JapanStones
Tachibana Sakon Kanna Plane
CLASSIC 80mm JAPANESE KANNA with TOMO OSAE.
This 78mm kanna was made in the 1950s as a professional kanna, not a hardware store tool. In those days the tool seller would come directly to the carpenters and
service their needs at their shop or job site weather it be saws or planes or sharpening stones. This kanna has been set up and used a bit, probably in the 1960s. It came to me from a shop in Japan that has been closed for over 35 years and contained stock from the 1930s to the 1960s. Luckily I found it with the original documents still in the box describing the making of the blade. This auction contains a color facsimilie of that document (a translation can be see on my website thejapanblade.com under the heading of documents) not the original. Also included with the kanna is the original tool cover and the vintage cardboard box all marked.
The blade is 113mm long and 78mm wide and is marked at the upper right TACHIBANA SANDAI or Tachibana the 3rd, and down the center in bold kanji SAKON and to the left ISHIHIRO NO SAKU or Made by Ishihiro. The tomo-osae sub-blade is marked exactly the same as you can see in the photo. The main blade is made up with Hitachi steel(white, blue?) and what looks like soft antique kamaji iron as the jigane. The sub-blade is a laminated steel blade also that
has a distinct forge lamination mark. The blade ura looks well defined but flattened too much without the benefit of uradashi being done. At some point this would be desirable.
The white oak dai is 288mm long by 91mm wide by 36mm thick and has a oimasame grain or quarter sawn grain that displays beautiful flecked open grain on the top of the dai. This is a high end dai with the oimasame grain and the blade mortise is cut with a tsutsumi ledge usually found on higher end older dai that helps to support the blade bevel. The blade
will slide down the blade chute hand tight to within 1cm of the sole, the sub-blade will also slide into the the mortise. The
buyer will need to make final adjustments to the blade fitting and to the conditioning of the sole of the dai. The dai is bone
dry and at least 35 years old, it is very flat with no twists or cracks or issues of any kind. The front of the dai shows only
black smudge marks from my rubber mallet when I removed the blade at the time of purchase, there are no hammer dents
in the dai. All indications show that this dai could be set up without too much effort and be ready to use.
The brochure cover reads in part beginning at
the top right and reading down to the lower left:
TOROKU SHOHYO (registered brand) and TACHIBANA SANDAI (Tachibana the third) and in reading TACHIBANA SANDAI SAKON.
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The interior of the brochure reads in part from right to left:
Tachibana Sandai Sakon
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Since my childhood, I worked to make the very best
kanna and this kanna contains these features:
Special steel used to make this product is better than
traditional sword steel and comes from the Hitachi
Aki factory institute.
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Jigane is the very best Watetsu (Japanese steel)
Yakiire (?) we used traditional blacksmith sumo
from Sado Island.
This kanna was examined and tested. Please use
natural toishi for its care.
The wrapper translates on the back portion to read from right to left:
Examined by microscope. This Tachibana Sakon blade contains 3 characteristics;
1. Steel- Togo ko, best sharpest blade ever made.
2. Base iron- Watesu (Japanese Steel) soft less than 20 degrees.
3. Tachibana Sakon company is know to be a direct line from sword maker from Hida region.
Full Guarantee
Tachibana Sakon Honpo (store).
The paper Certificate with the gold boarder illustrated below reads and states from right to left:
Through 20 years experience and 5 years of research we succeeded to make this kanna blade. We have strived to eliminate any defects and improve the quality of all or 100% of the kanna blades we make. Our tests involved more then 100 kanna blades that were field tested by carpenters and cabinetmakers. This field study produced no bad results. (And to the very left with their seal) Tachibanna Sakon, Togo-ko.
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Down below is an area where you fill in your name and address and the store where you purchased the kanna and then I assume the store will send that back to the Tachibanna company.
