Sharpening a Rare Japanese Ryoba Saw - Carpentry Tool Repair at Kurashige Tool Shop in Tokyo, Japan

In this video, we are back in Tokyo, Japan at Kurashige Tool Shop getting a rare Inosuke Japanese Ryoba Saw tuned and sharpened. This saw was purchased a few months earlier from Kurashige Tool Shop because of its size. It is a saw that measures 300mm making it perfect for cutting taller Hari (梁) or beams.
I had a hard time cutting an Iishaku Bari (一尺梁) for a recent house build. The saw was not cutting straight, instead it was curving as I cut. I told Mr. Kurashige about the problem I was having and he offered to take a look at the saw and make any adjustments necessary to improve the cutting.
In the matter of a few minutes Mr. Kurashige repaired and sharpened my saw improving both the cut and the sound that it made. It was really cool to see how to repair and tune a saw and I will definitely try to practice this in the future as my saws get dull or misshapen due to use.
Later in this video I also have Mr. Kurashige take a look at some old Nomi (鑿) or chisels that a friend of mine picked up at a discount / secondhand shop. These chisels were pretty rare having been made by a popular Japanese blacksmith who has passed away. I took it to Kurashige Tool Shop to get new handles for them so that I can finish the restoration.
We hope everyone enjoys this video.
#carpentrylife #japanesewoodworking #woodworking #japanesecarpentrytools

[@836dmar]

So rare that anyone takes such a personal interest in tools anymore... at least in America. When all the older artisans in Japan are gone let’s hope the younger generation keeps the traditions.

[@planesandcanes5094]

The scariest part is once the old timers are gone and the youth don’t follow in. It’s gone. We can almost get back to where the old guys were if we dedicate our whole lives to the trades but generational work,once lost, is not recoverable, it’s just guess work and prayer at that point.

[@KamikazeeNYC]

I hope the younger generation will step in to learn

[@thombaz]

If you go work in a "cheap" metalshop in central Europe, you will see the opposite going on. Most of the people think these kind of things just gone, but its a daily routine in small companies.

[@tungbach2011]

Tôi có cưa máy nhưng vẫn thích dùng cưa tay thủ công để làm việc. Tôi rất thích kiểu răng hình kim cương. Rất thích hợp để cưa ngang gỗ

[@HondoTrailside]

@@planesandcanes5094 Japan is a different case, from other places, in two regards. 1) they don't share or explain their craft. This may be changing for various reasons today, but typically it was a you "steal" the knowledge from your master. And they also don't do the scientific method thing where there has to be a technical or economic reason for everything. Often explanations for features are not rational. Whether this was secrecy, or something else I don't know. Obviously there are tons of engineers, but the western language of everything has a technical explanation (often wrong) did not exist back in the 80s when I got into this stuff. 2) A second reason is there must have been thousands of these shops, often smaller than a chicken coup, with individual blacksmiths. So it wasn't as though the stuff we are loosing was every generally known in the first place. It was one person's property. --------------------------------------------------------------- However, in the west, much was lost, and places like Williamsburg recovered it. There is a story that they needed to do something and so one of them went to the blacksmith and described what they needed, and there is a vernacular to smithing, so he approached the problem with that to work with. A tool emerged. Later that very tool emerged from archeology, even though nobody had seen it up to then. In the west, we have been rediscovering stuff for 50 years. What has changed is what we do with the tools. For instance 90% of the planes, let's say, that a guy would have had would have been molding planes, and super tuned tissue creating finishing planes, aren't even required. But guess what the balance of planes are today. The work changes, and so people don't care about a ton of the stuff that used to be or how things were done. Think of the obsession, for dovetails... Apprentice work, in a lot of cases.

[@Elconbrioso]

Intimate knowledge and understanding of exactly how wood saws work and how to maintain them is dying out I feel. With respect from the UK

[@paulerickson1906]

It's nice to see someone who respects the tools for the job they do. And to fix them properly when they need it.

