First "straight" shave.

Scratch said:
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I taped the DD open and taped over one of the blade edges. This gave me one blade edge to shave with and because of the comb, I could only use one side of it too. This was my makeshift "Omote" side.

Of course, this new setup brought with it it's own challenges. :) Being right handed and only using my right hand throughout, shaving down-strokes (1st pass) on the right side of my face meant my razor hand was on my right ear, and similarly, shaving up-strokes (2nd pass) on the left side of my face meant my razor hand was all the way across my face and on my left ear. :D This caused a bit of an issue with the side burn areas because unlike a real Kamisori (I presume), this razor doesn't have anywhere in the handle for your ear to pass. Still, I managed ok.

The neck area brought similar challenges too of course, but thankfully the taped-straight handle didn't interfere with the upward-pointing sweeping arcs as I feared it might, although it only worked on the right-side of my face of course. For the left side I had to invert the position and have the razor pointing down. Fun and games. :)

Overall, I ended up with a slightly better shave than before. I did a considerably better job of my chin and under chin area on the ATG pass than I managed on my previous DD shave, and I had no bleeding or soreness. It wasn't quite as comfortable as before though, and I put that down to the blade losing it's edge quite quickly due to only using one of its edges and I was having to go over areas a bit too often and with more pressure than I'd like. It started to feel dull about half way through the ATG pass and although I did eventually stop, un-tape the blade and spin it around to expose a fresher edge and re-applying the tape, I should perhaps have done it sooner.

Overall though, another good and very enjoyable shave but I think a sharper blade would make things considerably easier.
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That's like shaving with only one side of a Kamisori. Let's consider shaving downwards on the cheeks. With a Komisori you can shave one side and just move it over to the other side, but using the other side of the blade. With the Durham you can't do that, but you can rotate the Durham 180 degrees in your hand and then move it over to the other cheek. So taping one side of the head makes using the Durham very difficult to use. No wonder you had a few handling problems. :D
 
Scratch said:
Yes, that was the object of the exercise. :)

As I said a yesterday:
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I have yet to find anything in writing that states that a kamisori razor should be used on just one side. A very knowledgable contributor to the site (Mikael) did suggest that it was perhaps traditional for a barber to use just one side - but trying to shave yourself this way does not make sense.

Kamisori razors have an asymetric bevel - however, that does not mean that one side shaves better than the other - it's simply a slightly different angle. I have used in excess of 100 old razors and can guarantee that the difference on bevel angle has been far greater than any kamisori I've ever used.

The point of this post? What are you trying to prove?
 
Ermmm.. you were not using it like a Kamisori, you were using like half a Kamisori. A Kamisori has only a single edge, but you can use both sides of the edge. With your setup you can only use one side of a single edge. Twice as hard. At least.
 
O dear @UKRob. I think we need to step back a little and calm down. :)

Everything I have read suggests that the traditional Japanese way of using a Kamisori is to always keep the Omote side close to the face.

Correct?

I am merely trying this myself. Is that OK with you?
 
riverrun said:
Ermmm.. you were not using it like a Kamisori, you were using like half a Kamisori. A Kamisori has only a single edge, but you can use both sides of the edge. With your setup you can only use one side of a single edge. Twice as hard. At least.
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No Andreas, the correct traditional way of using a Kamisori is to only use one side of the edge. The "Omote" side.
 
Scratch said:
O dear @UKRob. I think we need to step back a little and calm down. :)

Everything I have read suggests that the traditional Japanese way of using a Kamisori is to always keep the Omote side close to the face.

Correct?

I am merely trying this myself. Is that OK with you?
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As I said Scratch, I've yet to find any authoritative text that proves it's 'traditional'. Everything I've come across has been from western users - I've also seen videos of them trying to prove it's possible - which it is, with a great deal of difficulty.

Try searching for Japanese barbers using kamisoris (I don't subscribe to the theory that the plural is Latin either) and you will see them using both edges.

I don't need to calm down - I'm trying to help you.
 
No cheers @UKRob, I didn't come here for a debate or an argument. If you use both sides of a Kamisori then more power to you chap. :)

I'll continue using the Omote side as I believe is the correct way, but don't worry, I won't be sharing the experience here again.
 
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