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Vintage Okudo asagi kamisori toishi. This is a very dense, heavy, fine and pure stone. The gray base color is dark and brooding and the stone boarders on and looks faintly like a mottled karasu. It is super smooth but fast cutting. I always hone with a slurry to diluted water and after just a few minutes I ended up with a lovely polish to the edge that gave me a clean close shave. The skin on the back of the stone has tons of detail with a watery or wet look to it. The stone sits flat on a table, the sides still have deep heavy tooth kerf marks from the old fashioned slow speed saws. The top has been lapped flat and the edges beveled. This type of stone would do well in a professional shop. This stone and the other kamisori toishi on my site are from a world class private collection of over 400 pieces assembled in Japan over the past years in the area around Toyama by a collector of shaving implements. I was lucky enough to purchase total collection over the last 2 years. Many of the hones were actually used by barbers, some dating to the 1920s or earlier, while others were simply prepared by the miners as razor hones as evidenced by the size and fine quality of the stones grit composition. |
OKUDO ASAGI KAMISORI TOISHI #443 |
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