After the Port Townsend Japanese Woodworking Festival, I made my way to Seattle to visit Dale Brotherton, to study his working style.
(As always, the images in this post will look better in a browser.)
Dale is a carpenter and author of Sharpening and the Japanese Hand Plane – In Depth. In my humble opinion, this is the most important book for a beginner learning how to navigate steel and stones. This book is a secret out in the open and I'm always surprised when people tell me they don't have it.
As an editor, Dale's written instructions remind me of his woodworking—clear, honest, and sensitive. This book is mandatory reading for anyone trying to gain proficiency at sharpening and kanna, at any level. Even at Somakosha, students are encouraged to read it.
Although learning strictly from a book is theoretically difficult—or impossible—most questions asked by beginners are covered by this text. And miraculously, due to its step-by-step instructions and just the right amount of context when needed, this book breaks the rule.
So, I think it is possible to learn using this book. Especially if someone has a friend who can help explain any unsolved mysteries in person.
Because of Dale's influence on my teacher, who apprenticed with him for 9 years, Visiting Dale has been on my mind for a while. Finally being able to watch Dale work was like watching my first teacher, Yann, work. Or, it was like watching a far more experienced and skilled version of myself working: clearing the corners diligently before connecting them, with a paring chisel, often a shinogi-style chisel.
(I noticed when writing that paragraph, I typed the phrase "attacking the corners". I realized that wasn't quite the right way to describe Dale's movement, whereas it would have been the perfect set of words to describe Somakosha's aggressive style of working. )
Jesse Halvorson, his apprentice of 4 years, was working on a piece he started awhile ago, and was trying to see how the pieces fit after sitting around, adjusting carefully. An interesting aspect of being Dale's apprentice is the emphasis on traditional tools, much more so than what I experienced at Somakosha. Jesse does not use a router at work (Dale dislikes the sound) but they use groovers, and chisels bevel down.