These wooden clips are found in traditional bentwood craft workshops where bending and forming the wood are done by hand. Check out the old drawing from a century ago, depicting the exact SAME wood clips used by bentwood craftsman !!
 
These have been used at ShibataToku's woodshop until Mr. Morita retired recently.  After steaming and bending, pieces of thin wood will be hold in place by big wood clips, and then hung for 1 week to dry.  After 1 week of drying, the shape will stay in place, ready for adhering and tree bark stitching. At peak production time, there will be few hundreds of them hung from the ceiling of the woodshop for drying. 
 
Their worn finish caught our attention when we first visited the woodshop few years back, and Ms. Shibata said these have been around for as long as she remembered, growing up in a bentwood craft family. If one breaks, there will be no replacement as no one makes them the same way anymore.  Now they have become memorabilia of this century-old bentwood shop.  
 
For collectors who like vintage tools, or for wood workers who want to experiment using these Japanese old tools, this is a rare oppotunity to get them.  For us, they have a lot of sentimental value. 
 
Own a piece of unique bentwood craft history, from the last craft store in Maidashi district, the birthplace of Hakata Bentwood Craft. 
 
*NOTE:  As with vintage items, each one is different. They will be picked at random for you.