Keith’s Note: Bob – Thanks for your thoughts on this video. On cambering – I’m not taking a position on what, if any, amount of cambering is correct, because where views differ there are always several approaches. Craig’s approach (who is in Japan teaching artisans in plane use, right now as I type) is to not camber the blade of his smoothing plane. He says that the final cuts are so fine, so whisper thin, that it is not necessary. Craig is very interested in the reflectivity on light on his work, so he has told me he generally wants a perfectly uniform surface. Still, when I speak with him next, I’ll ask Craig for clarification on his view. All that said, there are many outstanding artisans who camber their plane blades, so there are many ways to skin the proverbial cat. (Wink!)

1. Using a kanna to smooth a wider board (so far we’ve only seen Craig plane edges).
2. Using other types of Japanese planes (jointer, block, whatever they use).

Does the kanna have a cambered blade? What’s the most common way to sharpen it – waterstones? Anything tricky about sharpening a Japanese blade?

Keith’s Note: Thanks Eric for all your kind words and support (from Malaysia!). Great comments and yes, I’ve got more videos in the pipeline. Viewers should make sure they subscribe so they don’t miss new stuff coming out – on the subjects you mention above and other vidoes from my travels in the world of wood.