Hand Finishing.

I made a Japanese sen about a year ago. The sen is basically a drawknife for metal thats used to create a flat surface. After trying to use it a few times with minimal results, I put it on a shelf and didnt think much about it for a while. Recently, I did a little research on the sen and decided to give it another try.

This time I was determined to learn the ways of this tool. After some practice I started to get the hang of it and man do they work! It only takes a few strokes to start shaving metal. I was amazed at how surfaces I thought were flat were really quite uneven. The sen is scraped across the surface and takes away all the high spots giving you a much flatter surface than you can get from filing alone. This is a big deal when you are trying put flat handle scales on your knife!

This is just another example of an old world tool that is still finding use with a select few smiths out there. If you are making knives by hand, it is something you should consider.

Larry Sharp