This is the first post of a new series about the traditional woodworking tools of Japan.
Don’t expect them to be thoroughly reviewed here. I just want you to meet them and get to know different ways of doing the same things.
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”Kebiki” is today’s tool.
It is a simple yet smart marking gauge. Instead of a single pin it uses two discrete well sharpened knives that tear the wood fibers very neatly.
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Both knives slide inside a routed channel that ensures proper alignment and are operated through a single thumbscrew to fix them in position.
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I bet the best observers have noticed that the bevels of the blades are facing each other… this way you crush the fibers to be removed later on with a plane and keep the “good ones” intact.
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The main advantage and the reason it was developed in first place is clear: when you are working exclusively with hand tools and need to rout a groove there’s no better way to guarantee perfect paralelism than to trace both marks at the same time. And grooves is what most abound in japanese houses because every single ”fusuma” or ”shoji” panel slides inside two of them on the floor and two more on top, so there are at least four of them—often more—that go from wall to wall in each room.
Solid oak, japanese steel that holds the edge forever, simple yet effective.
Now MsDebbie’s curiosity should be fullfilled… for today!
Next in line will be the very plane in charge to rout these groves…
-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin
12 comments so far
furnitologist
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190 posts in 908 days
posted 767 days ago
Hey Jojo…........this should be interesting to follow. Nice pictures, they work with your text great.
I get a kick out of how the atmosphere is such that shooting boards, recondictioning handplanes, then seeing boards made, newly found handplanes posted, wooden planes made with a comment relating back to a newly made shooting board….........now summaries of traditional japanese tools. Very enjoyable place to view woodworking.
Jojo
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580 posts in 867 days
posted 767 days ago
Thank you Neil. I’ll try to keep it interesting.
-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · http://twitter.com/kagushokunin
MsDebbieP
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14159 posts in 1055 days
posted 767 days ago
haha .. fulfilled and intrigued at the same time
I’ve only used my new router plane once and I’ve never used a “marking gauge”, I am thinking that this would be most helpful.
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Mark Mazzo
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343 posts in 807 days
posted 767 days ago
JoJo,
Great idea for a blog. By the way I have a Kebiki and it works great! The only other Japanese tool that I own is a rip Dozuki saw for dovetails that is also very nice to use. So, I’ll be watching to see what else you highlight.
-- Mark, Webster New York, Visit my website at http://thecraftsmanspath.com
mot
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4903 posts in 931 days
posted 767 days ago
That’s neat…handy for marking mortises.
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
WayneC
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5994 posts in 992 days
posted 767 days ago
Very nice tool. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks Jojo.
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
Thos. Angle
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4013 posts in 857 days
posted 767 days ago
Very interesting, Jojo. I need a new one and will probably build one like this when I get home. Thank you for the how to.
-- Thos. Angle
SPalm
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948 posts in 777 days
posted 767 days ago
Thanks for the info. This is a class act. Looking forward to the series.
Steve
-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon
brunob
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1470 posts in 1064 days
posted 767 days ago
Great tool. Is there a source for these?
-- Bruce from Central New York
Karson
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25801 posts in 1295 days
posted 767 days ago
Great looking tool. I keep threating to make a marking gauge. Maybe this will rekindle the fire again.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
BarryW
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872 posts in 801 days
posted 767 days ago
I left my heart with my kebiki,
high on a board, it calls to me
to be where little cuts are made
where grooves grow with the blade
the rising sun makes tools for me.
(sung to the tune of “I left my heart in San Francisco”
okay, just remember that you’re blessed by not hearing me sing it…great tool.
-- /\/\/\ BarryW /\/\/\ Stay so busy you don't have time to die.
Jeff
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996 posts in 988 days
posted 766 days ago
Bookmark! Thanks, JoJo.
-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN