Class 2 – Sharpening the Mind

Today was straightforward. In order for these Instruments of the Way to really support the craft they have to be sharpened, but sharpened Japanese-style, and that means paying attention to a lot of detail at every step and taking your time. Speed is not the goal. Slowly doing a great job—the right job—is one part of the goal. Another is to develop a relationship with the tool and the sharpening stones, and that simply takes time. Today, we spent the entire 8+ hours sharpening. It was a labour of love (and very painful fingers at the end of the day).

What is viewed as superfluous and a waste of time is precisely what separates the Japanese craft from all others. It’s not that they are Japanese as a people which makes their work masterful, but the Japanese have cultivated a mindset of mastery culturally speaking. It’s not unattainable for people of different cultures, but it is deeply ingrained within Japanese culture. Paying attention to detail and mastering the arts is just normal for them, from tea and architecture, woodworking and carpentry, calligraphy and flower arranging, to the art of crafting samurai swords, constructing temples and shrines, pottery making and on the list goes. Made in Japan means something, even in the modern day. Their work bears their signature and they know it, so they put themselves into it—fully. That’s hard to come by, and harder to cultivate, even in Japan because like I said, it’s not about being Japanese—it’s a mindset. The crafts are not dying, the mindset is. Preservation of the craft means cultivating this mindset.

And I couldn’t be luckier to finally get to learn, first hand, what goes into that kind of dedication to the craft. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds, of course, as my bloodied finger tips and arduous hours of repetitive work would teach me. And this is just the first week of an apprenticeship; the real lessons are only embodied after years and perhaps decades of dedication. It really boils down to discipline and the ability to focus attention and then maintain that diligently, heeding carefully the advice and wisdom of the teacher. Easier said than done.

I’ve learned some successful sharpening techniques from a lot of online videos from reputable woodworkers. And I’ve experienced good results. But one of the major differences I notice in such videos is the focus on getting things done faster, including sharpening, and often times for good reason, like getting back into the shop to keep working on what you love. But I asked one my teachers about this and his answer was:

My master taught me to do it this way, so that’s what I do. And it works. You’re not just sharpening a tool to create a sharp edge and get to work; you’re establishing an intimate relationship with the materials of your craft. It’s not about speeding it up. It’s about slowing down and listening to the medium.

This is exactly what I was describing above. My teacher was alluding to something much deeper than achieving a good result in an efficient time. That intimate relationship he spoke to, that mindset of mastery I described, comes with time, time that masters before us have already put in and fully understood, so the least we can do as modern students is to heed their advice and do what has passed the test of time. What the hell do I know anyway? Just do what my teacher says and trust that he or she has my best interest in mind. It’s not like I’m being tricked into sharpening these tools; there are lessons to be learned that don’t require so much talk. Just sharpen, listen, feel…

Here, I’m flattening the surface of a 1000 grit whetstone using a 1000 grit diamond stone. We do this every time we finish making a zig-zag like pass over the entire whetstone with our plane blade. This is repeated dozens and dozens of times over the course of hours during the initial set up of a new plane. It takes a long time, but it’s worth it to do it right, especially in the beginning.