Japanese chisels purchase…

Looking to buy a new square, saw, plane, or ?? Have a question about which sharpening stone to buy? This is the place.
TrevorML
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Japanese chisels purchase…

Sat Aug 29, 2015 9:43 am

Hi woody folks… new to this forum here… from Adelaide

I have been using Japanese saws (disposable blade versions) and planes (eBay finds of various grades) for a few years now with YouTube and Web search being my friend as I have no connection to others with a love of Japanese tools.

My chisels at the moment are a OK set of 4 Marples I bought at Bunnings many years ago on special and a 42mm oire nomi and a Japanese mortise chisel bought to belt out the huge through mortise and sliding through dovetail mortise legs on my Chris Schwarz Roubo bench.

I have finally after MUCH procrastination (something I am exceedingly good at… or at least my better half says so) I have decided to drop the $$$ onto a decent set of Japanese chisels.

The 2 sets I am looking at are…

Set of 10 KOSHIMITSU Chisels from Dieter Schmid's Fine Tools in Berlinhttp://www.fine-tools.com/matsumura.html

Set of 11 Rentetsu chisels from Japanese Tools Australia in Sydneyhttp://www.japanesetools.com.au/collect ... chor-chain

The Matsumura chisels from Dieter Schmid's Fine Tools are white paper steel as for the set of 10, shipped, work out to about AU$630
The Rentetsu chisels from Japanese Tools Australia are blue paper steel with 100 year anchor chain, and come to about AU$900

Both options are going to be a hit to my pocket but with the Rentetsu chisels from Japanese Tools Australia the more so and generally more than I wanted to spend, but Japanese Tools Australia will allow me to buy them in 3 groups spread over several months (with a deposit of course) to ensure the availability while I get all of them.

So… now I am in a quandary as to which set to buy, what with one being white paper and the other blue paper steels… and both being considered to be of very high quality hand forged chisels… although the Rentetsu chisels from Japanese Tools Australia I do not know the name of, only that the blacksmith is in Miki.

So… any suggestions… comments… whatever would be most welcome indeed!

cheers
Trevor

[EDITED: as I said the Rentetsu were from Japan Tools but hey are in fact from Japanese Tools Australia]
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Brian
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Re: Japanese chisels purchase…

Sat Aug 29, 2015 11:34 am

What are you building? Furniture? Working with hardwood or softwood? Do you need a set of 10?
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Chris Hall
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Re: Japanese chisels purchase…

Sat Aug 29, 2015 8:32 pm

I'd say spend more money overall, and buy one extra chisel. You can always sell it off later. What I mean is: buy a 24mm (or 30mm) from each maker, and try them out for a while, and decide which you like better relative to the pricing.

The white paper steel/blue paper steel issue is not something to get overly hung up about. If the smith did a good job, either will work well.
TrevorML
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Re: Japanese chisels purchase…

Sun Aug 30, 2015 6:07 am

Delhi… what I am building is, at the moment, a kitchen so lots of dovetails and other joints… in the future other built-in cupboards, furniture etc… so not carpentry but more cabinetry and small wood items (boxes and the like)… for carpentry I will use the old Marples and a couple of eBay Japanese chisels… mortise and bench.

thanks Chris… what you suggest is an excellent idea but I am not sure I want to go that route as I have been researching for quite some time and I am pretty much needing the chisels yesterday :-) (the procrastination bit!!) so I have got my choices from many down to 2 and am trying to decide which to go for. Like… are the Rentetsu on the list because I think they are "pretty" (if you know what I mean) and really the Koshimitsu are really better… or… maybe the Rentetsu really are the ones to go for.

Concerning the blue and white paper steel, I think I have come to the same conclusion Chris as there seems to be lots of opinions out there and much is conflicting, but the best advice was yours and someone else out there in the ether that said the same thing.

Guess I will have to toss a coin :-)
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Brian
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Re: Japanese chisels purchase…

Sun Aug 30, 2015 12:53 pm

Good to know what you're building, since I also build furniture and use my tools mostly in american hardwoods…with occasional exotics and occasional softwoods.

I've basically been experimenting with makers for the past year or so, the results can be quite surprising. Even my first set of chisels is still in use and still serves me well, but they're not my favorite for every-day use. Some very expensive makers, IMO are a bit over-rated and some middle makers are surprisingly good.

I have tried Koyamaichi blue and white steel, Ouchi, Tasai, Kikuhiromaru and Yamahiro. I have bought pairs, short sets or full sets of these in various styles, all do well for me but the kiku's stand out as being able to hold a highly sharp edge for the longest length of time, they do not chip easily and they do not fold over easily. I use them heavily but can still pare with them after heavy use without much issue. They are also fairly easy to polish.

Tasai are absolutely beautiful, they are finished the best of the group and can get a very sharp edge but they are a little more delicate than Kikuhiromaru.

The verdict is still out on Yamahiro. They do, however, take a long time to setup. The edge holding has been very good, but frankly I was looking for a mortise chisel that would be able to survive with a flat bevel, these do require a hamaguri edge to survive. That being said, they have held up better than my koyamaichis. I may continue to try brands for mortise chisels, but it will be a while since I don't need that many redundant sizes.
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Chris Pyle
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Re: Japanese chisels purchase…

Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:34 pm

I'll throw one more chisel maker: Konobu

So carries them and while I can't vouch for them, I do have a number of them on order. He carries them and claims they are either, the best or one of the best being produced now. The edge retention and fit & finish are supposedly as good as it gets, I don't know if anyone else can vouch for them.

Kiku's as Brian said, are also very nice.
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Brian
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Re: Japanese chisels purchase…

Sun Aug 30, 2015 11:50 pm

I think you'll enjoy them. Stanley Covington recommended them as about the only brand of chisels he recommends, so between him and So I think you're in good hands.

I think Chris ordered a set too.

You guys are serious enablers....I love it :mrgreen:
TrevorML
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Re: Japanese chisels purchase…

Mon Aug 31, 2015 3:22 am

Fantastic suggestions… some outstanding chisels there!!!

unfortunately most of them (at work at the mo' and have not been able to check them all) seem to be a bit out of my range… hence why I had got it down to the 2 that I listed as one I can definitely afford as a once off and the other as a split order.

if only the damn lotto would come good :-)

PS… you guys have some of the absolute best resources for Japanese handfuls on here… thanks for your generosity!!!

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