This article is a tie-up with the Niigata Prefecture Federation of Small Business Associations and Manufacturing Support Centre.

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In the 21st edition, Karasawa Yasuri took the step of partially mechanising its technology in order to carry on its traditions, as the ageing of the craftsmen cast a dark shadow over the industry as a whole. The company overcame the crisis of production itself becoming impossible due to the retirement of craftsmen or the closure of the business, and kept the file technology alive.

Automating and mechanising craftsmanship.

The city of Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture dominates 95% of the domestic file manufacturing market share. In such an industry, Karasawa Yasuri manufactures special industrial files, especially for ultra-fine, thin flat and plastic applications.

As files have many complex shapes, such as flat, round, round, square and triangular, they are dependent on craftsmen on the manufacturing site and are not automated. However, in recent years, the ageing and retirement of craftsmen has made it a matter of life and death to pass on skills. In order to overcome this difficulty, a manufacturing subsidy was utilised from 2012 to introduce an automatic nail file grinder, which automates the grinding of nail files, which had been the sole responsibility of a craftsman over 90 years old. The company also decided to develop a fully automatic grinding machine to produce in-house the base metal (diamond base) that forms the foundation of the diamond file, which is made by electrodepositing diamond abrasive grains to form the blade, and the production of which had been limited due to the ageing of the outsourced craftsmen.

Furthermore, following the closure of an ageing subcontractor, the company took on the challenge in 2007 of bringing the 'shaving' and 'morote filing' processes, which are the processes before the 'grinding' of the file, in-house, automating and mechanising these processes. As a result, processes that used to depend on craftsmen can now be entrusted to less experienced employees, and production efficiency has improved. In the future, the company is considering promoting the technology it has developed in the hope that it will help the industry, which is facing a serious shortage of craftsmen.

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Automated nail file grinding. Large orders received as a result of the exhibition.

Automatic nail file grinder that can be handled even by new recruits who have been with the company for two weeks.

The company was featured in a magazine after exhibiting at a trade show. Busy since the beginning of the year with orders in the hundreds.

The 'grinding' of nail files was handled in-house by a single veteran craftsman over 90 years old, but production could no longer keep pace with increasing demand. A nail file grinding machine was introduced to automate the craftsman's work, and production increased five-fold. The company took this opportunity to enhance its product line-up by developing a high-end nail file. The company exhibited at the Tokyo International Gift Show and was introduced in a popular mail-order magazine, resulting in a flood of orders for its signature products.

Diamond-based market share monopoly. More full-time employees.

The belt traces over the file from side to side, recognising its shape and driving it.

Grinding in equilateral triangles is also a technique that can only be achieved by YASRI Karasawa.

The company began to produce the diamond base, the base of the diamond file, in-house by introducing an automatic grinding machine. A competitor in Kure City, which had previously held a two-tiered share of the national market, ceased production, and orders poured in for Karasawa YASURI. Although it took time to adjust the machines and train personnel, automation tripled production and gave the company an almost monopolistic share of the domestic manufacturing market.

In-house production of 'grinding' and 'twin-hand filing' following the closure of an outsourcing company.

'Precision flat grinding system' in which five to ten files are set and shaped and ground with a disc-shaped grinding wheel.

Automation has meant that the operator only needs to pay attention to the shape of the material.

The file is 'annealed' to soften the material so that it can be easily 'ground'. During this process, the high heat causes 'oxide scale' and 'decarburised layers' to cover the surface of the file. This film is removed by 'grinding'. The layer, which is further hardened by the frictional heat of grinding, is removed by 'twin-hand filing'. These two processes, which used to rely on a single craftsman, have been automated and mechanised so that they can be carried out by women and less experienced workers.

I want to keep alive the unique techniques and Japanese file traditions that are unique to Karasawa Yasuri.

Representative Director Yoshiko Karasawa

In 2010, in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse, he moved from being a high school teacher, which he had been doing for many years, to becoming president when his father passed away. While knowing almost nothing about files, he was concerned about the future of the industry due to the ageing of the workforce. At a selection meeting for the Tsubame City subsidy project, where he was determined to do something about it, he was asked about his previous job and when he told them he had been a teacher, they all smiled at once and said, "So that's why you are so good at talking". After this experience, he decided that he had a mission to keep the art of filing alive. Since then, he has been thinking and acting on how he can solve the industry's problems.

'Shiny (nail)' nail file with excellent sharpness.

The ergonomically safe and secure construction ensures that even children and people with physical disabilities can use it safely. The curve that matches the curve of the nail is the first technology of its kind in Japan. The nail file is easy to use for everyone.

Company profile

Founded in 1939 as a comprehensive manufacturer of industrial files. Craftsmen who have inherited traditional methods from the Edo period have continued to manufacture files. In recent years, the nail files that have been produced by the over 90-year-old craftsman Kin Okabe, who has been solely responsible for the filing process, have become a big hit. New products have been launched one after another, including a high-end nail file, a nail file that can be placed on a table and used with one hand, and a heel file that polishes heels, all born from feedback from the medical field.

enquiry

Karasawa Yasuri Ltd.

○Residence: 598-5 Yen, Yen

○TEL : 0256-63-4766

○HP : http://www.yasuri.net