Quality Japanese Saw

At the David Stanley auction last week I picked up this delicate unused Ryoba saw from one of the stalls. I recognised the label from Thanet Tools Supplies in their Craftsman Choice catalogue. The entry describes the saw as being made by master blacksmith Kijima San. Each blade is hand scraped to produce the correct tapering towards the blade centre and has hand cut teeth which are machine set for accuracy and then hand finished. The price label was 15 - 20 years old so this saw would be well over £100 now.

Although Thanet Tools Supplies is going strong the Japanese tools have all but finished a few years ago which is a great shame. I think a combination of the vast range of stock and British conservatism prevented it being a viable concern. The catalogue is 84 pages with over 1,000 lines and is a great read if you can get hold of one.

I picked up these rare planes made by Arthur Price, the last of the old makers who worked from 1924 - 1967. They are in great condition and have seen very little use. If anyone can shed any more light on his activities I would appreciate hearing from them.

I also succumbed to another Bill Carter plane, this time a 6 1/4" mitre plane in boxwood.
Bill says these take him nearly as long to make as his metal planes but can only sell them for 1/3 of the price.

It has wonderful lines and feels great in the hand. He has a few more if anyone is interested.