I made this custom kamisori for a customer who loved the video game Final Fantasy VII.
It was a gift a friend commissioned for his wedding, and was a unexpected surprise on his important day.
After some very loose direction from the customer, the design started to point me to the razor you see. Many challenges presented itself conceptually for turning the buster sword into a straight razor – the tanto style tip, the large spine, and the centralized handle.
I tried to keep the styling and engravings consistent with the rugged futurism I gleaned from the game’s artwork, and left the firescale from the heat treatment, as well as backing down the polish of the blade to a more “roughed’ looking hollow.
The pommel, leather wrap, and dropped spine were the main features of the blade, and engravings and holes tied it together as the buster sword.
While this was a “design forward” straight razor, where it was mostly a ceremonial gift, I still challenged myself to make it highly functional. It strops really well, and the angle of bevel geometrically resides at a nice 16 degrees. It’s surprisingly a wonderful blade to strop and shave with.
Straight razors have classic features that should be respected 99% of the time, and thrown out the window often. If it shaves great, can be sharpened easily, and turns heads, I’m proud to send it home.
Hope to do another, and this was among my favorite creative pieces.
