Hello LJs,
I just had a great visit to a little woodworking museum in Kobe that I thought was worth sharing. It’s got to be, pound-for-pound, one of the best museums I’ve been to. Sure, it’s the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum and I love woodworking, so I’m biased… but even my wife agrees that it was quite a nice experience. Here are a few photos with some comments:
The entrance: typical Japanese signage… very pleasing to look at
A little video before beginning the tour
Japanese carpentry was traditionally broken into 4 categories. There were carpenters, roofers, plasterers and blacksmiths. The knowledge required for each was so high that one often didn’t master more than one area. We’ll focus on the carpenter, or daiku
A spread of what we’d typically find in a daiku’s toolbox
I don’t know much about Chinese woodworking, but there was a little display along the way.
Some nice examples of very customized and ornate planes.
A view of the daiku’s collection
An old frame saw. There was a video of some old Japanese guys using this on some VERY large cypress – amazing
Some beautiful joinery. This can be found in castle and temples, or in small jewelry boxes
Samples of the common woods in japanese woodworking: cedar, cypress, maple
Some shavings from the wood samples… if you haven’t seen the planing competitions on YouTube, it’s definitely worth a look
For the plane and chisel junkies:
My wife is scoping out my next present
And that’s it! A great stop if you’re ever in Japan.
-- Brent, http://www.brentmorelabs.com
11 comments so far
JesseTutt
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707 posts in 276 days
#1 posted 62 days ago
thanks for the virtual visit!
-- Jesse, Saint Louis, Missouri
ShaneA
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#2 posted 62 days ago
Nice, some great pictures and awesome looking stuff. Thanks for sharing.
racerglen
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#3 posted 62 days ago
Brent, that looks like an awsome facility, you must have been in 7th heaven !
Do they sell souveniers ?
’;-)
-- Glen, Vernon B.C. Canada
JR45
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405 posts in 478 days
#4 posted 62 days ago
Thanks for taking the time to share your visit with us. Some wonderful tools to gloat over!
Jim
-- It always looks better when it's finished!
waho6o9
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2881 posts in 743 days
#5 posted 62 days ago
Thank you Brent, most excellent photos and love me some
Japanese joinery.
Greg The Cajun Box Sculptor
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3762 posts in 1474 days
#6 posted 62 days ago
I would love to visit that place…and especially see as much as their woodworking styles as possible…
-- Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. http://www.FineArtBoxes.com
Joe Lyddon
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6377 posts in 2218 days
#7 posted 62 days ago
SUPER COOL…
Wonderful visit!
Thank you for taking us on the tour too! GREAT!
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"
stefang
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#8 posted 62 days ago
Thanks for the interesting tour.
-- Mike, American in Norway
Tim
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#9 posted 62 days ago
Thanks for giving us a tour, looks like a great place to visit!
-- Good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from poor judgement.
brentmore
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44 posts in 367 days
#10 posted 62 days ago
racerglen,
Unfortunately, there was no gift shop! I was very disappointed because I would have definitely stocked up at such a nice museum. We got a few brochures though, which are very high quality. About half way through the museum, the director (a retired engineer) found us and personally walked us through many of the exhibits.
Interesting notes:
-Our guide noted that lignum vitae was used in ship propeller shafts as late as the 50s due to its hardness and self lubrication properties.
-I have virtually no experience in planing by hand, and was floored with the surfaces that woodworkers could achieve with their hand planes. If I got to their level, I’d throw out all of my sandpaper!
Here’s a clip of the planing competition:
-- Brent, http://www.brentmorelabs.com
Joe Lyddon
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6377 posts in 2218 days
#11 posted 59 days ago
That is one heck of a LARGE Plane! Almost looked like a Thickness Planer! LOL
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"
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