Japanese Plastering Workshop 2025

Japanese Plastering: Tool Packing List

Please review the required tool list below. Having appropriate tools will enhance your learning experience during the Japanese Plastering Workshop. If you already have a Japanese trowel tool kit, bring whatever you have with you. We will be collecting trowel orders prior to the workshop.

You can email me here with a list and quantity of what you would like from the list below. Kyle will collect your payment prior to the workshop so that he can ship everything here at once.

At minimum, students should be prepared to come with or purchase the following tools:

• 1x application trowel
• 1x finishing trowel
• 1x hawk
• 2x cleaning brushes.
• chiri trowel  (optional)

About The Trowels

The GL trowels represent the most budget-friendly option. The Yamanishi trowels are a step up from that, and the Sugiyama Kezuridashi are the finest quality. For most folks, the 240mm size trowels are the first recommendation. 225mm trowels are recommended if you want a trowel that is a little easier on the body. (Smaller trowels hold less material, which will be easier on your muscles during a long plastering session.) However, it can be more challenging to level a bigger wall area with a smaller tool. Ultimately, either size is fine for the purposes of this class. The choice is yours!

Jigane is the “softest” of steels and will move material with ease. Hanyaki is a step up in hardness from jigane, and aburayaki is one more step up from that. Honyaki is a traditional steel for finish trowels, compared to the more modern stainless steel. To understand more about these different steels, read Kyle’s explanation of Japanese trowels here.