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Thread: The Shibusa of Tool Organization

  1. #1
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    The Shibusa of Tool Organization

    I don't speak Japanese (hell, can barely manage English), but there is a Japanese concept I really like that Wikipedia describes as "Shibusa; an enriched, subdued appearance or experience of intrinsically fine quality with economy of form, line, and effort, producing a timeless tranquility. Shibusa includes the following essential qualities: Shibui objects appear to be simple overall but they include subtle details, such as textures, that balance simplicity with complexity...."

    There's more to the definition and solid chance I'm grossly misinterpreting the concept and/or translation. My perception is the gist of the idea is an aesthetic appreciation of simple things/objects.

    In between projects I like to tidy up the shop – you know, things like cleaning out all the miscellaneous scraps that accumulate under the bench and organizing hand tools. 3 things that have been scattered around the shop and stored in their original plastic shipping containers are: small sanding blocks, plow plane blades and router plane blades. Every time I go looking for these, I have to sort through disintegrating plastic boxes etc. to find what I'm looking for. Finally tired of of tolerating this dis oragnization, I built simple little boxes to store these tools. Nothing special, just fun, simple hand tool projects using scraps.

    1 by Mike Allen, on Flickr



    Even though there are major parts of my life that are clearly more than a little "disorganized", at least these 3 sets of tools are easier to find/use stored in simple boxes that I enjoy a lot more than the original plastic packaging. There – I feel better now!

    Anybody else have any pictures of shop appliances/tool organizers they want to share?

    All the best, Mike

  2. #2
    Very nice! Shibui / Shibusa are concepts I've been fascinated by since I was a child, esp. after reading a certain novel which used a related concept for the title.

    I did a small box of the tools I needed for my first CNC:

    www.pinterest.com.jpg

    and I'm close to the point where I have enough tools that I'm feeling confident of making a fitted tool cabinet for the nicer tools I use frequently, then I'll box up all the duplicates and get rid of a couple of the tool chests which I've picked up off Craigslist in acquiring tools:

    LcUdqV8h.jpg

    (don't have a photo of the small joiners chest --- Roy Underhill had a PDF of one on his PBS page for a while)

  3. #3
    Nice boxes Mike! My shop boxes are usually scrap plywood or pine. Love yours.
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  4. #4
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    Mike, where is the "like" button when you need it?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  5. #5
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    I think it's nice too. the shape the color.
    I'd also click the like button on that.
    Aj

  6. #6
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    Those are awesome Mike. I need some similar storage and I really like the router blade box. How are the blades held in place? Looks like grooves?

  7. #7
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    The bottom one looks like a smaller version of the ones Toshio Odate has pictured to carry his tools in “Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use”. I hope to make something similar soon too.

  8. #8
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    I must have too many tools...
    dresser.JPG
    When I need to build a 5 drawer "Chester Drawers"

  9. #9
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    Another user looking for the like button. From time to time, I find myself doing similar things - spontaneously making something to hold or store stuff. Most recent examples were a simple pencil holder and a holder for shims. I find myself using shims for all sorts of things - glue spreading, stir sticks, wedges to assist with work holding. None of my spontaneous projects are quite as nice as yours though. Like you, I tend to get motivated to make them when I'm trying to clean up the shop and climb one step higher on the organization curve.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by William Adams View Post
    Very nice! Shibui / Shibusa are concepts I've been fascinated by since I was a child, esp. after reading a certain novel which used a related concept for the title.

    Would that be Shibumi?

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Zetts View Post
    Would that be Shibumi?

    Yes. Regretfully I also read the prequel (midquel?) novel --- _Shibumi_ hasn't aged well, but at least has age/time to excuse it --- the other novel really needed a good editor to address continuity issues.

  12. #12
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    Lovely as always Mike! I have tool storage that I love, but it's nothing to show off, nowhere near as nice as yours.

  13. #13
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    Very cool, Mike!
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Hughes View Post
    I think it's nice too. the shape the color.
    I'd also click the like button on that.

    Thanks all for the kind comments.


    I'm sure this is unbelievable to most, but I'm embarrassed to confess - as much as I appreciate the sentiment, I really don't understand the reference to the "like button"? I'm guessing this must be some social networking thing – right?


    Yeah I know --- all you smart, Internet savvy guys think it incredible that there could possibly be a dinosaur who doesn't know what a "like button" is. Just saying I've got NFI. My only online communication (aside from email and all that crap) is SMC. Go ahead and laugh if you'd like – I'm sure I deserve it. That said help a brother out and give me the 411 on "like button"?


    AJ by way, please come down for a visit. Always love to hang out in the shop with a fellow Neander.


    Best, Mike

  15. #15
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    Beautiful work, Mike!

    Shibui is an interesting word. It's meanings range from a bitter flavor, as in a bitter persimmon or tea, to parsimonious, to the meaning you refer to. It once referred to sewage. Yuck! Shibuya in Tokyo means "bitter valley" and at one time had an effluent stream running through it that gave the area the name. That has since been piped and contained and today Shibuya is a nice non-stinky area well known for the "scramble" crossing.

    Nowadays, the term refers to "understated, subtly elegant, in reference to design, clothing, personality, taste, etc. Something that does not jump out and scream or flash lights or include polished chrome, and might even be overlooked by the less discerning person. Something that is not fashionable but improves with age and usage. The ability to discern and appreciate shibui things and people and ideas is considered a virtue by all but children and the empty-headed herd.

    You have made something that is seriously shibui IMO.

    Stan

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