I love Japanese straight razors(JSR). They are the bomb! They are amazingly sharp, are ubercool, and scare the holy Jesus out of most people that use straight razors. The are tiny little razors but they are just wonderful to use for shaving. I have a couple that are manufactured razors, and a couple that are custom razors. I cannot say that there is one that I prefer over the other, however I would take any of them over about any other straight razor. Even my Livi! Of the 5 that are in the JSR style, they are all unique and just a joy to use. And none of them are for sale in case you are wondering. The one in blue and the one with the beige rattan wrap, they are manufactured razors that I picked up. The one with the blue handle is not a Tosuke, however it has a Tosuke handle. The rattan wrap is an off brand, however is a little heavy and is quite nice. The blue handle is CRAZY sharp. When I got it, I put it on a Chinese 12k and then pasted strops. That was all it needed. Just fantastic. I like it so much, I shaved with this one for about a month straight at one point.

As for the other 3, the one with the brown handle is a normal straight razor. Wester Bros Damascus. The tang was so messed up and ground up from some other owner that I wondered what to do with it for about a year. Finally I came up with the idea of covering it up. I used some rosewood and epoxy to create a case, then sanded it down to form. Came out beautifully.  The darker razor with the green paracord wrap was made by Spazola over at SRP. Very creative guy. This was formally a file that he used to create a razor. Amazing shave. The last one was a custom razor by Russell Baldridge. He only made a few of these and I was lucky enough to grab one. This is another one of those razors that I could use over and over and over.

Please enjoy the photos. If you have any questions send me a note. Thanks again.

razorsmith

Finally this fall I have started back to school. After a 2 year hiatus due to the birth of our twin boys, I worked a deal with my manager to get back to school. 3 days during lunch, and one evening. My day gets going at about 5 am and usually ends at about midnight or later depending on the project of homework. Long days.

Along with school, I was refereeing high school volleyball again this year. This is another one of my hobbies that take my time, however it pays pretty well. If anyone needs extra cash and knows any high school sport pretty well, go ref! www.TASO.org.

My coaching season is about to get started pretty soon. Actually, we have our 1st age specific clinic this Wednesday, and tryouts the 2nd weekend in Nov. 1st tournament will be 12/19/09. Not much time and I have 17’s age group by myself this year. Fun times, and I really like this age group. Check out our club program at www.Kahunavbc.com.

Going along with the coaching, I referee during the club season. So my typical Saturday and Sunday will be half a day of coaching, and half a day of refereeing. Sorry to SWMBO. I know that I will be leaving you at home quite a bit, but hey, it puts money back in the bank. www.usav.org

And the best reason to not work on razors…… we have a new kiddo (#4) on the way. Due April 21, 2010. Do not know the sex yet, as I do not want to know. However we do have names already. John Peter, or Connie Louise. Let’s go Connie Louise!!! I need another little girl, and my daughter needs a little sister. I will try to post a pic in the near future.

So school ends in about a month before starting up again in Jan. I plan on working on some razors and brushes at the time, along with some Christmas presents. I bought a scroll saw for $10 at a garage sale from a gentleman that did cabinets and was retiring. Yay me. So stay tuned for some new products. Take care all.

Darren

RazorSmith

My responsibilities and Time Constraints:::
Family
Wife
3 kids under 5 including twins
Dog
House and Yardwork
School starting up in the fall and I am taking 2 classes and a lab
Work
Full time job is going well but with lots of projects at the moment
1st part time job is coaching volleyball
Had tournaments every weekend Saturday and Sunday for past 3 months
Long HOT days in the Texas heat (100+ degrees)
2nd part time job is refereeing volleyball
Classes, fees, training, meetings, blah, blah, blah
3rd part time job is RazorSmith.com.
Unfortunately this is where time is costing me the most.
Need time for myself.

So wow, lots to do and when to do it???? I am still working on that. We transitioned the twins to beds instead of the cribs. Let me just say that they like to get out of bed….. a lot….. both of them.

Washing machine went out. Good thing we have a lot of clothes. Bad thing when we got a new one, is that we had a lot of dirty clothes.

It seems to rain on days when I am able to mow, and be hot and sunny when I work. That’s just getting irritating. My forrest(yard) is suffering big time. And the city got onto me for my trees overhanging the street. That was a tedious process. Yay!

I am working as much as possible to try to get stuff paid off and so wife can be a stay at home mommy. I just show up at these places and get paid for the part time work. The razor stuff I have to make time for. Considering the kiddos are in bed at 8-9, and wife around 10-11, not a lot of time for the 2 of us. So I try to be available to her. So that leaves razors for after 11pm till I go to bed, only to wake up at 5:30ish.

So why am I saying all of this??? Because my razor items will have to become an as I get them done basis. I have been trying to knock out a couple of rolls now for the better part of a month and just cannot get them done. My next 3 months worth of weekends are all tied up working or traveling, so I am short on time. Then only thing that I have managed to stay pretty current on is honing. That is generally really quick turnaround. I have lost about a dozen orders on rolls just because I cannot sit down to sew them. (I apologize to those who waited very patiently to receive one only to shop or go a different route.) Things will calm down soon, but for now life is just busy, busy, busy.

That’s my rant for the day!!! Whew I feel better.

RazorSmith

Handle is 7.25 inches, knot loft is 2.25 inches.
Finish is wipe on poly.

