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Japanese Wood Planing Competition

By Rain Noe - February 12, 2013

in Object Culture | Competition

I used to teach middle school kids in Japan, and this is one of the funnier things I observed in the classroom:

GIRL: It's hot in here, isn't it?
BOY: It is.
GIRL: Shall I open a window?
BOY: Yes, about five centimeters.

The girl opened the window all the way.

BOY: I said FIVE CENTIMETERS!

To say there are a subset of Japanese people concerned with precision is a bit of an understatement. And speaking of block planes, I guess it comes as no surprise that Japan is home to an annual wood-planing competition.

The masters make it look easy, no? Then you see someone with no experience try it, as in the latter part of this video:

I have this fantasy that in the background, the boy and girl I taught back in the '90s are now the grown judges standing in the back of the gymnasium, with the man taking measurements and the woman writing them down.

MAN: Nine microns.

The woman writes a "10."

MAN: I said NINE MICRONS!

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bob

11 years ago

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this is amazing to watch- I have been reading a very good book about sharpening hand planes- it is called "Hand Tools Essentials"
and at first I was amazed at how much can be written about hand planes, but it is a very engaging read.
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Philippe J-G

11 years ago

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After the snow remover and now the wood planing, what crazy simple can you dig up! Lol I have fun watching these video! Look at this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0o5xVkzo54 and I think we need to dig the south pole like this!

Have fun, thats the spirit!
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