection number (so 1901.6 is batch 1901, razor #6). So given that numbering started at 500 and ended around 1900, yours is close to the middle of the production. Assuming production numbers were constant annually, which is a big assumption, that would place the production of your razor sometime in the late 60's to mid 1970's.

Or put more simply, there is no way to know, but your razor is probably 40-50 years old just like you said. At any rate, it's absolutely exceptional example. Congrats on a beautiful razor!

Thanks pete

I was very lucky to find one in such great condition. They do come up on flea bay from time to time but the sellers get carried away with prices.

Below is the list of Iwasaki Tamahagane Western Straight Razors that I've found in the wild. Yours is one of the best I've seen to date.

Dovo1695

I have corresponded with Takeshi a few times and he was most helpful.
I still find it amusing that in your first post you presented us with one of the most beautiful and significant razor there is by a master forger and you had no idea!
Thanks for taking the time to do your research on dating.

Originally Posted by petercp4e

I've been looking for something like this for a very long time. They are, indeed, almost impossible to find.

I probably shouldn't enable RAD, but if you're really looking for one, Takeshi at Tokyo A-frames actually has several of them right now. They range from well used one's to a few relatively unused ones. None are as pristine as markbignosekelly's but there are some great users for sure.

Straight Razor

Congrats on a knockout razor !


Just a fyi, the razors were made by Kousuke Iwasaki not Shigeyoshi who is his son & in business with Mizuo san.

Hey! While you educated fellas are here, I have an Iwasaki and feel most certain it is not one of the more highly desirable ones.

Still, I would like to know more about it?
Only pic I have right now. I could get a better one. Nothing on the backside tang.
Shaves great!
Thanks!

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Just a fyi, the razors were made by Kousuke Iwasaki not Shigeyoshi who is his son & in business with Mizuo san.

Shigeyoshi Iwasaki continued producing the Tamahagane Western razors after his father's death in 1967 until the mid 1980's upon the retirement of Tanifuji-sensei, who was responsible for finishing and polishing the razors. I learned this on the blog of Jim Rion, who had the privilege of meeting with Shigeyoshi Iwasaki, and translated Kousuke Iwasaki's barbers manual from Japanese into English. His website Eastern Smooth is a treasure trove of Iwasaki history.

Iwasaki-sensei: Lessons Learned Part 2 | Eastern Smooth: The Blog

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Hey! While you educated fellas are here, I have an Iwasaki and feel most certain it is not one of the more highly desirable ones.

Still, I would like to know more about it?
Only pic I have right now. I could get a better one. Nothing on the backside tang.
Shaves great!
Thanks!

It looks like a really nice example of an Iwasaki Western Swedish Carbon Steel Razor that's been nicely re-handled. I don't know a lot about the carbon steel ones, but I do know that they are very well regarded as exceptional razors. They're less sought after than the tamahagane ones by collectors, but many would argue that's really only due to the relative scarcity of the tamahagane one's, not due to a significant performance difference or craftsmanship.

I can't see the Kanji well enough in the pic, but if it has an "M" on it, that stands for medium hardness. These were hardened to 775-795 Vickers (63 Rockwell) rather than the 800-820 Vickers (64+ Rockwell) that the standard carbon steel Western razors were. This was done to make them easier to sharpen, and were marketed to the growing number of female barbers in the postwar period. They tend to be a bit shorter as well which also makes them easier to hone.

By all accounts, Iwasaki never made a bad razor, and you've got a beautiful one there!

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Hey! While you educated fellas are here, I have an Iwasaki and feel most certain it is not one of the more highly desirable ones.

Still, I would like to know more about it?
Only pic I have right now. I could get a better one. Nothing on the backside tang.
Shaves great!
Thanks!

<snip>

Nice...do you remember what size it is? You realize you're going to have to dig it out and post more pics of that right?