In the first of this series we will journey deep into the subtleties of sharpening by hand using Japanese water stones. We will discuss and experiment the use of Nagura stone, Blue stone, 4000, 8000 and finer stones as well as trying several grades of natural finish stones from Mokuchi’s private collection.
A sharp tool is a joy, an ultra sharp blade is a delight.
Sharpening with Japanese Waterstone
Required
– 1000/6000 sharpening stone
– Each student should bring one or more dull blades. Mokuchi also provides purchasing options for edge tool or knives from Japanese suppliers.
Contact Mokuchi to purchase tools. As a Japanese tool retailer Mokuchi provides guidance on selecting tools and a student discount.
4-6 maximum
Mokuchi Studio – Port Jervis
7 – 9pm
In this one day class builds on the foundation of the mortise and tenon class. We will dive into more involved variations. Namely wedged, tusked, fox with focus on the square pegged. The day will be filled with demonstrations, discussion of proportions, subtleties and applications while leaving ample time for hands-on practice!
You will gain an understanding of various more complex mortise and tenon joints.
An additional $20 materials fee will be required for each student at time of class.
This class is offered as an exercise in elegance. Once assembled these dovetails go unseen. They are a rarity since other methods to join corners with miters mostly use routers. These “secret”, blind to the untrained eye, dovetails are an elegant demonstration of craftsmanship.
An additional $20 materials fee will be required for each student at time of class.
When one thinks of the intricacy of Japanese joinery the Shachi tsugi, partially housed long keyed tenon or spline joint, comes to mind. The English translation even sounds complicated.
The goal of this class is to make this commonly used joint (in Japan), accessible to woodworkers here.
Class we will cover: sizing, proportioning, layout and cutting as well as applications where this joint is useful.
Following demonstrations there will be time for you to have a go at cutting your first one!
A $20 materials fee will be required for each student at time of class.
You will gain a broad understanding of how Japanese woodworking distinguishes itself from Western approaches during this two hour talk and demonstration. The session will include an overview of traditional hand tools used in a range of work scale, from making small objects to full size timber frame building. This will be followed by a brief demonstration of the use of all basic tools: nomi (chisel), kanna (plane), nokogiri (saw) and marking tools including sashigane (square) and sumitsubo (ink line).
Everyone will be invited to pull a Japanese plane and make a thin wood shaving! A short history will be given along with key design element and aesthetic preferences. Lastly, of course, joinery will be discussed with samples to handle.