Rare Iwasaki 岩崎 Tamahagane Kamisori, Restored Vintage Japanese Straight Razor and Handmade Sugi Box

Extremely Rare Iwasaki 岩崎  Tamahagane straight razor (Kamisori). Made by master smith Shigeyoshi Iwasaki, directly imported from Japan and restored by us to a hair-popping quality and sharpness, absolutely shave ready on arrival.

The razor was made in the Showa period, between 1960-1980 and has a length of 15 cm, width of 1.9cm, length of cutting edge is 4.5 cm and the weight 32.9 g.
A Medium sized Kamisori, a bit on the heavier side.

Similar to the traditional Samurai sword, this Kamisori was hand forged out of 2 layers, the cutting part is made of high carbon steel and the supporting layer of Iron.
The steel layer is brittle and hard, while the Iron gives the right flexibility.
Both layers are not stainless, so always keep your razor dry after your shave and protect it with a thin layer of oil.

What is so special about this Kamisori? There are 2 things: Firstly the steel is real Tamahagane.
Tamahagane is the traditional steel produced in Japan for centuries. As Japan has no big resources of iron ore, the steel is produced out of iron sand in a several day long process by hand. It was the main source for all Samurai Swords.
Secondly this Razor was hand-forged by Shigeyoshi Iwasaki the son of Kosuke Iwasaki in a time where Sanjo Works still was using serial numbers for their razors. Later versions do not have serial numbers. Iwasaki Razors were and are the best Kamisori's you can get for money and they are still in production. However a Tamahagane version with serial number is a rare find!

Why is this blade not stainless?
Stainless blades are made of an alloy that will prevent it from staining, but also will make it less hard.
High carbon steels, like the cutting layer of this Kamisori, have a much higher hardness and will keep their smooth shaving quality for much longer before having to sharpen them again.

The blade handle was partially blued by us, to protect it from rusting. Bluing is similar to the protective coat which the razor had after being quenched in the time it has been made. Bluing forms a thin layer of magnetite (Fe3O4) on top of the iron.

We decided to not wrap the handle for now, as we think the serial number is an integral part of the razors history and should not be covered up. If you like we can wrap it for you though, please ask us prior to buying for different wrapping variants we can offer.

The Kanji on the razor read as:
玉鋼- Tamahagane - the steel it was made of
㊂ - SanMaru - the logo of Sanjo Works, Iwasaki`s company name
岩崎 - Iwasaki - Master Iwasaki‘s family name.
on the handle the serial number can be seen A . 67

The blade comes wrapped in red linnen in a handmade box.
The box is handcrafted out of Sugi wood, also known as Japanese Cedar.
It shows a woodblock print, kakemono-e. Fudo Myo-o seated on a pedestal above waves, with his attendants Kongara Doji and Seitaka Doji.
Fudo Myo-o is know as the protector of the buddhist faith and was worshipped especially by the Shingon Sect.
We found Fudo Myo-o to be the right fit for protecting this awesome piece.
The box is the perfect place to store and protect your Kamisori and the Sugi wood also has an incredible scent.
It has enough space also to fit 2 additional Kamisori`s.

Please allow the razor a resting period of 24 hours after each shave so that the microscopic bevel has time to "relax".

This Kamisori is fully disinfected, honed and shave ready.

Also note, in Japan Kamisori are not only used to remove mens beards, they are also commonly used to remove fine facial hair also of women.

To ensure that you will get the razor shave ready we use our own specially made protective Kamisori sheaths. The razor edge will not touch anything during the transport.