[@thecarpentrylife]

Agree 👍

[@ankurasati8037]

Having declared my dissatisfaction with this sharpener last night kzbin.infoUgkxDcr-y2Pf6xdnrFHrSP7dl9kpKaCozcSQ I thought about the problem some more. It occurred to me that I might be undoing each attempt at achieving a sharp edge by the repeated attempts. So, I tried to clean up the unsatisfactory result by honing with only positions 3 and 4.Miracle!! A really nicely sharpened chef's knife, more than enough to handle my needs. Admittedly, it did not reach professionally sharpened razor-fineness, but it is now significantly sharper than it was. A bout of breaking down carrots convinced me. So, major apologies to the manufacturer, Amazon, and all happy and potential owners! Follow the directions: don't buy it if you have ceramic blades; and don't overwork your knife blade.

[@themountainraven]

I love that their culture focuses on quality rather than quantity. They take great pride in their tools.

[@Eugenestube]

Amazing craftsmanship!

[@stuyzf3996]

Interesting to watch him work on the saw.

[@StopGravity]

That was good to see. I sharpen my own saws, but I learned so much from watching him sharpen that Ryoba. Thanks for sharing this.

[@thecarpentrylife]

We are glad to hear that!

[@theNerbFace]

Since your first post on this place I’ve bought 3 saws from this shop online and they are are amazing. I will continue to be a patron as long as I can. Thanks for posting their link on that first post !

[@myRefuge3710]

Wow. True art and craftsmanship.

[@sthildas4857]

I sharpen my own Disston saws this has be informative. 🇬🇧

[@582tird]

This was very interesting, I sharpen my own western style saws and have alway wanted to see the process of sharpening Japanese saws. 🙏

[@als1023]

Same, thanks for posting !

[@iotaje1]

Here's the best channel I found on Japanese saw sharpening : kzbin.info/door/gQMmdFxUjqbC-dOa9gnF1Q Japanese saws are about half as short as western ones due to the pull stroke, and tend to have larger teeth. They use special very thin files to sharpen the long thin teeth, and typically hold the file low with a lot of slope to avoid vibrations.

[@foundit6088]

Thank you for making these videos that show us all the interesting things that go along with Japanese carpentry. I also enjoy seeing the back rooms where people are working and what their workspace looks like. Keep up the great work!

[@1967250s]

Nice to see Mr. Kurashige again. Be very nice to him! He has knowledge you and I can only dream of.

[@Riessu]

Thank you so much for all your videos. Always a pleasure to watch them, very enlightening !

[@HondoTrailside]

Logically, what we need are a bunch of videos on Japanese workbenches, the various jobsite things, the planing beams, the seated floor models. Given how specialized craft can be there must be dozens. There are at least two western woodworkers who made hugely popular careers off workbenches, and two others who also got noticed for their benches. Scott Landis, Tag Frid, Franz Klausz, and Schwartz. I remember seeing a fascinating planing beam in the Dick's catalog, it was probably too fancy to have been authentic. But it goes to show the deep lust people have for every imaginable bench. That is the route to a woodworker's heart. Japanese benches and fixtures. Imai for instance, generated a lot of interest with his beam/bench, but all it really was what the workers had left his shop with ideas based on the fact they were working on large timbers, because he was a timber framer. So the benches were really just horses with beams on them. I made two of them myself and use one of them every day I am in the upstairs shop. Jay van Arsdale has also contributed designs for the trestles.

[@troystaten5633]

Very cool. Sharpening the rip teeth of that saw did not look that scary but doing the crosscut teeth must really be a challenge.

[@user-sj7su2xd2n]

のこぎりを調整するときの所作がもう達人の雰囲気。

[@rawr2u190]

Wow so interesting to see

[@micssticksnpipes]

More of this please 🙏 👍

[@Arco326]

this is good !... never tried sharpening a saw this way...

[@davepomerleau7250]

This was amazing!!! the skill and tips were wow man so amazing!

[@arthurbimantara3462]

I like the ryoba saw because the are size is big and so cool 👍👍. I like your ryoba saw 👍👍

[@MrKozure]

Looking at his wooden saw vise he must've sharpen thousands of saw with it.

