Who has used a sumitsubo

I have one

Jim in Burlington On

>Novelty item no doubt. I use my calk line quite a bit doing flooring work.

Re: Who has used a sumitsubo

Dave Burnard

>I have several and use them, I don't end up using the ink line very much but I use the bamboo brush (sumisashi) and inkpot almost exclusively for layout. The problem for hobbyists like me is that the open ink pot of a traditional sumitsubo will often dry out in between uses (in the summer in just a day or two). When I'm working every day on something it's not a problem, but when my shop time gets sporadic I revert to some sort of home made covered ink pot (tupperware, empty wasabi tin, nested PVC plumbing endcaps, etc)

Re: Who has used a sumitsubo

Frank D. in Montreal

>I use mine for fine work because I like the thin line it leaves compared to chalk. Another advantage is that the line doesn't blow away while you cut (I'm thinking while using a jigsaw here...). I also like it to resaw logs...not that I cut up huge logs, but I do cut up firewood, and the ink leaves a much more visible mark, at least in my hands, comparatively to a chalk line. When my sumitsubo dries out (as it always does) I just fill with a little water and give it half an hour to soak up.

The only real downside is black fingers. Don't fill it up with too much ink or water (there has to be enough though or else it won,t wet the line enough) if you don't want it to spill ink on your shoes or the work.

Bottom line is I could probably live without it but it does have advantages and I like using it, it's a nice tool. Some of them go for a lot of money (I've seen them in the thousands of dollars), but the ones they sell at JWW are reasonably priced.

Re: Who has used a sumitsubo

ThomD

>Chalk lines are wonderful, once used they become essential. I have the ink line, but the black fingers thing leaves me moving back and forth between western chalk lines and the fine Japanese line that LV sells, which is my favorite on small to medium scale. I have a modern ink line due to the drying out "problem".

Keep in mind that there are various ways of laying out that work better or worse depending on what is being done and the size of the object. Japanese lay-out seems to be based on a central line system, and aligning that line with the structure and figure of a given board is most easily done with a chalk line. That said most of what I have ever seen of Japanese work is in the relm of timberframing, or stuff like Shoji, which is somewhat similar. I would like to know the conventional means of laying out, say, a small box. I should know that since i have a whole book on Japanese box making, but it's been a long while.

I have a lot of layout tools, and no one system is capable of everything.

Re: Who has used a sumitsubo

Chris Scholz

>Inkline, invented by Lu Ban around 500 BC, was never considered collectable but just a tool (which might be a reason to start collecting now). Probably the same characters as "sumitsubo" just completely different pronunciation.

In any case, the inkline (as well as the bamboo "brush") are in common use in China today. Here's a modern metal version:

Re: Who has used a sumitsubo

Jonathan Kaplan

>I've used both, and really like them. I had a modern sumitsubo (the plastic, sealed container one) that I loved, until it got ruined during a move. I've been meaning to replace it, but I haven't been doing a lot of work where it would be useful lately, so I haven't bothered yet. I mostly used it for layout in medium-scale work, and everything I've been doing lately has been either really big or really small. The thin chalk line I use all the time (on the really big stuff) and I like it quite a bit. It is a little neater and more elegant than the 'standard' chalk line.

Best,

jk