I have been in Seattle for business the last four or five days, and was looking for something to do. I did a search on the forum for Seattle, and found an archived thread about a Japanese shop that sells saws, etc. I gave a phone call and chatted with who I now know is Frank. I had imagined in my mind some little storefront, but he said he just runs the business from home. He invited me to stop by, even though it was already 6pm on a Sunday. He told me I wouldn't miss it, there would be bamboo growin up front.
I spent over two hours with this humble, yet amazing man. He is 90 years old, and oh so sharp, with such a great sense of humor. I laughed, almost cried (lost my own grandfather last week) and just had the time of my life with him tonight. I helped him with a couple of minor problems he was having with his computer (he learned I was a computer guy and brought me right over to his iMac).
I sat on his steel floor and listened to stories about WW2, about his thoughts and beliefs. He even waxed a little spiritual with me, and I got to hear some neat things he has experienced in his life. I felt like a little grasshopper learning from a great teacher.
He then asked me how I sharpen things. I told him I dunno, just use some ceramic stones (Spyderco was a fancy word for him...). He asked me if I would like to learn how to sharpen, then spent an hour teaching me about sharpening. I just ate it up. He's a wonderful teacher -- challenging me while he goes. Making sure I really understood what he meant at every step.
I wish I could have recorded it to share. I actually asked if it would be appropriate, but he said, "You don't need that to remember, because once you have been taught you will know it forever.". Showed me how to use a combination square (not the way I EVER thought to use it) but so much faster and mor effective than scribing. Checking something for square. Want to square a table saw blade? Drill into something by hand completely square? Cut square to a line? Way way cool stuff. We spend so much money on little gizmos to do this stuff but the answers are so simple and already in front of us.
Next time I come to Seattle I will visit again. Purchased a queen and king saw blade holder and a queen dovetail blade.