Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

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John Whitley
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Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Thu Aug 31, 2017 1:03 am

Dale Brotherton has recently released a new book, Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane. it can be ordered directly from the Takumi Company website.

A blurb from john Blue, Dale’s apprentice: This is the book he's been developing for 30 years, and is wonderfully descriptive.

I’ve just ordered it, and will write more about it once it arrives. I took Dale’s six-day workshop last Fall, and the sharpening and tool prep segment was very helpful, so I’m excited to see what awaits in Dale’s new book.
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Chris Pyle
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:41 pm

John, have you received the book? I'm interested to hear how the pages are filled since I can't find a table of contents. I have Chris' kanna set-up publication so while I appreciate multiple approaches to any task, I wonder if there's enough value there for a purchase. Interested in hearing more once you've had a chance to read through it.
John Whitley
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Thu Sep 14, 2017 3:43 pm

Thanks for the reminder, Chris. Work got crazy for a bit there, so I lost track of getting the TOC posted. Here goes:

Introduction
  • Why Japanese Hand Tools?
  • A Journey
  • Moving Forward
Getting Started
  1. Tools and Their Purchase
  2. About Sharpening Stones
  3. Chisel Set Up – Preliminary
    Sharpening
  4. Sharpening – Getting Ready
  5. Chisel Preparation – Flattening the Back
  6. Basic Sharpening – Chisel
  7. Is it Sharp?
  8. More on Sharpening
  9. Broken Blades
    The Hand Plane
  10. Hand Planes – Introduction
  11. Main Blade Preparation – Flattening the Back
  12. Main Blade Preparation – Trimming Ears
  13. Basic Sharpening – Plane Blade
  14. The Chipbreaker (The Little Giant)
  15. The Plane Block – Fitting the Blade
  16. Fitting the Chipbreaker
  17. Conditioning the Block
  18. Planing – Making it Work
  19. Planing Techniques
  20. Theory of the Uneven Base
    Refining
  21. Resharpening – Ironing out the Kinks
  22. Problem Diagnostic Chart
  23. Playing with Blocks – Block Repair and Replacement
  24. A Higher Plane? (The Single Blade Plane)
    Expanding
  25. Specialty Planes and Other Blades
  26. Plane Protection and Storage
  27. It's About Wood
  28. Diamond Lapping Plates
  29. Seeing Colors in Steel
    Bon Voyage
    Appendix
    Index
Any errors or oddities in the above are almost certainly mine (esp. in BBCode's limited formatting). My sense of the book so far is that it's quite on-point; being very readable, with little fluff yet not overly terse. The photography is good-to-great for the topics at hand and likewise for the diagrams. I'm happy to answer specific questions, and will try to post more as I've had time to read and digest it in more detail.
djwong
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:19 pm

I have only skimmed the book, but it seems like a worthwhile purchase to me. The book is very well illustrated with photos showing correct and incorrect situations. There are also photos of problems in the shavings and how to identify and correct each. The verbose photo tutorial really sets this book apart from others.

He writes about careful water management while sharpening, to allow the slurry to build (complete with photos). Has a nice section on using a grinder to fix badly chipped blades.

I found a short section on oiling the dai before setup. The author only says it is common practice. I wish he would have wrote about this more. Most books and videos do not oil the dai as part of the block preparation.
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Chris Pyle
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:52 am

djwong wrote:
Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:19 pm
I have only skimmed the book, but it seems like a worthwhile purchase to me. The book is very well illustrated with photos showing correct and incorrect situations. There are also photos of problems in the shavings and how to identify and correct each. The verbose photo tutorial really sets this book apart from others.

He writes about careful water management while sharpening, to allow the slurry to build (complete with photos). Has a nice section on using a grinder to fix badly chipped blades.

I found a short section on oiling the dai before setup. The author only says it is common practice. I wish he would have wrote about this more. Most books and videos do not oil the dai as part of the block preparation.
Hmm, I wonder what oiling the dai accomplishes? I suppose there are a few different potential benefits:
  • Seals the dai so there is less moisture movement/dai movement.
  • Creates a harder/slicker surface thus reducing friction
Anything else? Protecting it from grime/tarnish I suppose?

Sounds like a good read.
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Chris Hall
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:42 pm

I don't believe that oiling the dai is good practice. It is supposed to dampen the movement of the block in response to humidity, but it really doesn't do a whole lot, and in return you get a slightly oily dai which tends to attract dirt and get grubby. Neither of the recently-published Japanese books I have on kanna shikomi make any mention of oiling the dai, so that fact that you are not seeing the advice to do so in all quarters is a good thing.
djwong
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Sat Sep 16, 2017 4:42 am

In the book, the method for oiling the day is interesting. The dai is set upright and a masking tape "dam" is created on one end. A little oil is poured into the dam, just enough to coat the end grain. The oil is allowed to seep into the dai until it is seen beading out in the exposed end grain cutout for the blade. Then flip the dai over and repeat on the opposite side. The oil (such as olive oil) should be pre-cooked until almost smoking. This is said to breakdown the oil so it will not become sticky or rancid.

The only other reference to oiling a kanna dai that I have seen is in this book. Here it is suggested that the bottom of the dai is wiped with camellia oil after it has been adjusted. Also, any other part of the dai that has been shaved or cut should have oil applied to the surface.
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Chris Hall
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:48 am

Wiping the sole of the plane with camelia oil from time to time is an entirely different matter, though I don't do that myself. I have applied a little camellia oil to the cutting edge from time to time, but that's not something i bother with much these days either.

Give oiling the dai a try if you think it is something good. I think the idea is as flawed however, just like the idea that an oil finish on a piece of furniture is going to stop moisture exchange. It doesn't.

The book you link to is very general on the topic of hand tools and intended for beginners, hence the use of '入門' in the title.
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Brian
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:52 am

I agree with Chris on oiling the dai, or rather I've often see negative comments about the resulting effects and have decided against trying it.
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Chris Hall
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Re: Book: Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane

Sat Sep 16, 2017 11:38 am

I tried it too, many years ago, and once was enough for me and I threw the dai out in the end. Others may enjoy an oily grubby dai for some reason, interests and inclinations do vary.

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