Inspired by discussion here involving Derek and others regarding the advantages of the two blade type I ordered this gauge from Stuart at Tools from Japan - bit the bullet on what semed like a fairly high price given the fairly non descript look on the web page. It's at the bottom here: http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...th=356_599_609 , and it arrived after several weeks in the mail this morning.
This isn't to blow hot air. At about $115 it's not one of the very high rent Kinshiro types (out of my range), but having seen it in the flesh though I'm overwhelmed - it's a thing of beauty. The metal parts (stainless or plated (?) and blue steel) look to be ground all over, while the finish on the white oak wooden parts is pure silk - what feels like a carefully flatted satin clear all over. (none of the poured on lacquer we see so often) The corners are all carefully broken - a chamfer of about 0.25mm - no idea how it's done.
Everything is perfectly fitted, and the metalwork is accurately flat and square. The result is that there's absolutely no stickiness - the cutters make this lovely clunk as they drop home into the body.
Sorry, I couldn't help myself, and think the makers (and Stuart) deserve some publicity. It's one of those items that while 100% functional gives pleasure just from looking at and handling it. No idea how Matsui do it, but well done guys. All I have to do now is to figure out how to use it to the same standard...
matsui precision 2 blade kegaki.jpg