Stuart Ablett
Member
- Messages
- 15,917
- Location
- Tokyo Japan
It was not bad at all this year, lots of stuff to see and I met some really interesting guys.
First off, they have almost zero large machines on display, almost no tablesaws, the only ones I saw were bench top ones, no bandsaws, no jointers, and only a few thickness planers, so this is not nearly the same kind of woodworking show as you guys get in the US etc.
But, I got to meet a number of black smiths, cool guys for sure, and some of them were very talkative too.
One guy I met and I got to talking, he told me that he sells a ton of his dovetail chisels to some company in the US & Canada. I asked him when he started to sell them, he said in April or so this year. Well, I thought that it HAS to be Lee Valley, as they just started selling "Japanese Dovetail chisels".
Says this on their site.........
heck of a nice guy, selling a bunch of his stuff cheap too, they were seconds, but you had to ask him to show you the (VERY) minor flaws.
I bought this off of him.........
It is called a "Bachi Nomi" which is a play on the pick used to play the Japanese Guitar, a thing called a Bachi, as they are similar in shape.
Here you can see a bachi on a shamisen.
Here is a basic bachi....
Anyway, Mr. Koyama told me that these bachi nomi are not made much anymore, they are difficult, due to their thinness and the odd shape.
Usually 15,000 yen ($125 USD) but today I got it for 5000 yen ($42 USD) so yeah, I'm a bit happy!
This fellow was so friendly, he invited me down to see his factory, and such, but it is in Hyogo, which is a 7 hour drive
So much more to share, but I got to hit the sack, I'm going again tomorrow, as I want to take part in a blacksmithing hands on, but you got to be there when they open or they fill up too soon.
Oh, one thing I'll share, the Festool Domino, they want 189,000 yen for it, that is $1575 USD, without the fence thing and with out any of the floating tenons, they want about $250 for the systrainer full of tenons....... take that one off my want list
First off, they have almost zero large machines on display, almost no tablesaws, the only ones I saw were bench top ones, no bandsaws, no jointers, and only a few thickness planers, so this is not nearly the same kind of woodworking show as you guys get in the US etc.
But, I got to meet a number of black smiths, cool guys for sure, and some of them were very talkative too.
One guy I met and I got to talking, he told me that he sells a ton of his dovetail chisels to some company in the US & Canada. I asked him when he started to sell them, he said in April or so this year. Well, I thought that it HAS to be Lee Valley, as they just started selling "Japanese Dovetail chisels".
Says this on their site.........
So I get home and I check his card, and sure enough this is the guy!Known as umeki-nomi (filling-in chisels) for their ability to work into sharp corners, these are versatile traditional tools.
Though they excel at removing the waste from between dovetails, they are suitable for a variety of tasks because their triangular sections and narrow edges allow them to work adjacent to any inclined surface. Their red oak handles have pre-seated hand-forged hoops and are slightly canted to provide clearance for flush-trimming projections and paring recessed joints.
Hand forged and finely finished by master blacksmith Hiroshi Koyama (Koyamaichi), the laminated blades combine a hard high-carbon Hitachi white steel face with a shock-absorbing softer steel back.
Hardened to Rc65-66. Available individually or as a set of all six sizes in a canvas tool roll. (Since these are hand made, they may vary in size by ±1mm.)
heck of a nice guy, selling a bunch of his stuff cheap too, they were seconds, but you had to ask him to show you the (VERY) minor flaws.
I bought this off of him.........
It is called a "Bachi Nomi" which is a play on the pick used to play the Japanese Guitar, a thing called a Bachi, as they are similar in shape.
Here you can see a bachi on a shamisen.
Here is a basic bachi....
Anyway, Mr. Koyama told me that these bachi nomi are not made much anymore, they are difficult, due to their thinness and the odd shape.
Usually 15,000 yen ($125 USD) but today I got it for 5000 yen ($42 USD) so yeah, I'm a bit happy!
This fellow was so friendly, he invited me down to see his factory, and such, but it is in Hyogo, which is a 7 hour drive
So much more to share, but I got to hit the sack, I'm going again tomorrow, as I want to take part in a blacksmithing hands on, but you got to be there when they open or they fill up too soon.
Oh, one thing I'll share, the Festool Domino, they want 189,000 yen for it, that is $1575 USD, without the fence thing and with out any of the floating tenons, they want about $250 for the systrainer full of tenons....... take that one off my want list