Kezurou-Kai #39

Last weekend I went to the 39th annual Kezurou-kai event in Itoigawa, Niigata. It was my first time going to the event here in Japan, and it was such a blast. For those who are unfamiliar with kezurou-kai, it’s an event where people compete to take the thinnest shavings of wood using Japanese planes. But more than that it’s really a gathering of people who are passionate about woodworking and carpentry, sharpening and hand tools, who are pushing their skills to the absolute limits of what is possible. The event takes place over two days, with preliminary planing running all through the first day, and ending around mid-day on day 2. Throughout that time competitors have three chances each day to bring a plane shaving up for official measurement. 5 individuals with the thinnest shavings then go on to the final planing contest toward the end of the day on day 2. The main contest required using 70 mm kanna, and the material was limited to hinoki at 55 mm wide by 1800 mm long. Hinoki has ... Read full article.