hewing beams the Japanese way

[KeeperofTheMountain]

My Uncle Stumpy tought me everything I need to know about Hewing logs!

Very nice video.

[imegatrone]

I am very happy to see the vidoe after you give this Video of a Japanese master craftsman hewing beams taken at the first German Kesuroka

[Search4diabetescure]

Steel toe boots are in order.

[swivelgate]

Steel Toes? wow better him then me...

[jamesbnorman1]

keep counting his toes....



[GoingSkateboarding]

what ever happened to the "10 in 10 out" rule?

[TheBrradsullivan]

dude put on some god damn shoes for frig sakes...i was curling my toes the entire video ! ; (

[1wicked2008]

barefooted ?now that takes balls

[vaughano2]

Love the Japanese tools, not so much the Japanese safety boots.

[1x93cm]

well before the power saw and steel toed boots this is how it was done

skill and man power

[ronnysizematters]

Looking at the guy chopping a piece of wood he is standing on, barefoot, is sort of disturbing :)

[cekinxxx]

@ronnysizematters with every swing i thought i was going to puke lol

[eagle55566]

That looks quicker then using my logosol m7, and you don't have to worry about sharpening the chain every cut.

[mallardhead]

at about 1:50, left foot, are those toes curled under or MISSING? !!

[zlb12345678910]

excellent video it is fascinating to see the difference between the Japanese and German way however subtle it may be also these hand hewn timbers add so much soul to the boats and houses they went/go into much more so than their modern counterparts

[patton223]

now i see why entire towns would get together to help build someone a house !!!

[MartinRVUK]

he's a very confident lad heheh. Interesting stuff, thanks for posting :)

[yugandali]

Excellent workmanship, although other viewers beat me to the jokes about having all his toes.

Is that a European ax he is using?

[robinturns]

@yugandali The axes are all Jaoanese. The larger one is a masakari and the smaller on the carpenters ono then the adze at the end is a chouna.

[largearg22]

look ma no toes

[barto11000]

Most old Japanese beam hewers are nicknamed 'Seven Toes', not sure why though...

[Flumphinator]

Wouldn't it be easier and safer to just use a draw knife?

[robinturns]

@Flumphinator

In a word no. This is safe, easy, fast though it does take time to develop the skill to make it so.

[richard2mitchell]

@robinturns safe my ass

[emel60]

i lost a toe watching this :D

[dunpostyn]

There's a stall in the background selling stir fried toes.

[vallonia]

@dunpostyn Ha ha ha ha ha . Brilliant !!!!!

[ImEuanAndIGotsSkeelz]

ahah i wouldnt trust my axe skill enough to do that even if i had steel toecaps :P

[practicalwhacktical]

So....hewing a log in a leotard is the japanese way?

[celticgerman]

i like hes safety boots

[timber2020]

I wonder if he ever missed?

[antpop1]

@timber2020 Considering he still has all 10 toes, I'd say he hasn't missed yet. :P

[jjmqwerty]

just gives me the chills to have that axe so close to the toes but nice axe handling

[alihaggis78]

I somehow think the NOT wearing of safety boots or infact any shoes at all would make you that bit more carefull and might actually result in fewer injuries

[JWebb38222]

Paul BUNION comes to mind.

[HomoGnosticus]

toe kamikaze extreme hewing

[jpcrawford67]

nuts.

[Perseusishere]

The emperor's new safety boots....

[anyonefindAMERICA]

inches from ouches!

[talltreehill7]

..maybe he had a bad case of athletes foot ..

[anyonefindAMERICA]

@talltreehill7 A bunion could be perhaps?

[RubberRivet]

now count your toes

[brokor1]

I use a draw knife for most of my forming, but on large trees like the one in the video, the axe is king.

[picbuck]

It's also the American way, and the everybody way. Everybody formed beams with an ax before the steam engine came along. After all, if you don't have a power saw, how else?

No steel toed boots in those days, you just had to be good. Or else they called you gimpy.

The tool in the last few seconds of the vid is what we call an adz, or adze. Both the ax and the adze can be made with flint heads--though I don't know why a cave man would want to square a beam.

[robinturns]

From what I have seen American hewing is much more like European style hewing as shown in the German style hewing vid. These adzes are very different to American and European tolls too, the bent shaft is designed to flex and they have a very soft fluid action.

[westkan]

@picbuck saw pit can be used to create beams out of logs. Mills power by water wheels & water turbines predate steam powered mills

[heavyweather]

@picbuck

We in Europe used wind,water and horsepower before the steam engine came along ;)

That the reason sawmills, wheatmills and all other power tools (smith-hammer, weaving machines,...)where built along rivers or any flowing body of water.

[Iregretmostofmyposts]

@picbuck Yeah, I didn't want to say it because I didn't want to cause an argument...which I almost always do. What you said is 100% accurate, but we seem to be living in upside down world where not having technology is superior, and we've forgotten that not too long ago this is how woodworkers worked here as well.

[TheScally6]

Holy mother of toe loss batman, put some damn boots on.

[woodsprout]

The axe is so sharp, that shoes would not matter.

Steel toe are not are not commonly used, most people just have heard about them,but don't use them.

[superdonyoungy]

Barefoot, one slip and he's in the Yakuzaa

[AugustusLarch]

I hew tinbers by chopping lenthwise too.

It's faster and I get more burnable slab.

I like the footwork here. It's very meticulous.

[GordDunker]

i was looking for this !!!!

thank you

[crustycrayon]

why doesn't he wear shoes?!?!?

[7wt]

When the Japanese craftsman hew beams in Germany, they aren't allowed to wear shoes. For all other skills, shoes are an option.

[chrigel1234]

How do you recognise a japanese wood worker? He has only three toes... :-)

No, serious... I think they are not wearing shoes because you have a better stand. The old days shoes often had wooden soles (rubber was not invented yet) and that was quite slippery. Especially when wet.

And it makes you work more careful.... ;-)

[helmuthoorn]

I'd rather do it the German way (I am Dutch and I have seen my grandfather hewing beams that way ) than Japanese style, unless I had shoes with steel caps on my feet.

[ksprad72]

The japanese style seems to take a lot less effort. But I concur, steel-toed boots would be a requirement!

[AFloridian]

I just wanna know how may people look up how to hew beams the Japanese way on Youtube. Totally random...

[ksprad72]

Right?!? Actually, I just looked up 'Hewing' and this popped up.

[seanmulhall]

He's a real expert. I would not have the balls to risk that technique. I like my toes too much.

[sc00ny]

For anybody curious, the adze like tool i at the end of the video is a laminated blade with an ivy branch handle called a chona.

[ksprad72]

Thanx! I was trying to find it online.

[ksprad72]

Chouna

[classicboy222]

Yep... I bet a few of those japanese craftsmen are missing a toe or two