What makes a more expensive kanna worth it?
tools

What makes a more expensive kanna worth it?

How do more expensive planes compare?
Brian Lam

An experiment about craft, nice things, and fixing up old homes

What makes a more expensive kanna worth it?
tools

What makes a more expensive kanna worth it?

How do more expensive planes compare?
Brian Lam
Maine Japanese Woodworking Festival 2025
maine

Maine Japanese Woodworking Festival 2025

I made my way to Maine from Hawaii, only two days after I left Japan.
Brian Lam
Somakosha in July
somakosha

Somakosha in July

Returning to Okayama two weeks later, and high off my last visit’s success, I tried to fit the door making workshop’s 12 day curriculum in 4 days.
Brian Lam
Miscellaneous Thoughts On Planes (By Suda Kenji)
sashimono

Miscellaneous Thoughts On Planes (By Suda Kenji)

This essay is by Suda Kenji, national living treasure sashimono.
Brian Lam
Exploring angles at Somakosha
somakosha

Exploring angles at Somakosha

Most people do not need know how to build a roof hip. But the ability to design and layout joinery with complex angularity—in anything—is what we walked away with.
Brian Lam
The Kanna Dai (by Noboru Tsuchida)
Japanese Hand Tools

The Kanna Dai (by Noboru Tsuchida)

This essay is by Noboru Tsuchida, a legendary tool dealer in Tokyo who works only with Japanese professionals.
Brian Lam
Ton Ton with Somakosha

Ton Ton with Somakosha

Studying Japanese Carpentry with Somakosha in Japan
Brian Lam
Interviewing Tak Yoshino about Wood Culture
Mt Fuji

Interviewing Tak Yoshino about Wood Culture

An interview with Tak Yoshino of the Mount Fuji Wood Culture Society
Brian Lam
A longer bloom
Mt Fuji

A longer bloom

Building a miniature low table with three-way mitered corners at Mount Fuji Wood Culture Society
Brian Lam
A long bloom
Mt Fuji

A long bloom

I feel lucky to return to Mount Fuji Wood Culture Society, to study with Tak Yoshino. This trip—my third in a year—also coincides with the arrival of sakura blossoms.
Brian Lam
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