Does anyone have Information On KeiSaburo OR KeiZaburo. All I know about him is that is a kanna blacksmith.
Miki Banshu blacksmith, Keisuke UCHIHASHI (Keisuke UCHIHASHI)
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Does anyone have Information On KeiSaburo OR KeiZaburo. All I know about him is that is a kanna blacksmith.
Miki Banshu blacksmith, Keisuke UCHIHASHI (Keisuke UCHIHASHI)
Thumbsucker, I have no knowledge of him myself (I'm more familiar with Niigata than Miki blacksmiths), but Stanley Covington makes a favourable comment in the following thread:Quote:
Originally Posted by thumbsucker
If you could recommend a smooth japanese plane, which one will be?
Stay sharp!
Neil
Thanks Neil
We really need a more complete list of blacksmith in the form of a sticky. The one we current have is to short in too many ways.
I am looking to purchase a good quality 60mm kanna now that I grasped the basics on a cheap kanna.
The simple & easy way would be to order a Tsunesaburo from Stu.
I would have like to purchased a Kikuhiromaru from So, but he is out of stock and has not responded to my inquiries.
Therefore I am looking further afield, KeiZaburo is one that seems to sold across a few online Japanese tool stores and commands some respect, young and talented are two words used to describe him but not much else, works in blue steel and Swedish steel.
I am interested in Swedish steel I am willing to loose edge retention for a keener edge.
It is a shame that their are not more people interested and knowledgeable on Japanese tools on this forum, there is NeilS and Gadge. Then there is DesKing, So & Stu who almost never post.
I had this thought of having a Japanese Woodworking get together BBQ like the wood turners have, but I feel that I would be the only guy who showed up.
I have a knife forged by Shirataka in which he has used Uddeholm steel from Sweden and, yes, it doesn't hold an edge quite as long as my knives with Hitachi blue steel, but I can't say that it feels that much sharper to me than the blue steel edges.
When buying a blade I tend to select the blacksmith first and then the steel only as a secondary consideration.
Yes, So has become very slow with his replies. It is quite awhile since I have done any business with him.
If Stu isn't already selling the work of a particular blacksmith it is always worth sending him an email to see if he can place a special order for you. I know he won't go near natural waterstones, but he may be prepared to negotiate to buy something from a particular blacksmith for you.
On the blacksmith sticky, I'm not sure who has the permissions to update that.
The regular contributors to this forum have become few and far between, at least geographically, which is one good reason to keep it alive as a forum, even if we can't manage any face-to-face meetings.
As far as I know this is the only forum that is specific to Japanese woodworking hand tools. (?)
Stay sharp!
Neil
Hi Neil - I am forming a relationship with a gentleman called Teshiba from Mandaraya Tool Shop Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture Kyushu. I make a query and the same day I will get a response. His English is good enough of special requests and he does not balk at such requests. I have just ordered two kanna from him a special custom order, he does not usually stock kanna from this blacksmith but that is no problem and his prices are within a few dollars of other retailers. Now I wait 3 months.
I am making up a cheat sheet of smiths and once I have a good list, I will ask an admin to make it a sticky.
Thumbsucker, i'm reviving the thread! Did you investigate further and/or end up purchasing a Keizaburo or other? I've heard good things about him. Especially considering he's a pretty young blacksmith relatively speaking. I have spoken with someone based in Canada who has met him a few times and has formed a relationship with Keisuke and can order directly from him. I've been thinking about doing it. His workmanship looks excellent.
I agree some better work could be done (not pointing fingers! any information is good!) on the blacksmiths list. to have a nice 'complete' list would be great, but, as you've probably figured out, just about impossible as I always seem to be turning up new blacksmiths and new old blacksmiths i've never heard of. This rabbit hole sure is deep! As for Kikuhiromaru planes, i've heard good things of them also and know of someone with two in stock. I think the 80mm was around $800AUD or so but don't quote me on that.
Hi hurcorh I spoke to my contact in Japan and he was happy to recommend Keizaburo, however he said he has a long wait due his popularity. He told me that he can wait up to three years from Keizaburo and what Keizaburo is willing to do is limited due the demands on his time.
I agree that he is interesting and would love to try him out.
I ended up buying two Kikuhiromaru planes via my contact in Japan, I posted in this thread. One went to a friend and I use the 42mm regularly. It has become one of my favourite planes. Its edge retention is excellent, does not chip and the edge degrades nicely. I have ordered a custom Dai with 42º bed that I plan to use with a Kanna-ba that I have I have been waiting 4 months now and I am told that it will be maybe possible April before I get it. I hope that increased bedding angle will make the Kanna more usable in larger variety of woods.
I am still getting my feet wet in terms of Japanese planes, they are not simple or straight forward and I still struggle often with them. If I can get a medium quality plane performing consistently then I will splurge on $600 - $800 kanna. I have a preference for Swedish and White steel over the more Blue or exotic steels. I am willing to sacrifice edge retention for a sweeter cut.
