Hello again all,
My apologies for not writing here for just over a whole month, for some unusual reason it’s been a busy August, which has usually been a very quiet month.
First up, thanks to all of you who’ve made the previous month so busy. T’was supposed to be summer (vacation) time, but I’ve been flat out just keeping up.
Next, there are some new additions to the store in the form of some measuring gear from Matsui-Siemitsu (Precision).
There are, last time I checked, at least a half dozen Japanese brands of measuring and marking gear.
(Note, I did NOT state Japanese manufacturers because most of them have their products made in Japan and ‘elsewhere’, and it’s not always made clear…)
However, there is one distinct hold out, only making their products in Japan, and as you might expect, they’re very well made, albeit not at all ‘inexpensive’.
No prizes for guessing it’s Matsui-Seimitsu, which is good because it means we don’t have to pick and choose which products we can and cannot list, we can just make almost all of them readily available with some restrictions for common sense’s sake.
(We’re called “Tools from Japan” not “Tools from Japan that may be made in Japan or surrounding areas, maybe if we’re lucky”. There are standards we must maintain!)
At the moment we have listed a few rulers, straight edges and their ‘kebiki’ marking gauges.
The rulers are nice, simple and inexpensive and available in a not too common 200mm length. This is a really, REALLY handy size especially since I often find a 150mm ruler is not quite long enough, but don’t want to drag out a bigger ruler. The 200mm is just a little longer, no thicker and no wider than the 150mm model. And it’ll stretch the full length of a standard sized sharpening stone. Being made of hardened stainless steel, I just found my new sharpening friend!
The straight edges are nice, uncomplicated and accurate. For what they are, they are not ‘cheap’ but they are competitive price wise.
The Kebiki are incredible. Very well made, precision fitted everywhere and just wonderful. Again, not inexpensive but considering how well made they are worth every ‘nominal unit of currency you wish to use’.
A large number of smaller Tsunesaburo planes have been added, and more are coming as time allows. These are the joinery and special purpose planes, not too many ‘normal’ planes to come.
(And a lesson has been learned. Do not order bespoke blades over the summer. Nobody fires up the power hammer when it’s humid² and hot³.)
What’s coming?
Mostly filling out existing listings. A lot of Koyamaichi and Ouchi chisels, some more Mitsukawa saws, more planes, etc, etc.
Plugging holes in the listings too. We expect to be able to start offering some ‘proper’ hammers, axes and similar gear in the near future.
We’ll also be adding some more files and rasps. The arrangement is still in the works, but it’s an old file making company in Hiroshima who seem to pop up everywhere. They’re keen, offer a nice range of files and rasps and they’re quite popular here for offering a good quality product at a nice, wallet friendly price.
They’re files, not a terribly sophisticated bit of kit but a good file is a nice thing to use, a bad file is a lesson in frustration and in recent times, the trend is toward mediocrity in filing. It’ll be nice to have a steady supply of good files available.
A few other things coming along as well, but no details just yet.
And that’s about it for the present moment in time. Just very busy trying to get things done.
Thanks for reading, as always,
Stu.
