Making $35,000 Bonsai Scissors

[zendriver]

Apparently, the Japanese know steel.

 

[WhiskeyRanger]

I love watching a master at work, but it does get depressing when these stories are inevitably prefaced with 'the last of maker of (insert artisanal object)'. So much will be lost to the world in the next 20 years.. or less.

Lots of firsts to go with every last. Generally speaking, there is a very good reason the last of something goes away. They are no longer needed. While I don't know about this specific example, but in most cases, we have found a much more efficient way to fulfill those needs. You can probably make a bonsai tree just as well using a $20 or $50 pair of shears, while when they were all hand made, it probably cost exponentially more in adjusted dollar equivalents. So while we may have lost the art from the scissor maker, we made the art of the bonsai cultivator much more accessible.

 

[zendriver]

Lots of firsts to go with every last. Generally speaking, there is a very good reason the last of something goes away. They are no longer needed. While I don't know about this specific example, but in most cases, we have found a much more efficient way to fulfill those needs.

Good point.

At one time, the world was covered with blacksmiths, because, well, if you wanted something made from iron, they were the only game in town, literally.

If blacksmithing, is becoming a "lost art" today, it's not because people don't care, it's because they really are not needed any more.

No doubt, all of the knowledge of the blacksmith has been incorporated into modern metal working, which allows mass produced quality, at lower prices.

 

[pcmeiners]

"At some point in the video there was a reference to one year from concept to delivered product. If you look at it that way, $35k a year.."
Right, this guy works on one shears for a year. That 11 1/2 months of meditation, 15 days of leisurely work at a snails pace .
Think I am going to produce Bonsai Networking which will take one year from concept to delivery at $35000.

There are guys down in central America producing 1911 automatics which will pass close examination, with hand files...those only rate a few hundred dollars.

 

[6PTsocket]

Wonder if we could get the price down to $30,000 a pair with a GJ group buy?

Neat video, Ryan.

Does he have 20% off coupons?

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[6PTsocket]

I watch NHK on TV and they show the work of these super skilled craftsmen that carry on traditins that are hundreds of years old. They put far more effort into simple things that the West would never go to such efforts for. Paper making, woodwork, pottery, dying fabric, cutlery weaving, etc. They protect idividual pieces of fruit on a tree to prevent bruising and insect damage. They grow special herbs and vegetables that require a big effort to process, grade and market, before they spoil.Even in Japan it us dying out in favor of mass produced stuff. That scissor style is common in Asia and I have seen crude Chinese one for a couple of bucks that look like somebody banged them out in their back yard forge. They are on ebay. I think Lee Valley had them, too. Obviously, not even close to the ones in the video. This guy manufacturers for a very small market of equally perfectionist bonsai growers. I know nothing about scissors but I woukd think there are surgical scissors that can make a pretty clean cut at a much lower price.

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[6PTsocket]

Same here, it's the opposite of the Chinese/India philosophy where the short term sale/money is what drives them.

I watch Japanese news nightly. What you say is generally true but they have their scandals. One steel maker was caught shipping known defective product and somebody else was pushing product through with untrained inspectors.They have high atandards but in the end, people are people and some are lazy and some are greedy and dishonest.

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[PugetDude]

Does he have 20% off coupons?

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If he did, they would be in Japanese, and read from right to left.

 

[Bagherra]

Good Grief......I don't care if the blacksmith makes them only using his toes and blindfolded......anyone who pays $35000 for a pair of scissors is nuts.......and I used to have Bonsai Trees in my back yard, still have an interest and still have all my tools but unfortunately the desert heat here limits what you can grow.

This

 

[rijndael]

If he did, they would be in Japanese, and read from right to left.

I'm sure the exclusions written at the bottom would exclude the model you really wanted ...

 

[zendriver]

I watch Japanese news nightly. What you say is generally true but they have their scandals. One steel maker was caught shipping known defective product and somebody else was pushing product through with untrained inspectors.They have high atandards but in the end, people are people and some are lazy and some are greedy and dishonest.

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IMO Japanese were perfectly content with being obsessed with quality, Until they joined the modern world, were stockholders are obsessed with the "bottom line".

The two almost always conflict with each other, whereas if you like your job, you might have to adjust accordingly.

This happened with Nissan decades ago.

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[968944]

Anybody see the latest Road and Track? Its about the Japanese taking Dodge vans and making these track-day customs out of them. Why would anyone start with a Dodge van you ask? Some of them have as much in them as a Ferrari cost and they still drive like a turd. They have a following though. The Japanese are just into some weird s__t.

 

[rijndael]

They also had a thing for the Astro van ...

 

[Notgrownup]

I was joking... lol.. really??
All i know is i cut tree branches with chain saws and that **** grows back just fine.. “i want custom scissors for pruning” - “that’ll be one year of research, 6 months of fabrication and $30,000 sir” - awesome where do i sign up???


I mean obviously I’m joking, and the guy is prodigy- but seriously, u think the plant know the difference???

LOL... The guy is kinda slow... He needs to tighten up...

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Crafting anything yourself is very good medicine.

 

[ChrisLS8]

IMO Japanese were perfectly content with being obsessed with quality, Until they joined the modern world, were stockholders are obsessed with the "bottom line".

The two almost always conflict with each other, whereas if you like your job, you might have to adjust accordingly.

This happened with Nissan decades ago.

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Nissan was getting their parts from hundreds of different suppliers many times several for the same exact part, this caused a lot of issues with supply and inventory control as you would guess

 

[ChrisLS8]

Anybody see the latest Road and Track? Its about the Japanese taking Dodge vans and making these track-day customs out of them. Why would anyone start with a Dodge van you ask? Some of them have as much in them as a Ferrari cost and they still drive like a turd. They have a following though. The Japanese are just into some weird s__t.

Have you seen Bosozoku?

 

[WhiskeyRanger]

IMO Japanese were perfectly content with being obsessed with quality, Until they joined the modern world, were stockholders are obsessed with the "bottom line".

The two almost always conflict with each other, whereas if you like your job, you might have to adjust accordingly.

This happened with Nissan decades ago.

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The nation that brought us the Nambu?

 

[Greeny]

Can someone properly trim a bonsai,with $2 HF clippers?

Of course they can.

Those clippers do have 4.4 out of 5 stars.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Fascinating the lengths some go to perfect their craft.

 

[zendriver]

Nissan was getting their parts from hundreds of different suppliers many times several for the same exact part, this caused a lot of issues with supply and inventory control as you would guess

They all had to.

Move away from the total focus on quality and engineering, to a balance between that and the profitability, demanded by shareholders in a now more competitive improved quality industry.

I remember when the V6 Camry was made in Japan while the 4cyl was made in USA.

Basically the same car, but the fit and feel material thickness between two countries was night and day difference, I believe anyone could tell with a blindfold test.

The four-cylinder Camry's were bigger sellers and less expensive, so it was real economics at work.

Eventually both countries even out.

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[Dumber than lumber]

Craft is so under-appreciated in so many places. I am glad to see that there is a market for these types of hand-made tools.
This sort of reminds me of the guy who finally learned that he wasn't saving money by buying/using cheap-**** tools. (one day I became that guy :-0 .......... and my life has gotten somewhat better as a result)