Hi all,
I thought I'd share a few pictures of my yariganna here. I have a blacksmith friend in upstate NY who created the blade for me, and I handled it in some curly maple.
It's basically a curved, chisel-ground spear blade. Yariganna literally means spear plane in Japanese. It's quite an archaic tool, and I don't think they're in practical use much anymore. However I first became attracted to this tool when I saw it make shavings on a large piece of timber. It left a surface that looked very tree bark-like to me, and I thought it to be more attractive and, as a beginner, more attainable than the perfectly smooth surface found in most furniture.
Here it is in a pre-shaped handle. There's a pinhole in the tang, and the nail holding it in place was eventually peened and it now acts as a rivet.
It is carved into sort of a flattened hexagon shape, with appropriate breaking of corners around the tang to provide clearance in use. As you can see from the side, this one has a deeper curve than most Japanese-made yariganna you will find. I believe this may be miscommunication on my part describing it to the smith, but he did a great job with what he had, and the blade works just fine.
Well, given some practice, that is. I don't quite have the hang of it down yet.
Being a plane that cuts and not an abrasive, it leaves a great texture on the wood. My technique leaves a lot to be desired, though. With the edge perpendicular to the cut direction, I could only manage short, choppy cuts. With the edge deeply skewed to the wood, I managed to take longer strokes, however, the direction of the cut tended to go in the skew so I couldn't really get it straight, as in this picture:
I believe with some practice on technique and sharpening the oddly shaped blade, I'll be able to produce much better results. However, I like what this is already, and I'll never get anything done if I wait for perfection.
Here it is with a fresh coat of finish and reflecting some light, so you can see the texture better.
I now realize there seems to be a lot of dust or bubbles in the finish. Oops. Using a finish that needs sanding between coats is also tough on this kind of surface, as there are so many ridges. In the future, I may just stick with oil finishes for anything using my yariganna.
After my first project using the yariganna, I felt I should revise my description of tree bark-like to something more like the gently rippling surface of a shallow, flowing stream bedded with pebbles and small rocks.
Thanks for reading. Hope it was enjoyable!
Gary