Japanese Woodblock With Laura Episode 21 - Sharpening Woodblock Tools with Will Francis

Will Francis shares his expertise in sharpening Japanese woodblock tools using whetstones
My book 'Making Japanese Woodblock Prints' (Crowood Press) is available from booksellers if you'd like a back up guide to this film series. If you'd like to leave a small donation to help our film making, I have a fundraising page at GoFundMe gf.me/u/zd8bcq

[@wa5657]

thank you for the video!! maybe i was searching wrong but you were the only ones to actually talk about sharpening these tools, showing how to do it, and mentioning taking off the tip even (it probably is my main mistake, i didn't know to do that)

[@simonedoherty6195]

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to the two of you talk about the business of sharpening and the differences in your ways of working with woodblock. Very informative, thank you. Also once again thanks Ben, you do a fantastic job.

[@nicholasjagger6557]

This just proves the fact that sharpening and carving are two sides of the same coin. It's almost inevitable that people new to sharpening will find it difficult and make mistakes, but once you learn to keep the same angle and not rock, carving quality will increase in equal measure. Thanks to Will, Laura and backroom Ben.

[@teripower8597]

What is the stone for the finishing called? Soapstone? Basalt?