Japanese Plane Tuning - Part 3 of 5 - Fitting the Blade to the Block

Seating the blade in the dai is a very important part of tuning your kanna. In this video Mitch fits a blade to a block - that it was never designed to be fit to.
0:22 How a Blade Seats in the Dai
1:29 How Tight Should My Blade Be?
2:15 Enter the Pencil
3:16 Reading the Markings
4:01 Let the Material Removal Begin
6:34 Dropping the Blade Square
8:45 Diagnosing High Points
9:28 The End Result

[@jthadcast]

after destroying many abused vintage kanna dai trying to make the frankenstein kannas work this series is invaluable to understanding propper adjustment. only wish they had a US store.

[@ray1283]

Great video Mitch! I am quite familiar with making western wooden planes, but you illuminated a critical difference of the Japanese plane blades - they are tapered the opposite way of western (old) blades that require a wedge. That fact makes so many things make sense now. Western blades are fatter at the cutting edge to make the wooden wedge lock it into place by mechanical lock against cutting thrust, not just by friction.

[@davidclark9086]

This is really good and exactly what I needed.

[@MrFinn]

Could you tell me what files you were using to take down the high point on the Dai? thank you

[@tungbach2011]

Lưng lưỡi bào, mặt tiếp xúc với mặt nghiêng của lưỡi cần được mài thật phẳng. Khi đục mặt vát cũng phẳng thì khi lắp lưỡi vào sẽ không phải sửa.

[@mrkoolio4475]

Greetings from Los Angeles. How the heck did an Aussie become so knowledgeable about Japanese plane blades? I am guessing a woman was involved. None of my business …sorry. Anyway, I occasionally buy fairly large lots of old Japanese planes, I refurbish them as best I can and sell theme. Since this is my hobby, not my job, I can work for less than minimum (lol) Wage…..and people,can buy a decent plane that is good to go except for final polishing on the blade….. For 20-40$ depending on size……which is a steal. Sometimes I lightly sand the base and coat with linseed oil….looks prett6 darn nice…..these are older vintage planses. The wood is a pale yellow with thin dark “veins”……any idea what it is? Larchwood? The other question I have…..many of the blades have lots of rust…..that is very difficult to remove……any suggestions? am I correct that the older plane blades (stamped) are generally of higher quality than what Japan is producing today (example kakuri). Last one…..I love looking at the different stamps on the blades. Since I can’t read japanes, I never know if one blade is more valuable than another. Is there some type of list available that shows the better vintage blade blacksmiths and their corresponding stamp…..I realize this is a lot of questions. Any reply would be very appreciated. If you have a legal question, I am happy to assist you as a friendly trade of info. Thank you whatever you decide.