This report shows contents of the research about “the sharpness of the plane” performed as a Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum collaboration research project in 2007-2008. We arranged the meaning of words about the sharpness conveyed through a craftsman. And we distributed a plane according to the each hardness with modern steel and produced it and made the characteristic clear in what I sharpened it for tree classification and examined. 1 We forged it and performed quenching equally, and a metal organization baked appearing of a thing of pass quality and sharpened it by setting of the return, and a clear difference was born for the result of the examination, and the evaluation of the plane was accompanied by a difference. 2 About words of “the sweet sharpness” to use when a carpenter expressed the sharpness of the plane, that was connected with the touch of the finish and the pull of the cut in a cedar and the Hinoki was confirmed. 3 Although we felt that it is easy to polish even the high hardness when we used high carbon steel for a plane blade, it was stable by the last blade charge account. And that would perform it became difficult was confirmed.

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In this report, we clarified the development of reversing saw as below through the analysis of documents, old photographs and real things. 1 It was found in one of the documents that the kind of reversing saw that is shaped like fine work saw with its head split in two, existed in the region of Tokyo prefecture in 1877. 2 The inspection of the kind of reversing saw that appeared in the early Meiji era revealed that Tamahagane ( jewel steel) is used as a material to make the blade. 3 Reversing saw was able to be bought at stores in 1902. In 10’s of the Showa era, reversing saw was treated as a tool for manual arts use, but came to occupy the dominant position as a tool for carpenter use gradually. 4 The use of reversing saw was not seen in photographs taken probably in the Meiji era. 5 Behind the spread of reversing saw was the generalization of western steel (Tōgō Hagane) as a material for blades and oil hardening technique, and the pursuit of convenience.

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As to the history of Chisels and Drills in the West and East of the Eurasian Continent, my research into various reference documents and materials including real ones has yielded the following findings. 1 Both in the West and East of the Eurasian Continent, the materials for Chisels and Drills changed in order from copper to bronze, and then to iron. 2 In the West copper Chisels made about 5,000 years ago and thereafter were unearthed. The Form of them were Tang-type Joint. 3 In the West bronze Chisels made about 2,800 years ago and thereafter were unearthed, and in the East those about 3,500 years ago and thereafter were unearthed. The Form of them were Tang-type Joint and Socket-type Joint. In the East bronze Drills made about 3,700 years ago and thereafter were unearthed. 4 In the West iron Chisels made about 2,800 years ago and thereafter were unearthed, and in the East those about 2,500 years ago and thereafter were unearthed. The Form of them were Tang-type Joint and Socket-type Joint. In the West iron Drills made about 2,800 years ago and thereafter were unearthed, and in the East those about 2,300 years ago and thereafter were unearthed. The Form of them were Bow Drill-type and Auger-type in the West. 5 We can assume that both iron Chisels and iron Augers as digging tools played an important role for making main structures of wooden buildings in the West, and only iron Chisels did so in the East.

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