Cutting it close: Japanese woodworker’s unbelievably thin shavings

Imagine wood so finely shaved, it can be rolled on a tube. Doesn’t seem possible, but these Japanese woodworkers make it happen with shavings a mere eight microns thick. For perspective’s sake, a human hair is ninety microns thick. The wood planing competition is held every year in Japan, and the record stands at a mere three microns. They are each assigned a bench to use for about two hours, during which time they exercise their planing technique, adjusting and sharping their tools for when it matters most. When the contest starts, each competitor has three tries to shave off the thinnest piece of wood in front of a judge who uses a special tool to measure the thickness. But producing strips of wood thin enough to see through doesn’t require only proper tools and practice, but also great wood, so planers are allowed to bring bundles of whatever wood they think yields the best result. That’s what you call cutting it close.

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