Thread: Kamisori addiction

Well guys,

I think my RAD/KAD is cured for some time now. I still have 2 more japanese razors en-route but I just got a package in from aframestokyo.


From left to right:

Hisha Kaku 6/8 folding Kamisori NOS
Kanetaka 58mm Blue steel
Kanetaka 50mm White steel
Iwasaki 50mm

From my first impressions, the Hisha Kaku and the Iwasaki (both from aframestokyo) are by far the best of the bunch, but then again you get what you pay for. The Kanetakas are great but the Blue steel has been a bear to hone!

Wow! There is no cure.

Blue steel not that hard to hone, what hones do you use?

Originally Posted by mainaman

Blue steel not that hard to hone, what hones do you use?

I am now using an Asagi and a Wakasa. I think a part of it was lack of experience and the fact that these blades don't sit as perfectly as an Iwasaki on the hone. They're very sharp and probably shave ready to many people's standards but because I have such coarse hair, I need a very sharp blade so it's taking me a while to get them where I want them to be.

Hindsight though, I think you're right. It's not that bad to hone, just a little more work than the white steel razor.

If they're super hard, the trouble with blue steel is if you're using a natural hone, it prefers a stone that releases grit. On a razor, a hone that releases grit keeps you from getting a good finished edge, and it has a more persistent wire edge than your iwasaki will.

If you finish it with a few swipes on chromium oxide (hey, iwasaki himself uses diamonds, so call it no foul to step things up) you'll have a much easier time getting the edge where you want it. Good blue steel should be weeper sharp off of chromium oxide.

Originally Posted by DaveW

If they're super hard, the trouble with blue steel is if you're using a natural hone, it prefers a stone that releases grit. On a razor, a hone that releases grit keeps you from getting a good finished edge, and it has a more persistent wire edge than your iwasaki will.

This is true but with the correct stone (hardness wise ) it will work just fine. Kamisoris tend to finish better on softer stone and Wakasa(what the OP has) is the perfect stone.

Originally Posted by DaveW

If they're super hard, the trouble with blue steel is if you're using a natural hone, it prefers a stone that releases grit. On a razor, a hone that releases grit keeps you from getting a good finished edge, and it has a more persistent wire edge than your iwasaki will.

If you finish it with a few swipes on chromium oxide (hey, iwasaki himself uses diamonds, so call it no foul to step things up) you'll have a much easier time getting the edge where you want it. Good blue steel should be weeper sharp off of chromium oxide.

Originally Posted by mainaman

This is true but with the correct stone (hardness wise ) it will work just fine. Kamisoris tend to finish better on softer stone and Wakasa(what the OP has) is the perfect stone.

Thanks guys, Maybe i'll try fresh with my Naniwas and finish on the Wakasa stone? The razor is sharp, probably shave ready to many's standards but I'd like to get a better edge on it. I've gotten the white steel blade now to a satisfactory edge too, so lets hope I can apply that to the blue steel

That's the route I would take. The alumina in the naniwas should "plow the field level" and make a good prep for the wakasa. there is some chromium and tungsten carbides in blue steel, but compared to a lot of western steels, not much. The toughness/hardness of those carbides (they are both harder than the silica that is in most natural stones) is what creates the issues with getting great keenness with natural stones sometimes. Using the naniwas beforehand is good prep and stacks the deck in your favor.

Thanks to this thread, btw, I ordered an iwasaki kamisori. I think it's contagious.

Originally Posted by DaveW

there is some chromium and tungsten carbides in blue steel, but compared to a lot of western steels, not much.

We have no idea what is in that steel really, Iwasaki adds things to it to change the characteristincs to make it close to Tamahagane in qualities. Tamahagane is really pure steel (99%) from what I have seen in documentaries about Katana.