Craftsmanship in Wood

I'm trying to find out some more info about this kanna. My girlfriend has told me the mei might be read as 闘龍斎 (tou-ryu-sai), but I haven't been able to find much info or any images of a similar kanna when searching for that name.

So I just thought I'd see if anyone here has any other insights. I included a picture of the dai in case that can offer any additional hints.

Thanks!

Looking through the various kanna makers by region here on the forum I noticed that the small design on the lower left of my blade resembles the design that can be see on this blade (even though on mine the design is somewhat incomplete):

Fukusaburo, Uozumi 魚住福三郎 A smith trained under Tsunesaburo.

Jon B wrote:I'm trying to find out some more info about this kanna. My girlfriend has told me the mei might be read as 闘龍斎 (tou-ryu-sai), but I haven't been able to find much info or any images of a similar kanna when searching for that name.

So I just thought I'd see if anyone here has any other insights. I included a picture of the dai in case that can offer any additional hints.

Thanks!

The dai is make by Tanaka Hisao.

The characters written on the right side of the blade read 神道流　'Shintō Ryū', and the same is inscribed on the dai on the right side.

Thanks Chris, I searched for Tanaka Hisao and found a discussion about the same plane on another forum. From what I read there it sounds like Tanaka Hisao was known for making high quality dai, but no one was able to identify the maker of the blade.

The last fellow on this video is Tanaka Hisao making rather impressive chops into an ebony dai with IiRC a two lb hammer;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KaeQxEr ... e=youtu.be

I found this kanna in the old Mahogany Masterpiece catalog. Brian's mention prompted me to take a look.

Here is the text from the catalog entry:

Toryu Sai
Toryu Sai Tool of a Master Carpenter is a high quality blue steel blade made exclusively for Tanaka Hisao by a 65 year old master blacksmith. The maker's name is a Tanaka secret. The blade has been engraved by hand with delicate gravers with the plane's name and the statement that the blade was "made in the Shinto way" (a Japanese religion seeking perfection in form): this is a very serious guarantee of high quality.

The subblade is made to the same specifications as the main blade, and signed by the maker.

The blades have been set at 43" to work curly hardwoods, and rowed grain. The hand-cut dai is Akagashi aged in the master's shop, 11-3/8"L x 3-1/2"W x 1-1/2" T, and bears Tanaka Hisao's "Three Circles in Triangle"" stamp meaning it is ready to use, MTX-212.

Here is a link to a scan of the page from the catalog.

I found part two;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bYttKD ... e=youtu.be

Thanks for the great info guys! I had never heard of Mahogany Masterpieces or Robert Major before. It's interesting to look through the old catalog, and find out where this plane came from. I really appreciate the link DJwong.

The video of Tanaka Hisao chopping away at the ebony dai is impressive. He must have some tough chisels to put up with that kind of work.

Nice work djwong

"made in the Shinto way" = 神道流

The '包' stamp on the end of the dai, read tsutsumi, means the dai has the tsutsumi return at the bottom of the mouth.

Jon B wrote:Thanks for the great info guys! I had never heard of Mahogany Masterpieces or Robert Major before. It's interesting to look through the old catalog, and find out where this plane came from. I really appreciate the link DJwong.

The video of Tanaka Hisao chopping away at the ebony dai is impressive. He must have some tough chisels to put up with that kind of work.

I saw a discussion on the video which pointed to him being about 75 years old at the time of the video.

And of course a very important take-away is to fix your socks before chopping.