I bought two kannas from Japan (2000 yen / 5000 yen) and a set of chisels (3000 yen). Currently, im using 1K, 3K and 5K grit sandpaper glued to a tile, but im thinking about buying "proper" sharpening stones. Any suggestions for something under 90$AUD?
swedish steel 48mm by tsunesaburo miki city, costs around ¥27,000
Hi all, I’m looking for long-form Japanese (or any really) woodworking video recommendations. Can be specific videos or channels.. YouTube, Vimeo or other. Ideally with talking kept to a minimum or no talking. I prefer hand tool centric, but I’m okay with both.
Secondly, I’m looking for recommendations for schools (or classes) specialized in hand tool woodworking that would offer “retreats” or intensive classes (7-10 days). In Japan, but taught in English.
Edit - I realize my questions were not very clear: I’m looking for videos of people building furniture, from A to Z, using hand tools. Mainly to watch artisans executing their art. I’ll learn second-hand from there. The school/classes question is unrelated to my first question.
Thank you!
Aside from the hollow of the ura of course - but wondering if theres any makers/brands that have pre flattened backs.
A few minute touch up is fine.
Kind of doubting between LN/Veritas or japanese- which do come pre flatenned.
Have a (possibly dumb) chisel sharpening question I’d love some help with. Long story short I’m finding that it takes way longer than it should to hone my chisel bevels. I get consistently good edges quickly with my western stuff but that system is pretty idiot proof (hollow grind plus micro bevel.) I gave up for a bit and just put micro bevels on my chisels because I was wasting a ton of time and I'd rather work than sharpen fruitlessly. I’m circling back to work on sharpening them properly now though and looking for advice to get on the right track.
I finally noticed that my 1000 stone (cheap diamond plate) was very out of flat so I figured that was the root of the issue - creating a non flat bevel would certainly make sharpening take a lot longer. Switched to a 1000 Shapton and honed the whole bevel to the edge (took a long time) thinking that’d get me close to flat anyway.
Starting in on the 4k stone and it seems quicker but still feels like it’s taking way too long. Attaching a photo for reference, can see the progress on the 4k stone vs 1k scratches. That’s after a good 2-3 minutes with the 4k. Took 10+ minutes to hone to the edge with the 1k. Bevel is flat to a straight edge but sharpie on the bevel obviously shows the bevel being abraded unevenly.
Would love to get some insight on why this might be happening and what I can do to try and correct things.
Thanks much in advance
Hey folks, I’m seeking help with making a triangle pattern grid for kumiko. When making the notches for the grid pieces, I’m doing something wrong that is compounding. By the time I get to the end of longer pieces, they’re no longer close to matching up. I’m hoping for suggestions or solutions if anyone else has had this problem.
Pics:
- How it starts
- How it ends
- A previous piece I made where I didn’t have this problem.
Considerations:
- Im using a 30/60 degree sled with an adjustable key. Specifically Johnny Tromboukis’ design. (https://jtwood.works/products/jt-woodworks-kumiko-sled?variant=50441711550767)
- I’ve added a second miter runner to eliminate any side to side movement.
- Working with poplar.
The best explanation I can think of is I’m making slight bends in the strips as I put them on the registration key, and the variation is adding up over time. If that’s the case, though, I have no idea how to fix it.
Zetsaw has a selection of "universal" blades designed to cut rip, cross, and diagonal all in one blade. They are usually marked III or VIII (not always though) and are usually in the bigger sizes (250mm and longer).
What purpose do these blades serve?
I've used them and they are worse than crosscut saws for crosscut and diagonal cuts, and worse than rip saws for rip cuts... Their kerf/set is very wide it seems and it's really hard to follow a line.
They are clearly not meant for finer work since they don't come in smaller size (with finer teeth).
If it is aimed at DIYers who only want one saw, then a Ryoba (which should be a familiar tool in Japan) seems to make infinitely more sense.
However I have seen videos of serious professional carpenters in Japan with these saws.
Any ideas?
Hey everyone, I was able to pick up a kanna in an auction not long ago for pretty cheap. Finally getting to actually work on this thing. There is some cracking and such in the body, the question is, how does the blade look. The picture of the blade is rough (I had to grind out some chips) but does it look like its delaminated?
On the dai, are these racks too severe to repair with superglue and epoxy? I have fixed hairline cracks on western plans before and it works out pretty well, but it looks like there is a crack that is in the corner of the groove is concerning. Looks like it starts on the sole near the mouth and comes all the way up.
