Everything in blade making is a trade off. So if you want the feel of a 1-ply blade you have to give up the durability of a multi-ply blade. What this means is that if you smack your 1-ply against the table edge it will probably crack along the entire length of the face, as opposed to a mult-ply which would just sustain a smashed and or chipped area. The good news is the 1-py is actually easier to repair then the multi-ply. I will describe how futher down the page.
Blade Care
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Do not leave any 1-ply blade outside or exposed to direct sunlight or exposed to moisture or temperature extremes.
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To provide some protection against edge dings and breakage get some clear 2-part epoxy and carefully apply it around the blade edge.
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Don't throw or drop the blade as it will probably split in half rather than just get dinged-up like a multi-ply blade.
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Although American Hinoki blades are shipped lightly sealed, remove rubber slowly and carefully the first time. Seal blade more if required. This is especially important if you use water based glue as wood does not like water, especially one plies.
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Do NOT use a water based sealant to seal blades. Wood does not like water.
Blade Repairs
WARNING: Make sure you get an old blade or piece of wood and go through all repair steps in a dry run before actually doing it on your blade. This applies to repairing cracked blades or fixing dings .
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Dings - If your blade gets a ding on the edge, cover the ding with a small wet piece of a paper towel. Using a clothes Iron set on medium high, or better yet a soldering iron, gently press down on the damp paper towel to apply steam to the ding. This will raise the grain hopefully enough to remove the ding. It is best to practice this technique on a scrap piece of wood before trying it on your blade.
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Face Dings - Face dings are a bit different since the face is normally sealed. Because of this you must use a very small diameter pin or object to pierce the polyurathane seal so that the steam can reach the wood. After you do this follow the same procedure for edge dings.
WARNING: Repairing a face ding will usually not result in a nice invisible repair. You will need to sand and reseal and the repair will be visible. -
Breakage - If you break a 1-ply it will probably break cleanly along a grain line. To repair this get some yellow wood glue and apply a thin even coat to both pieces at the break then join the pieces together. Now somehow clamp the two pieces together (get a 6" min width clamp from HW store) and wipe up excess glue with a damp cloth or paper towel, then let dry overnight. The difficult part is clamping the two pieces together (don't clamp real hard or clamp will crush edges of blade). The blade will be stronger after the repair then before.
Make certain you do a practice run first using no glue, making sure everything will work.