Usui Kengo (碓氷健吾) 60mm smoothing hand plane (kanna). This is a new old stock Unkai kanna. Swedish steel kanna blade. Wooden body (dai) by Koyoshiya (小吉屋). This special steel is easy to sharpen, durable and recommended for domestic hardwoods and softwoods. The chip breaker was also made by Mr. Usui.

Kengo Usui (1928-2012) was a master kanna smith and is considered by many to have been the finest kanna smith ever. He dedicated his entire career to perfecting his blades. He used the best materials and special forging techniques which required repeated heating and hand hammering to prepare each blade. Through perfected tempering and proper aging he produced an exceedingly durable cutting edge. Usui-san pioneered using scientific microscopic examination of his blades to check quality and improve their strength and durability. In fact, a young Funahiro (Yuji Funatsu) studied with him to improve and perfect his own technique for making superior quality blades.

Mr. Usui retired in 2006 so his kanna are rare and difficult to find, especially unused ones. Thanks for your interest!