Architectural Knife–bladed Tools in the 17th–19th century — Seventh Report Research on Old Tools and Other Reference Materials—

Abstract

Since the later 19th century， skilled carpenters have used 9 types of knife–bladed tools in 5 different categories for building work in Japan. What types of knife-#8211;bladed tools did they use for building work from the 17th to the 19th centuries? My research of reference materials from that period has yielded the following findings. (1) Architectural knife#8211;bladed tools used from the 17th to the 19th centuries can be classified into three categories : those for planing， splitting board， and foming grooves. At least about 12 types in 6 different categories have been used. (2) The names of knife#8211;bladed tools used for building purposes from the 17th to the 19th centuries have remained in use since the later 19th century. (3) The shape of the cutting edges of blades of architectural knife#8211;bladed tools changed between the late 18th century and the early 19th century as curved cutting edges were replaced with straight cutting edges. (4) Architectural knife#8211;blades were categorized as large， medium， and small， and it is estimated that the large ones were 6 sun (about 180mm) in length， while the small were about 3 sun (about 90mm) long. (5) It is estimated that it was the16th and 17th centuries when， against a backdrop of changes in building productivity， architectural knife–bladed tools were categorized by the way the blades were attached to the handles.