I was having a talk the other day with this old Japanese guy that I know, Junji, and it was kind of interesting. I'm a linguistic nut, so I was asking how to pronounce some of the names of the saws, planes, and chisels I use. When I asked him about the word shokunin (which apparently I was pronouncing like an Italian) he said "I like this word shokunin. It is a good word". As a general rule I'd say I like people who have an opinion about the quality of a word. We talked a bit more about the shokunin and shoji, the famous Japanese paper screens and doors. As a westerner you look at the delicate pieces of wood covered in translucent paper and think, "Man, those must be breaking all time...with kids poking holes in them...what a pain those must be". The first thing Junji says is that "you must respect the door"...I mean, respect for a door...how foreign a concept is that! You know though, I like this idea of respecting a door, and I like the idea of building something in such a way that it requires and deserves your respect. It almost forces you to shift your viewpoint, because if you don't you will end up simply destroying the objects in your world. Kind of like a philosophy lesson in a window screen...
This is a Japanese marking knife. The thing that's so special about it is that it's made from two pieces of steel that are laminated together, one hard, and one soft. The cutting edge is made from the hard steel and allows you to sharpen it until it's like a rasor. The soft steel also has its own purpose, providing strength to support the brittle hard steel. On their own neither would make a good blade, but together this technique produces some of the finest cutting tools available.
Apparently after the Samurai were banned in Japan all the top swordmakers were going to be put out of business, but instead of closing up shop they turned to making plane blades and knives for woodworkers. The knowledge gained over a lifetime of forging is usually passed on from father to son in the blade making world, with the family's secrets and special techniques learned through decades of experience handed down. The shokunin respects the skill of the blade makers by respecting their tools and using them to their full potential.
One day I hope to consider myself a shokunin, but it seems I still have a lot to learn. When my new marking knife arrived in the mail yesterday I immediately set about wrapping the blade with cotton twine to make a handle. Japanese tools seem to require a bit of care and attention, you need to set them up first to make them work the best way that they can for you. While wrapping the knife I got in a rush, stopped being smart, and started being stupid. Instead of clamping the knife down I started yanking on the string with one hand while holding the blade in the other...yup, it slips and I end up sitting in the hospital for 6 hours waiting to get four stitches in my knuckle...
Next time I think I'm going to show that knife a little more respect...
