Japanese Plaster Hawks

Hi Candy .
Never seen a Japanese Hawk before and would be interested in how it performs against our standard version we use here in England.
I used to plaster as a younger man not done it for quiet sometime but an considering converting my garage into a hot tub room and insulating and plastering the walls .
The Plaster Hawks here tend to be now made from Poly Plastic or Aluminium.

-- BAZZ, LIVERPOOL UK A workshop is not a luxury . We need it to preserve our sanity in this frantic world we live in. A place to be at peace.

Interesting. I have always used hawks like the one in the photo above. My concern with the one you have made would be the weight compared to the thin sheetmetal ones. If the weight difference is negligible, or if the amount of work area is not large, then fine. And the japanese-style crossbrace-grip looks to have interesting maneuverability.

When doing large areas there is technique whereby you just take the bucket of mix, with a fairly wet mix and run the bucket against the wall while tipping it back and forth so as to create a wide bead of mud, say about 6”, then just come back with a wide blade or trowel and smooth up, then down, in slightly overlapping runs, then done, very fast, no need for a hawk.

-- WWBBJ: the first to compare a woman´s cheek to a rose was a poet. The second, an idiot. Dali

Very interesting project but I’m curious how it’d be to work with over time. The standard central perpendicular peg handle design has clear advantages over the parallel, diagonal one from the japanese version, i’d think. Aside from ergonomics and balance, the ability to easily spin the hawk while knocking up plaster and mortar is just so handy. If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t use them, though! Good luck with the workshop

Interesting project…. rvery help in a workshop is very welcome…

-- Ivan, Croatia, Wooddicted

interesting and hope it is good for your needs. Nicely done.

-- Ron

Have never seen one in that style. Would be interesting to see how it holds up. I have done a few plaster ceilings, but used a pan and a pool float, tried a hawks few tines, most of the material ended up on the floor.

-- Eric, building the dream. the "Loft"

i do wish you all the luck finishing is not easy for me :<(((((((((

-- Tony---- Reinholds,Pa.------ REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE FUN :<))

Good looking tool but it appears to be rather large. I promised myself (and my wife) that I would never attempt any plaster fiascos errr I mean jobs again and I’ve stayed true to that promise for years.

-- Dick, Malvern Ohio - my biggest fear is that when I die, my wife sells my toys for what I told her I paid for them

Neat project, Candy. I had to look up how it is used….............Cheers, Jim

ps, you appreciate a tool more if you make it yourself!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!

Looks way more comfortable to use:)

-- Lifting one end of the plank.

Very interesting.

What are you planning to do with what you learn at the workshop?

-- Tyvekboy -- Marietta, GA ………….. one can never be too organized

Good work Candy, Hope this works out for you.

-- Dr. Ken, Florida - Durch harte arbeit werden Träume wahr.

Very cool!

-- Nature created it, I just assemble it.

Thank you all for your interest and comments. I edited the post to include the dimensions: approximately 12×12.5” and 1 lb 2 oz.
The plastering will be toward the end of the 7 day hands on workshop where I will learn how to build a house with straw bales! After ‘assembly’ so to speak, the bales are covered and sealed to make them water, vermin, bug, and rot resistant. Due to their density the bales are already fire resistant. Check out the website strawbale.com

-- God bless, Candy

I have seen a few of those, they are neat and very energy efficient for comfort. It would be interesting to see some photos of that project.

-- Eric, building the dream. the "Loft"