Author Archives: davej

Nagatsuki Tanto

Nagatsuki (長月, pronounced “nah-gah-tsoo-key”) translates literally as “long moon”, in the ancient calendar it is a poetic name for the time around late September, possibly abbreviated from yonagatsuki meaning “night of the long moon”, or “month of the long night” depending on… Continue reading →

Preparing and Loading the Charcoal Kiln

The first fire is relatively small and is intended to dry out some of the moisture in the clay/earth around the kiln remaining after construction and before winter. After cooling and cleaning it out, a “floor” is created above the steel floor slats using thin boards and brown charcoal from previous charcoal runs. Then the wood (mostly Pine) is split and stacked vertically from back to front leaving only a small airspace at the top. The front will be filled with kindling and bark and then the opening closed up and mostly sealed before lighting. Controlling the air intake slows down the burn and prevents loss/crumbling/cracking of charcoal wood. read more about the kiln and making charcoal.

TLDW #27 – Forging a Saya Nomi (鞘鑿)

Saya-nomi (鞘鑿) are a type of Japanese chisel with several unique features designed for carving the inside of a wooden scabbard or handle. Hand forged from a reclaimed harrow tooth, the elongated neck is slightly curved for clearance and the bottom and side corners are slightly rounded and the tip is slightly bull-nosed to facilitate cutting inside a concave surface without leaving corner marks. A scrap of magnolia makes a clean, simple handle for use as a push chisel. more about the process of carving saya (scabbards)