Kannas are the conventional hand planes used in Japan to shave off ridiculously thin layers of wood. These remarkable tools can shave the wood so thin that it looks like tissue paper.
This gif depicts wood shaved as thin as 8 microns; it’s nearly transparent! For comparison, consider the fact that an average human hair has a thickness of about 50 microns.
The Japanese carpenters use kannas to give a smooth finish to the wood. This traditional wood-working tool from Japan meets the natural pattern of the wood, and thus, it can shave wood thin enough to ensure an even finish.
You can watch a kannas transform a wooden plank into translucent curls in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8JgDKuOP10
The Japanese are proud of their traditional carpentry techniques and some intense hand planning competitions are annually organised in the country. Check out the video below for more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Ad6tBdLbM
