Description
These items are discontinued. Available while quantities last. Online Only.
While our remaining inventory lasts, we will include one bonus package of five replacement 8000x aluminum oxide sharpening strips with every purchase of a Chopstick Master kit.
Please note that we are clearing out all our remaining Bridge City Tools inventory, so for any accessory items, including wooden chopstick blanks, not only is this an opportunity to stock up at discount prices, it is your last chance to purchase them from Lee Valley.
Founded in 1983 by designer and craftsman John Economaki, Bridge City Tools has long been known for its often unique and innovative tools.
Using this planing fixture, even those with no woodworking experience can easily transform a plain wooden blank into an elegant, finished chopstick in only a few minutes. It all happens in three easy steps.
First, a sloping cradle holds the wooden blank in position as you taper it using an included block plane. The plane has two skates that ride along tracks in the base, maintaining the correct cut angle while serving as depth stops, ensuring consistent results on all four sides. Then, to give the chopstick an octagonal tip, the blank is held in a V-groove as you chamfer the corners. Finally, the blank is placed in a holder to secure it as you use the plane to cut a traditional diamond finial end with four equal facets.
The kit includes a base, a cradle for chopsticks with 5mm tips, a 110mm aluminum-bodied block plane with depth skates, a 30° honing guide and an 8000x aluminum oxide abrasive sharpening strip. It also comes with 20 hardwood chopstick blanks and 10 cotton bags. Fun and satisfying to use, the kit produces superb results sure to impress dinner guests or anyone receiving the chopsticks as gifts.
Two accessory cradles are available separately to let you create chopsticks with finer tips or for thicknessing material for inlay banding or kumiko.
We also offer replacement sharpening strips and clamping wedges separately, as well as an adapter for the honing guide to reduce tearout in reversing or figured grain. The adapter also comes with a replacement blade for the block plane.
About Chopsticks
Traditionally referred to as zhu (箸) and commonly known as kuaizi (筷子) in modern Mandarin, chopsticks have rich historic and cultural significance in China and other Asian countries. Some of the oldest known examples are from the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), but many scholars believe that their use dates back several centuries earlier.
Considered much more than dining utensils, they are frequently referred to in Asian folklore and have an array of symbolic associations that vary by region; they are widely associated with wishing happiness to others and are sometimes given as weddings gifts, either from guests to the wedded couple or vice versa.