I wanted to do a longer brush because I have a few larger lather bowls and need a brush to work with them. And I had a few inquiries from some others about doing a longer handle. Hope you enjoy.

razorsmith

Indian Rosewood scales
Blue fiber insert for stability and coolness
Purpleheart Wedge

Tung Oil finish hand rubbed
Pinned with brass rod and small washers
Centers dang near perfect
Took back to the finishing stones and strops prior to getting out the door

This was a beautiful blade if it were not for the pitting. As it sits the blade is a great shaver. When the pits are so large that you can actually polish the pits, that tells you how it started out. The indian rosewood had a great figurative knot in the meat of the handle, hence the use of the fiberboard. The color of the rosewood in conjunction with the blue fiber just pops.

George, hope you like.

razorsmith

So as I am sitting here typing, let me just say that the dishwasher in the Waiohai Marriott is outrageously loud. I mean to the point that I want to go into the hallway to finish typing.

Ok, off my soapbox. Yesterday and today were good days. We are staying in the south side of Kauai. Yesterday we took a trip up north to Kilauea and then to Hanalei. Yeah, like Puff the Magic Dragon. 1st to Kilauea and the Kilauea Lighthouse. Beautiful spot where lots of birds nest. And this is one of the most northern tips of the island. The lighthouse here is cool. From there we went to Hanalei. This is such a beautiful spot. Here is were most of the taro on the island is grown. And all the bridges in the north are all 1 lane bridges. I cannot equate this area to anything I have seen anywhere else. It is beautiful, lush with vegetation, and the people are awesome. We ordered food at Red Hot Mama’s, a hole in the wall mexican stand. Literally a hole in the wall. No seating, no waiters, no anything other than the window where they take your order and give you food. We than drove to Ha’ena to go eat at a public park where they camp and surf. Amazing how some people live here in tents for weeks/months at a time. From there it was back home for dinner, playing around the hotel, and bedtime. Grilled some chicken and veggies, and soaked in the hottub.

Today, went west to Hanapepe. On the way we stopped at the Kauai Coffee Company. Got the father-in-law some coffee. Let the twins entertain the other tourists there for a while.  Toured Glass Beach and the Japanese Graveyard. Amazing in theirselves. The water at Glass Beach is so beautiful. Then drove to Waimea to go to JoJo’s Shave Ice. One of the best treats on the island.  Headed back to the hotel today to make sure the boys got a nap. So much better. Was able to take my daughter to a polynesian dance tonight. She really enjoyed it. Came back to hotel and played some more. 2 great days. Enjoy the photos.

3 more days!!!!!

So yes we are on vacation, in Hawaii, and yes I am playing on the computer. However it is 10 pm here, wife and kids passed out, and 3am in Texas. I am a bit tired but bored and figured I would post some things. So on the way to the airport Monday, sent off a 16 slot grey roll to a friend. Hope you like it.

So let’s see how today went. Walked down to the ocean today to play in the water. The twins freaked out. I think that it was a combination of the sand and the water crashing in. They wanted nothing to do with the beach. Played at the pool for an hour or so. After that hopped in the van and went cruising. Headed up to Kapa’a and Wailua. Very pretty area. Visited Wailua Falls. If you have ever seen the opening to the 70’s tv show Fantasy Island, then you have seen these falls. The great thing is that you can get the view below from the roadside. Went to Lydgate Park and let the kiddos play for quite a long time. Good to wear them down some. Got some food at Bubba’s Burgers. Great food, nice shorts!!!

Highlight of my day was going to The Koa Store. Not only do they have items made of Koa, but they have koa lumber for sale there. I bought a few pieces there. Now just have to figure out a way to get them home. Not illegal or anything, I just packed well coming, so don’t know if everything will make it back.

So long for today. I should have some more razor rolls done when I get home next week. George’s razor needs fixin’, and the RB&R is pending and should be shipping on Wed.

razorsmith

I took Pitts back and and worked on the finish again. Originally seeing as how bad the pitting was, I decided not to put a high polish on either razor. Well, I changed my mind. Happy that I did. Originally the pitting was still showing black within the pitts. Most of that is gone and even the pitts are shining. I went ahead and through Pitts in the epoxied rosewood scales. I was ready to throw both of them in the mail today, however the spacer is just not fitting quite right on Pitts. So I need to rework vs. sending out as is. However I wanted to post photos to show the progression of the blade.

As with Bigboy, I went ahead and honed. This took a very keen edge, however it took a while to get good metal. Had to move quite a bit, however now this thing is a beauty with a mean bite. Super smooth and crisp. Wipes through the hairs so easy. This will be a great razor when I get the spacer right. Sorry for the delay George.

razorsmith

I took Pitts back and and worked on the finish again. Originally seeing as how bad the pitting was, I decided not to put a high polish on either razor. Well, I changed my mind. After seeing the benefits of Pitts, I took Bigboy back also. Wow I am so happy that I did. the pics below can show the affects. The remaining pitting does not show as badly as I thought that it would.

As for the scales, I had another W&B that had really nice horn scales for a 150+ year old razor. I sacrificed my blade for this one, and I think it was really worth it. I also had a set of original domed washers that I reused for the pivot. Worked out really well.

Honed up this bad boy. 325 to establish bevel, then all the way up to 8k on the stones. Finished off on 1 then .5 micron and cro-ox before 80 laps on leather. And let me say that I just love these big heavy wedges. Just scared the hairs off. Super smooth and sexy to boot.

George, I hope you enjoy this one!! This is one of those razors I would buy in a heartbeat.

razorsmith