Thread: A Simpple but Extraordinary Hand Plane

Here's a great video of Funahiro-san using a yari kanna. Originally used after initial shaping with tools such as a Chouna (japanese adze). As you pointed out, a lot of skill involved!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJnZ4YLm7RQ

Wow something new that I have just learnt.

The learning keeps you young.

Similar in may ways to a drawer-knife, except it's pulled from one side and has cutting edges both sides. Always amazing what skilled hands can do with the simplest of tools!

Cheers

Great to see a young guy in the clip carrying on the tradition .
Nice section on sharpening also.

Much as I like old tools that looks like doing things the hard way. It may be that however for some things the hard way is the point of the exercise.
Lot of skill there and nice to watch.
Regards
John

I think the yariganna is an interesting artifact, and I'm sure there are ceremonial reasons to use it for finish (to get a surface that's not level but not torn, either).

But I pity anyone who has gone far enough down the japanese rathole in western woodwork to think they'll find regular use for one (and then spend the fairly substantial amount of money that a good one costs).

The cost becomes more justifiable once you also use it for home defence.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I don't think I have enough time left on this earth to learn how to use this plane.

Taking finesse to new levels most of us never dream of.

Originally Posted by IanW

Similar in may ways to a drawer-knife, except it's pulled from one side and has cutting edges both sides. Always amazing what skilled hands can do with the simplest of tools!

I'm not certain what a drawer knife is.
The similarity I noticed was to the West Coast Haida carving knives. Particularly shape A in the attached image.

Originally Posted by ian

I'm not certain what a drawer knife is.......

Neither am I - I had a slip of the typing finger, or a brain-fade, or both. I meant DRAW knife.

The similarity is that the flat of the cutting edge rides on the work & the cut is controlled by twisting the blade slightly. It seems to me that the draw knife is a far easier tool to control, since you are pulling the blade evenly from both sides. But if you are raised using one of them-there spears-cum-woodshears, a draw knife probably looks weird....

Cheers,