Thoughts?
I have my grandfathers, and after some training/education I'd like to learn/use it as intended.
Before then, I'd like to learn:
It's not being re-sold or being added to a 'mini-museum' in the house. Also, don't worry it's not a historically significant or ancient one, it's from the 60's-70's.
Hey all,
I just got this Kanna, described as been made by a Miki blacksmith named Nishiki Kiyomi. Other than that, I couldnt find anything else. Would appreciate any bit of information about this blacksmith. Thanks.
Walnut andon lamps with kumiko panels — bedside-table version and a 24" floor version.
Sharing this because it's a hybrid workflow — power tools for stock prep, hand tools for the kumiko itself. The jigs and pattern guidance are straight from The Art of Kumiko (recommended if you don't already have it).
Stock prep (power tools)
Walnut started as rough lumber. Table saw to rip down to strips, cross-cut sled for to make the grids. No way around this in a modern shop — ripping walnut to 6mm strips with a hand saw isn't realistic and isn't what makes kumiko kumiko anyway. (Yes, yes — every real Japanese woodworker, rough-cuts trees to 2x4s with a ryoba, hand-planes them square, and smelts the iron for his plane from ore he mined himself. I'm not that woodworker.)
Kumiko work (hand tools)
This is where the craft lives. Two different patterns across the two lamps:
- Bedside lamp: kikkō-nishiki — the stretched hex pattern visible in the panel photo. Mitre jigs at 22.5° and 67.5° (complementary cuts on each piece).
kikkō-nishiki panel in progress
- Floor lamp: the pattern is called "mitre-square" in The Art of Kumiko — built off 45° jigs. The book gives only the descriptive English name. If anyone here knows the proper Japanese name for this pattern, I'd appreciate the learning.
finished floor lamp showing the mitre-square pattern
Each piece gets:
The paring step is the actual time sink. Each piece has to slot perfectly into the lattice with no light visible at the joint. Note that the jig has a built-in stop that helps, and was unfortunately too wide for this project, hence the little color wood wedges.
Finishing
Glued up the kumiko inside each lamp frame, then mulberry paper for the shades (Korean, not Japanese — easier to source in the US). Both lamps sit on routed walnut bases.
BTW, what's the proper Japanese name for the "mitre-square" pattern? The Art of Kumiko only gave me the English translation.
I've had a decent/good experience with listings for chisels from japan. The images are good quality, any characters stamped onto them are captured with the proper lighting to be read. Total opposite with kanna. Weird angles, no decent pictures of the dai, multiple sellers using the same pics. What's the deal? If this is a common question, go ahead and put me on blast
Where can I get a 100-110mm wide kanna with chipbreaker either online or in person?
If in-person at a store, either in Southern California or somewhere specific in Japan.
If DIY, can I use a single-bevel Nata or a draw knife?
OR where can I get just the kanna blade (kanna-ba) and chip breaker?
After many years of planning, the company I work for (somakosha) is finally building a timber frame in Okayama, Japan to be sent over to my local Zen temple in Honolulu. We’ll be working on it all summer, shipping it over and raising it the end of this year. Hopefully, this is the first of many, and the temple sent over some monks and priests to help work on the project. Likewise, some carpenters are planning on going to the temple to train in zen before hand. During my apprenticeship, I’ve been studying the relationship between the two cultures, joined through Buddhism. The first Sukiya carpenter I ever met, 10 years ago, yoshiaki nakamura, told me if you want to understand Japanese carpentry, you have to understand Buddhism. Here we are, today, connecting the two. Most dreams take awhile to unfold, I think.
I would greatly appreciate the identification of the maker (if possible), and whatever you have to say for this kanna*.* I also attach a PS inverted image of the blade, lest the stamp become more legible.
Thank you in advance for your time and effort.
Hello, any ideas on a good, speedy technique for narrowing the ends of tiny 2.5mm dowels would be so greatly appreciated. We need to do hundreds of them. Thanks!
So I look at the top of my kanna and I keep seeing this big blank canvas for carving. Is there any reason not to? I know I’d have to wait for the wood to restabilizing and retune it but after that’s done, is there any reason not to?
I’ve seen a couple in Amazon, has anyone bought one?
I'm very much a novice woodworker and have been interested Japanese tools for awhile. My handsaws are Japanese, but I just picked up a pretty cheap Japanese planer and block plane. Oh my, is setting it up so intuitive. It just makes sense, especially compared to western planers...I still have a long way to go to really get it dialed in, but wow.