Good to hear you've enjoyed the Kikuhiromaru kanna's I recall reading that thread now that you linked to it. I've got some kikuhiromaru chisels and have nothing to complain about so I'd assume their kanna's would be just as good. I only stumbled back onto this thread while doing some googling not realizing it wasn't your latest in your 'quest' ;)
I'm contemplating a K120 Keizaburo and get a 42 degree dai made along with a standard dai. I like the idea of being able to use the same blade for multiple purposes if I can. I have a small curve soled Tasai plane that I also want to make a dai for so it can act also as a regular block plane. I need to make a few dai's. Something that certainly will be a fun challenge to do well. I also think i'd get better performance out of a few of my other kanna blades with the increased bed angle. Cheers.
My experience is that standard 38º bed works amazingly well for softwoods and medium hardwoods oak ash elm that are well behaved. However no matter how close I get the backing iron to the very edge of the blade is difficult grain remains a challenge. That is why I am going to get a 42º bed Dai to see if it ameliorates the problem.
The problem with Dai is that it seems that most Dai are 38º and getting say 45º is very difficult. My Japan contact says that the machines that ruff out Dai are limited to angles under 42º and it seems anything higher might have to be hand made.
I think the kikuhiromaru ko kanna are well worth trying however for a large 80mm plane I think that its not such a great sale. For $800 I would opt for a specialist kanna-ba maker.
Yep I think fully handmade Dai will be the way to go. I saw videos of Inomoto roughing one out to a usable state in 20 mins roughly. Was good fun to watch!
Agreed, for $800 I'd probably prefer two cheaper kanna from another maker. Or, as you said, go with someone a little more specialised. Cheers.
Well things progressed quickly... I spoke with a guy in Osaka who happened to have a few Keizaburo 寸六 size in stock. One in Super blue and one in Swedish steel. I don't mind a narrower kanna for detail work and they're easier to setup well. I went with the Swedish steel. It is only the standard dai though. I'll probably make another higher angle dai to go with it. I will probably try to pick up a smaller 42mm or similar kanna later on this year from keizaburo, too, assuming all goes well with this one. Will report back on use. Will be a little while away as I'm swamped with work at the moment.
I think Inomoto spends somewhere between an hour and two hours on a ledge dai that you'd get with a premium plane. There are a lot of daiyas, though, and a good dealer can get in contact with one to make a custom dai.Quote:
Originally Posted by hurcorh
I ordered a plane years ago from takeshi kuroda and asked for an angle of 47.5 degrees, and he mentioned that he would need to get Nimura(san) to cut one, but he would do that for no charge. I can't imagine anyone going to that trouble these days. At the time, the total cost for a basic yamamoto 65 degree smoother in blue steel and the custom nimura (fully stamped) dai was $165.
Times have changed.
Re: the comments above about swedish steel, I am about 100% certain that the difference in feel of the various steels (especially on natural stones) that are clean (swedish, white 1, white 2, etc) is the hardness of the steel and not necessarily the alloy. I can't comment that much on blue, etc, because I have stopped using japanese planes for the most part, but have completely eliminated anything that isn't plain carbon steel because such things (super blue, etc) don't hold up their end of the deal in surface quality compared to the sharpenability.
I'd also be wary of any plane that costs more than about $400 USD. You should be able to find someone in-country who can point you to a good maker. For a while, Nakano's White 1 planes with dai and subblade were about $375, then they were $479, and now those (and remaining Ogata stock) from Tomohito iida are marked just shy of $800 USD (maybe because Japan woodworker in the states has started to sell Ogata's common $400 planes for close to $800).
Stan Covington can help you find an in-country option around the $400 price level.
Iida sells Nakano's white steel planes in an unmarked dai with an unmatched subblade on ebay for sometimes one fourth of the price of his listed planes. It's shameful, because Nakano's principles were to make a blade that an average craftsman could afford. (I bought one of the ebay planes a month or so ago, but have yet to set it up. I like nakano's work at several hundred dollars, but favor nothing at the $800 USD level).
Stan will be quick to point out that even some of the expensive planes sold are just prelaminated material and hype. You can still have a decent plane out of prelaminated material, but that is problematic to me.
On the other side of the cost spectrum, i have bought four nice 70-72mm blades off of buyee with ledged dais and prices between $30 and $95 USD, and all have been excellent with supple kamaji backing iron. Some of the dais have been very old and need some work, and one will be replaced, but all have matching subblades.
Chasing an "it" maker is very punitive, and doesn't necessarily provide great ROI. Even the excellent makers sometimes make irons that are hard and chippy, and that really should've been tempered softer. I don't know if they're chasing clientele, but it's not that pleasant to use a plane that's difficult to sharpen and then chips in use.
Thanks DW. I like nimura's Dai's. Something about them. Really well crafted. Agree re Nakano. I purchased a $320 Nakano when in Japan mid last year and its been a excellent kanna. Really enjoy using it and the cutting edge is easy to sharpen. Stan is a very knowledgeable man. I recently purchased 4 mortise Chisels through him and his preferred blacksmith from Sanjo. I too have purchased from Tomohito in the past but it's apparent the quality compared to other sources of the stuff on his eBay site specifically that sells for so much less, is just that. Do much less. You might get a good blade but the dais are pretty average unstamped without the ledge. Can't complain with a sub $100 Yamaguchi blade though. Another maker that I like for good value.
While the forum is active again I would like to take the chance to offer a few old kanna blades that I have to anyone who would like one to practice on. They are mostly in a bad state and of unknown quality, but you never know there might be a good one amongst them.
No dai, so you would need to make your own.
I can post photos if there is any interest.
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