At least you’re still buying CNC made machine tools, it could be a lot worse…
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That specific rabbit hole is for muuuch later when I’ll be a woodworker 
(like Leon The Professional said, amateur hitmen use a sniper rifle, the knife is the final weapon for experts)
I had to ask Google to convert JPY 65.000 to euros, I expected it to be even more costly, that’s quite an affordable gift to be making oneself if one has the talent to make good use of such tools
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I have a few tools that I purchased in Japan and brought back with me, all of them are the quality you keep.
To protect your wallet, you probably shouldn’t follow their Instagram, that would be bad. 
Unless Mrs Julien likes hand made kitchen knives to go with those chopping boards you make?
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If you haven’t bought any yet, you should at least get a couple of hand-stitched rasps from your countrymen at Liogier:
https://www.fine-tools.com/liogier.html
As much as I love nice chisels, a well-sharpened inexpensive one will do for a start, just wants more frequent re-sharpening (which is good practice).
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I just picked up some of these
I’m rather impressed with how nice they are to use, as an option on the file / rasp front.
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I had no idea they made this shape of rasps
At 70 euros a piece, they’re more expensive than those Japanese chisels though
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Another option is Auriou:
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I guess when you have an itch where only something that shape can scratch it… 
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Japanese chisels are great but usually have a hollow back. That limits the amount of steel you grind away during sharpening. A straight back chisel can last a life time.
I thought I would share this with my fellow Shapeokoers who hate sanding as much as I do: I figured it was time for me to upgrade from my run-of-the-mill green Bosch orbital sander to a grown-up version, but my pockets were not deep enough for a Festool so I went for the next best thing (I think) which I decided was the Mirka Deros:
Between this and also upgrading to quality sanding pads, the experience of sanding is worlds apart, this is very surprising…I might actually enjoy sanding now, who knows!
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OK…I realize this is “spent-money-rationalization” at it’s finest…but I’ve got to call it out: This is crazy talk man…just crazy talk!
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Yes, between vacuum extraction and 3M Cubitron II sanding pads (mild bias), sanding is a breeze now and way less messy.
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I assume people have seen this - best analysis I have seen - would love to know if using the best sanding paper is more important than the random orbital sander you use
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I like the Mirka sand paper. The open mesh does a better job of dust extraction over 8 hole paper. I get long life from Mirka sandpaper.
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I think the mild bias is OK when the products are actually really good.
3M seems to have some fairly special sauce when it comes to adhesives and abrasives, it’s almost as if the company has not yet been ruined by MBAs and still has people who know what they’re doing and are trying to compete by making good products that customers will buy more than once, it’s weird…
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So, whose ‘quality sanding pads’ are you using here? The Mirka or the funky 3M / other ones?
I found that the Makita pads for my orbital sanders lasted about 5 minutes and after that they would have trouble exfoliating a mouse. The DeWalt yellow pads worked much faster and for longer and each one of those is worth at least 10 of the generic mud brown Makita or Amazon no-name-nasties.
Mileage varies. I have used the ShopSmith sanding pads with good success as well.
There unfortunately is no magic pads that work for every situation and user. Vote for your favorite with your money.
I have read good reviews about the Mirka sanders. My Dewalt electric works well but my Dewalt 20v is bad at dust extraction possible because it runs slower than its electric brother.
P.S. I dont think sanding will ever be fun or exciting for me.
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I have been using the Gator brand velcro backed sanding pads in the 50 packs, since at that quantity they are under $0.50/ea (or about that, last time I bought a pack). I buy them at my local hardware store Lowes, but they can be purchased in a lot of places, and on line.
I put a few of them in these holders I designed and 3D printed, and the rest get put away until needed.
They stop at ~320 or 400 grit, I forget which. Then I use the Mirka for 400 and 600 grit. I agree, the Mirka pads do wear out faster, but I am usually only sanding wood, so they last long enough, I guess.
I’ve used the Shop Smith sanding pads as well, and they work really well. They just happen to be some of the most expensive sanding pads I have purchased (because I have never purchased any Fein pads ) and my local Lowes only sold 5 packs, and they were something like $8-$9 per 5 pack.
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The Mirka is a good choice (in my biased opinion)
I have a mirka ceros (discontinued) and i have to say i really do enjoy sanding with it…
I have 2 boxes of autonet mesh discs and have gone through lots of abranet disks. Replaced the interface pads a few time and had to replace the whole platen once (a bit of abuse doing some non finesse reno work)
This is one of those purchases that after using it makes you regret not knowing about it earlier wishing you could have all those tortuous hours back using horrible sanders…
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I use the Abranet (open mesh like @gdon_2003 mentioned) from Mirka like @npross.
I have no other points of comparison (and have not had time to check out the video included above), but it is quite spectacular how going from the cheap no-name plain sandpaper disks I had on my meh sander, to those mesh-type branded pads, with associated dust collection, changed the game completely. It seems obvious now and I should have known, but hey I’m learning/investing, one tool at a time!
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