steel that takes a very keen edge and resharpens easily. There are several types of white steel, #1 and #2 being the most common. Blue Steel, ao-gane; a steel with alloyed elements such as molybdenum to enhance the durability of the edge. This steel is a little more difficult to sharpen than the white, and does not take quite as keen an edge, but is more durable in use. The common blue steels used are #1, #2, and "Super-Blue" Tama-hagane; this steel derives from the smelting of a special iron-rich river sand and is normally reserved for use in sword-making, however some does find use in saws, chisels and planes. Togo-Reigo: this steel was produced by the Andrews Company of Sheffield England in the 1920s and some found its way to Japan where it has been used for making plane blades Swedish Steel Vise The traditional Japanese vise was a wedge of wood tied to a post with a coil of rope. The wood was inserted under the wedge and the wedge hammered down. Vises of any sort are used far less in traditional Japanese carpentry than would be the case for equivalent tasks in the traditional crafts of the West. Many tasks in Japanese carpentry associated with building, involve very large pieces of timber, and in general, the weight of the timber and of the carpenter are used to stabilize the piece on which the carpenter is working. For this reason the carpenter's horses used in Japan are much lower than their Western counterparts, and carpenters must always position themselves over their work. Much of the work on smaller pieces of material can be done in the seated position, and relies on the fact that the saws and planes both cut on the pull stroke, enabling stabilization of the work using the body or shooting board. Lumber Woods used in Japanese carpentry and woodwork, as well as tool construction, include , , , Camphor Laurel, Magnolia obovata, and . See also Japanese architecture Japanese handicrafts Housing in Japan discusses traditional and modern houses and their building materials Tansu (Japanese cabinetry and mobile cabinets) Yosegi (Japanese parquetry) 梁 (建築) Beams in architecture (Japanese language site) References External links Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum in Kobe. Contains extensive material on the history of Japanese carpentry and carpentry tools, and directions for visiting the museum. "Wood and Transience" by Vinayak Bharne & Iku