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  1. #21
    Senior Member blabbermouth Kees's Avatar
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    I just finished honing it and its edge is wicked now! And you know what: I just honed it exactly the same way as I hone all my other razors! No complicated ratios of 3 strokes for the hollow and 2 for the wedge side or taping one side and not the other, nor going in circles etc. Just plane (or is it plain?) good old honing.
    Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.

  2. #22
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    Man, I really need to find one of these!

    I can definitely agree that the handle seems easier to drop, but so far I haven't noticed a difference when in use (in using my own that is, which shouldn't be too different to handle).

    You sort of have to get into the midset of a venerable old Japanese craftsman, careful and deliberate in your movements, conscious of all your moves prior to making them, you must become one with the tool.

    (was that too much?)

  3. #23
    Senior Member kevint's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge View Post
    Man, I really need to find one of these!

    I can definitely agree that the handle seems easier to drop, but so far I haven't noticed a difference when in use (in using my own that is, which shouldn't be too different to handle).

    You sort of have to get into the midset of a venerable old Japanese craftsman, careful and deliberate in your movements, conscious of all your moves prior to making them, you must become one with the tool.

    (was that too much?)
    yes, not really- only you should not be conscious of all your moves.... too many mind

  4. #24
    Heat it and beat it Bruno's Avatar
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    If the blackening comes off, then the CA is not going to do much good. Perhaps if you sand it down first...
    But the Iwasakis are meant to be used naked, so truth be told I would leave them as is.
    Til shade is gone, til water is gone, Into the shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath.
    To spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day

  5. #25
    Senior Member kevint's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruno View Post
    If the blackening comes off, then the CA is not going to do much good. Perhaps if you sand it down first...
    But the Iwasakis are meant to be used naked, so truth be told I would leave them as is.
    how, why are they meant to be used with no handle material added?

  6. #26
    Mr. Meat Helmet Amyn's Avatar
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    I thought about wrapping the handle with some sort of material that would provide a better grip. This was before I received the razor.

    After 2 shaves I find that it fits in the hand just right and is very well balanced and very easy to control. I have decided that my Iwasaki will remain in its birthday suit. The razor will not be a novelty item in my collection it will be part of my regular rotation.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Amyn View Post
    After 2 shaves I find that it fits in the hand just right and is very well balanced and very easy to control. I have decided that my Iwasaki will remain in its birthday suit. The razor will not be a novelty item in my collection it will be part of my regular rotation.
    I feel the same way, Amyn. I really like the look and feel of the Iwasaki just as it is. I have no problem manipulating it and love the way it looks.

    Dan

  8. #28
    The Hurdy Gurdy Man thebigspendur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kees View Post
    I just finished honing it and its edge is wicked now! And you know what: I just honed it exactly the same way as I hone all my other razors! No complicated ratios of 3 strokes for the hollow and 2 for the wedge side or taping one side and not the other, nor going in circles etc. Just plane (or is it plain?) good old honing.
    Yes, thats like guys saying well I only change the oil in my car every 25,000 miles and the car works just fine. You certainly can hone the razor like any other and it will work just fine but like the guy who doesn't change his oil about the time the car starts getting up there in mileage the repair bills come rolling in and if you use your iwasaki with any regularity the changes to the edge geometry will slowly accumulate as you hone more and more until you lose the asymmetrical edge. Yes it will still shave but it won't be the same. If the razor is more a curiosity and you only use it 1x a month or so its probably not a factor and you can hone it any way you want for many many years.
    No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero

  9. #29
    Senior Member blabbermouth Kees's Avatar
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    @ thebigspendur

    Sorry but I am afraid I disagree. Please, let me explain. I got my Iwasaki basically shave-ready. I presume it was honed by soemeone from Iwasaki's workshop as it was new when I got it.

    I took a good look and noticed 2 things.

    1st: both sides of the blade had some amount of hollowing, one side more than the other.
    2nd: both sides had similar amounts of honewear shich suggested to me that both sides had been on the hone for approximately the same amount of time.

    After doing the arm hair test I felt I would likely be able to improve its sharpness. However I felt I had to try it first as was. The 1st shave confirmed my suspicion. So I took it to the hones.
    1st the Y/G Escher for about 20 laps than 50 on the Nakayama, then stropped it and tested it. A large improvement already measured by the arm hair test. I decided to repeat the above and and found hardly any further improvement.

    So, if you improve the performance of the blade that easily what could you be doing wrong?

    Japanese razors seem te be surrounded by a lot of myths IMHO. One that they are hard to hone. Well, this one wasn't though you might argue it was almost shave-ready anyway.

    The 2nd myth I disproved is that you can only use it with the hollowest side facing your skin. Well, I just did what I always do, I shaved with one hand which means you have to have both sides of the blade facing the skin in the process. Well, no problem there again. Which didn't really suprise me because many of us (including myself) use both hollow ground and wedge shaped razors.
    Last edited by Kees; 08-09-2008 at 10:04 PM.
    Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.

  10. #30
    Know thyself holli4pirating's Avatar
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    They aren't so much hard to hone as they are just plain hard. They take a long time to hone.

    You can shave with either side facing you, but you will get a different feel. They are intended to be used with a particular side facing you.

    The hone wear might appear to be the same on both sides, but that is because there is so little. As thebigspendur pointed out, it takes a while for changes to show. That applies in the way he said it (honing both sides the same will change the geometry), but in addition, it will take some time before proper honing shows uneven hone wear.

    Regarding your statement about improving the shave/what could one be doing wrong; you could take any western razor that is almost shave ready, hone away at it until it's a 1/8 razor and still improve the shave (assuming you could put an edge on a razor 1/8) and make the same claim.

    Also, I'm not an expert on Japanese razors, but I would assume that changing the geometry by honing evenly will eventually result in diminished performance. If that is the case, in the long run you might end up with a Japanese letter opener.

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