Thread: All In The Family?

Some ebay purchases for show and tell, but they got me thinking.

First, a couple of recent kanna I picked up on ebay (as usual, for a decent price)

On the left in the first pic is a 65 mm Dogyu and on the right a 65 mm Sukeichi. Second pic is of a Dogyu that Alex Gilmore (thejapanblade.com) has on ebay currently which has the identical markings so you can see what they all mean. Alex also has info on the blacksmith Imoto Masao on his website:
DOCUMENTS
and there are examples on the Daiku Dojo site (Kuromatsu and dai Dogyu):
Gallery of Japanese Hand Planes (Kanna)
and a reference I found here (a Dai Dogyu):
Craig Vandall Stevens - The Art of Furniture Design

The Sukeichi kanna I have info from Nakaoka-san (Mifuquai, now 330Mate on ebay) which I received when I purchased an identical one from him a couple of years ago (third pic on the left) and an explanation of the marking I got from a friend. First the markings:

(top centre) 登録 "tou-roku" → registration
(in the cartouche on the right) 特選 "toku-sen" → special selection
(the small kanji down the left of centre) 高級 "kou-kyu" 王金 "ou-kin" 鋼打 "hagane-uchi" → 高級 ｈigh-level 王金 Prince's metal 鋼打 forge a steel
(central stamp)ゝ助一 "Suke-Ichi" → Sukeichi - This is the name of the ironsmith or the brand name
(on the back) スーパー "super" 硬度 "kou-do" 73 → 73 in super-hardness (So-san says that the 73 would not refer to the C scale - too high - so perhaps is the year of production - Nakaoka said they dated from the '70s)

and Nakaoka's explanation which was with the description of the kanna:

Chobosuke
Made in Imoto Kanna seisakusho (OLD DOGYU) in paulownia box
description: Main blade and chip breaker.
Size=65mm called Sunroku in JPN
top of the blade =58~60mm
Blade material: Tamahagane
this steel is called SAMURAI'S steel and very rare steel now.
There are this kind of steels since about 1200 years ago
TAMAHAGANE is true JAPANESE Steel.
Mr.Imoto
Imoto san has already died.
He was particular about outdated steel in those days and did not take a successor.
It has begun to be finally evaluated posthumously. And fame rose, too.
He was given a lot of plane blades which did not sell by KANNA DAI factory and made living and left the world with being poor.
About His working style .......
It can be prepared to various size and must crush the charcoal which was be an expensive Japanese pine.
It is said that he use 60kg with one plane.
He turn it down many times and must forge it.
He must regulate content of carbon by experience and perception.
Because we can see The HAMON in the photo ,when I sharpened the blade with Natural Kumorisuita and NAKAYAMA KATAKUCHI whetstone.
We do never sharpen with man made stone.
Therefore, he was nameless with poverty.
In late years a blacksmith strengthens the steel that composition is uniform (Yasuki steel) with gas and kerosene and they warm it with lead and do a water hardening process.
I think that we understand how he was a primitive man.
He completely had lost technology now.
It is technology called a SAGE means fall.
It is to make soft iron from TAMAHAGANE.
He make hole through carbon without getting tissue out of order from steel.
It was not the times that an expert had fame.
He lived in MIKI..
The Premium follows his articles year by year.

A little rambling and confusing due to the translation, but what tweaked my curiosity was that both these kanna are made by an Imoto in Miki and seemed to prefer homegrown steel. While Imoto does put his name on the Dogyu branded kanna, there is no makers name on the Sukeichi one. Both have kamaji jigane (pic 4 and 5). Tenuous at best, but I wonder...

p.s., So-san has seen the Sukeichi kanna, but I never asked him directly (not having made a connection or owned a Dogyu kanna at the time) and these days he is very busy responding to queries about his own tools, so I hesitate to pester him for an answer (I'm sure he would know). I might try to ask Nakaoka-san if he knows.

p.s.s., I had forgotten to include the info Alex has on the ebay Dogyu:

"The laminated hand-forged blue steel/kamaji iron main blade is in pristine condition. It reads down the center: DOGYU (the brand name means DO-earth, GYU-cow), below this at lower center is KYOSHO (great master). To the upper right is the Miki City Kanna Union stamp. On the left above in kanji is TETSUSANJIN (iron mountain man) and below that is IMOTO (the name of the blacksmith Imoto Masao). The sub blade is marked DOGYU. Now the idea of an earth cow seems like a silly name for a tool, but within the craftsmen community in Japan a persons work ethic is foremost a matter of pride, and the oxen or water buffalo is in Asia considered to be selfless, dependable, hardworking, honest and quiet. All attributes of a craftsperson. The blacksmith Imoto Masao was known in his day to be a large man or enormous power and determination."