Kamisori (Japanese Razor) WIP

Mike Martinez

Mike Martinez

Well-Known Member
In the following days I'll be taking a break from grinding traditional Western Razors and will do a short run of Kamisori style razors. Please stay tuned.

Sketching out the Razor pattern is probably the hardest part for me. Getting the proportions right is quite the challenge especially considering how just a few thousandths of an inch can affect the final angle.

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Once the pattern has been established, I photocopy it and use cheap spray glue to transfer it over onto the steel. On this occasion, I will be using some 9/32" thick O1 which is a just a bit oversized from the final dimensions.

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The following steps are pretty self explanatory.

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Once everything has been ground to the exact profile and squared up, I flip the razor on its edge and mark the area to which the hollow will be ground.

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The shot here shows the razor ground pre-heat treat with a 4" contact wheel and a worn 36 grit belt. Notice that I did not grind to the lines as I have to clean it up to 220 before heat treating.

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The reverse side is left unground as I've had terrible luck with thin edges warping on me with these asymmetrical razors.

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This is going to turn out cool! I've always wanted one of these, despite my inability to grow any real facial hair. Looking forward to the finished product.
 
Mudman said:
This is going to turn out cool! I've always wanted one of these, despite my inability to grow any real facial hair. Looking forward to the finished product.
Click to expand...

Mike,
Great WIP. I will be following closely as I have been thinking about making a few Razors.

Mudman,
If you are brave enough there is another area you could shave. Be very careful!
 
rhinoknives said:
Mike,
Great WIP. I will be following closely as I have been thinking about making a few Razors.

Mudman,
If you are brave enough there is another area you could shave. Be very careful!
Click to expand...

Laurence, I'll be doing a Western Straight Razor WIP next. Though both kamisori and westerns are razors, they couldn't be more different from each other if they tried.

As a side note, if you've never shaved with a straight of any kind before, a Kamisori really isn't the place to start. Their geometry lends itself better to having someone else shave you and the angle makes them dig in quite severely if you lose focus.
 
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I skipped the heat treating process due to its mundane nature; nothing more than just your typical O1 heat treat.

Post heat treat the flats are trued to remove any decarb and to start tapering the handle.

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The Ura (back) is hollow ground taking special care to keep edge straight without cutting into it or the spine.

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A quick shot of the rear hollow.

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Cutting that Katanogoshi (waits) which allows a better grip while shaving.

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This is a shot of handle after tapering. Tapering the handle is important in keeping the weight and overall geometry of the razor correct.

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Truing the Katanogashi using a spindle sander.

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Hand sanding the flats to 400 grit. Rhynowet and baby oil make things move along quickly.

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Had bit a snafu with my camera and the shots which included the rapping of the handle with rattan and impregnating it epoxy disappeared. There are nine more to finish so with any luck, the corresponding photos can be taken then.

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Thank you for subscribing and reading this thread. My apologies for the poor photography; much respect to all of you who do these WIPs on a regular basis with quality photos.

BTW, I didn't catch it until posting these photos but it seems as though I'll have to go back and clean the blade with some acetone to rid it of the nasty blotches caused to handling with dirty epoxy covered gloves.
 
I think you did a good job Mike.

For some reason I had the impression this was going to have a double bevel, nevertheless, it's still awesome.
 
Traditional Kamisori are ground on both sides, but the back (ura) has a very shallow grind while the front (omote) has a bit of a deeper grind. This style of razors is biased to either right or left. I will be doing another WIP on traditional western razors; hopefully I can bribe one of my kids to play photographer for a day.
 
Mike,
Thank you for taking the time to do this WIP, I thought straight razors in general were really made for having someone shave you? I have had a pro barber shave me with one, I really enjoy it. But I have never done it myself.
 
You've got a point Laurence, but Western razors are friendlier to the DIY shaver than their Japanese counterpart. Heck, I can shave my head without issues using a western razor. After watching a video of friend darn near evulse his scalp with a Kamisori when he forgot to shave on the omote side and used the ura I've been reluctant to try it.
 
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