[@stansbruv3169]

Beautiful. Thank you do much for sharing this experience. Subscribed!

[@thecarpentrylife]

Thank you for watching.

[@jumpingjacks5558]

Great video. It entertaining and knowledgeable. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@Myrkskog]

A beautiful saw.

[@mikeronga1461]

Man those old guys are so bad ass.

[@JoshIbbotson]

This is awesome dude, loving these videos!

[@ahodamahingan1698]

Thank you for sharing!

[@alessandromootoo69]

Great channel, thank you so much for your videos!!

[@pombpm9203]

社長さん優しい🤗

[@robohippy]

I wish I knew what he did to your saw to fix it. The idea of disposable blades drives me nuts. I want to learn to sharpen them and fix them rather than toss them away.

[@twinkyunouwantmycreamfilli8297]

Thats a really nice saw. Almost to nice to use, lol.

[@momentoargento]

Yo veo nna mezca de Aston Kutcher y Tome Cruise!😅

[@dekonfrost7]

Old master.

[@hardingod]

man it's so great to see that. I have a saw from Shinsui Nakaya. And I have the same problem. One side cuts what my brain is aiming for. but on the other side I am always thinking am I not able to do a straight gut? But what did he do? is the burble if one teeth of the saw is to high? What did he do to make it go running again? Just Amasing!!! Thanks for sharing

[@gator83261]

Wow.

[@daveg5183]

👍

[@ijulmahardika8923]

What is the tools name at minute 1:35 that use to clamp saw blade??

[@thecarpentrylife]

There really is not name for it. Most craftsman build their own. It is not something that can be bought.

[@ijulmahardika8923]

@@thecarpentrylife but it must have some name for that tools on japanese

[@mauriciopineda7565]

Hi!!. In America ( continental ), where are the stores with this japanese wood working tools ??.

[@thecarpentrylife]

We have no idea. Maybe shopping online?

[@darrenmacmartin9392]

In the U.S. check out Suzuki-ya as well as Hida Tool and Hardware, both are great.

[@woodandcreativity.r9132]

👍👍👍💯

[@ToBI-wo8ro]

my friend what is the name of the big chisels the longest

[@thecarpentrylife]

It is Oiire Nomi.

[@ToBI-wo8ro]

@@thecarpentrylife muchas gracias saludos desde Perú

[@drawingfranco7533]

2:00 the sound ... hmmmm

[@thecarpentrylife]

Sounds like a real katana, don't you think?

[@drawingfranco7533]

@@thecarpentrylife absolutely..!! sringggggg!!

[@garylatture8948]

No jigs needed on that grinder or maybe it was the craftsman

[@zenjiroumatsushima2086]

うれしいですね。！！！。店主の対応が。私は自分で調整しますよ。アサリとすり込みをして。造作用の八寸は難儀しますね。刃物は切れなくなったら研ぐしかないので高級な（高額）品は必要ないでしょうね。鑿では清忠。切れ味が違う。左久作も良いですね。鋸は雄造正直、伊之助も良いですね。鋼が固いので長切れする。でも切れなくなったら研がなければならないので、そこは変らないですね。墨壺の動画　有りましたね。木は良いが、腐るでしょ。腐ると同時に糸が通る道がすり減ってくるんですよ、尻の口金切れますよ。プラスチックが一番でしょうね。壺為も使っていましたが（朱壺）綿壺（海）が腐ってきたのでカシュ―塗料を塗って休眠中。壺為の鶴亀彫刻の付いたの持っていますけどカエデを付けずに保管中。最近は鋸が使い捨て鋸の動画多いですね（主役）。目立て屋さんが商売にならないのと、職人が年を取ってしまったので少なくなりましたね。のこぎり折らないように、骨折ってください。

[@thecarpentrylife]

清忠？今度見つけたら購入してみます！ありがとうございます。

[@barefoofDr]

The first thing to do is throw the Japanese saw away and get a damn fine old Disston handsaw.

[@jumpingjacks5558]

Great video. It entertaining and knowledgeable. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@vanzipper6486]

👍