What Are The Best Chisels?

Among many of the tools one can have, in my opinion, Japanese chisels are essential to wood art. There are many different kinds of these chisels and they serve a wide variety of cuts in wood carving.

When looking at them it is easy to notice a lot of them are geared towards joint making. This is not surprising due to how famous Japanese woodworking has become.

There are other tools from Western countries which will serve well. Few can compare to what the Japanese traditional chisel offer as a wood shaping tool.

If you can afford on getting a set for your work it is worth it. A lot will depend upon the style of work you do and the purpose they would serve.

Those who use saw and cnc only are missing out on the refinement which chisels can bring to the table. The ability to apply that hand touch to a work is essential.

Please be aware that what I detail can cover a wide variety of Japanese chisels. Not all are equal as some are hand forged and others are mass produced and sold via a packaged wood carving kit.

The Most Common Chisel Needed Oiire Nomi

If you are not sure where to begin lets start with the most common chisels that you could need. The Oire Nomi is a standard chisel. We often refer to this type as a common bench chisel. They are typically bought in sets.

The profile can range from 3mm to 48mm. Consider your needs and what a set offers in relationship to those needs. These chisels are typically used with a hammer that is small, steel, and about 400g or less in weight give or take. You should also consider getting extra steel rings or ferrules which support the wood handle when the chisels is used with the hammer.

Note that these chisels will come with a steel ring already on them which you will need to set. The purpose for having the extra, is because it is an extra. There are times when a spare may be needed. On the other hand it could sit in a drawer forever and never be used at all.

Mortise And Tenon, Dovetail, and Paring Chisels

The Shinogi Nomi, Mukoumachi Nomi, Sokosarai Nomi, and Kama Nomi are most commonly used in mortise work. Each serves its purpose depending on the type of mortise one is seeking to achieve. They can also double for other cutting uses yet the design is catered to the mortise.

The Ichou-gata Nomi is most common for use in dovetail work. Take note that the Shinogi Nomi is also good for aiding this same purpose. Although the Shinogi was not designed for dovetails specifically it can serve in this dual purpose.

With paring chisels we have Tsuki Nomi and Kote Nomi. The Tsuki comes with three different orientations which allows for thin pairing called Usu, general pairing is Tsuki, and large timber pairing called Hon-Tsuki.

These different chisels are the most common for joint woodworking. These are not the tools one would commonly use for art carving. Yet I may add that there are times an odd cut with artwork may be served by what some of these can offer.

Carving Wood Art With Japanese Chisels

So what about carving wood art? Those designs or beautiful pieces with such intricate detail have to be done by some kind of tool. The bigger chisels are not adept at this fine work.

Clearly there are tools that we in the Western world have become accustomed to using for making art with wood. One of the problems with Western fine carving tools is a lack in variety. Here the Japanese version excels in function and versatility.

You should look into a set of Kawasei Tsurugi chisels. These are for very fine art carvings and can be amazing. I have included a larger image for you to see how different these can be. In a set you can find many options.

The Oire Nomi serve rather well in starting most 2.5d relief work. The reason why is due to the need to remove material which is not the art. At times this can be a lot of wood to remove as the art is left behind. As the Oire is a more general purpose tool and a work horse of Japanese chisels, it does well for this purpose.

We have missed a needed tool for fine detail work. Even when using what I have listed it may need an added touch to some art. Here enters a secret weapon that was once in Japan a very common every day tool much like our pocket knife.

The Kiridashi Kogatana Knife

This tool is extremely cool. Historically school children in Japan used these to sharpen pencils. In older times small children’s toys were made by this same tool. It was once common place within the hands of anyone and everyone in society.

The Kiridashi Kogatana will serve very well for fine cuts. Just like chisels it comes in different sizes so you may want to have more than one. In terms of its use know that it is not a chisel but rather a blade like a knife.

The benefit to this is its ability to produce fine carving and cleanup around edges within art. There are different variations depending on who makes this blade. More traditionally the blade was in the shape of a tasty favorite fish were the namesake originates from.

One can explore many carving knives but if you like Japanese steel there is another favorite. Search out Higonokami as a possibility. It is a folding knife so this may be taken into consideration.

On a side note of safety, I have seen some try to use things like razor blades for the purpose a knife is made for. Please put those away. I am serious it can be dangerous and do not make yourself look like its amateur hour.

Western Chisel Users Beware!

You cannot treat Japanese chisels like we do many Western made variations. All Japanese versions are made to be sharpened by hand. No grinders please. Yes I know this may come as a surprise to some. Americans especially want things done fast in sharping tools.

These chisels are also not ready for use out of the box. You can find many YouTube videos on how to break in these new chisels properly. Among the needs they have is sharpening, stripping, and ring setting. Why would they do this? It is so you can customize the blade to your purpose and use.

Japanese chisels have excellent edge retention. They do not sharpen quickly but the end result is worth the effort. It may be beneficial to use a sharpening guide if one is unfamiliar with free hand sharpening.

Another aspect of customization comes in removing the lacquer finish from the handle. You can apply a wood oil after stripping the wood. This is most commonly done to help prevent ones hand from slipping while the chisel is in use.

Setting the ring is a process that allows you to customize where and how a hammer strike will fall. In videos online you will see the common application many use. You do not have to follow this strictly. A rounded end for striking may serve one purpose, a flat end can serve another.

So again please do not expect these to be functional out of the box. I do remember seeing a review online where a customer received their order and a scathing negative review ensued for this reason. Apparently they had absolutely no idea what they were holding in their hands.

What Tools To Sharpen With?

Most common is a water stone method. There are kits one can acquire for this purpose or you can piece together your kit on your own. The question becomes, what kind of water stone to use?

Another note for Westerners here starting out. I am not talking about the typical Arkansas whetstone we use for pocket knives. Those top out at around the 1200 fine range.

A Japanese water stone reaches 8000 grit which is where you will want to be in the end. These water stones are common to use for old school razers men would use in shaving. The Japanese chisel needs this same degree of sharpening and it can retain its edge.

Due to the hardness of the steel and the effort required to place an edge on the blade, one can see why many use a sharpening guide. A guide will help speed the process removing some human error and prolong the life of the chisel.

How Much Hype Is In The Steel?

Some get into Japanese chisels for the cool factor is saying its Japanese. I guess for them it can herald back to those who made them famous for the style of woodworking they were used for. There is some of that out there.

For me it really comes down to the steel and customization. There are few blades which can be sharpened to the level these can and hold the edge. I have not detailed steel specifications for they can vary from brand to brand. It really is about forging process.

People can argue endlessly about steel but the key is how the steel is forged. The forging process matters in terms of the outcome in what a blade can do. Hand the same steel to two different craftsmen and you can have two very different outcomes.

A Little Data On Chisel Steel

Know that more traditional Japanese steel is difficult to get an edge to begin with. Westerners generally prefer steels we are more accustomed to using. To find this if it is what you prefer there are some names to look for. Hitachi White Paper 1 (the 1 denotes grade), Hitachi Blue 2, Assab K120 old stock.

Note that the Assab is a Swedish steel and there is a difference between old and new stock. The difference in carbon is .2% if that matters to you. Yet these are examples among those which can be common to find that a Westerner would recognize the feel. There are others and a little Google help can guide you to knowing the steel used.

If you find yourself looking at Hitachi Yasuki Hagane No. 2 steel it is simply harder than many other carbon steels we know. This is the variety which can be more difficult to get that first edge on. I will say that if you do not mind this they can be superior to the softer carbon steels.

Once you start looking at chisels which use this grade of steel it is the more traditional Japanese chisel. That steel specifically is forged by master blacksmiths in Yolta Japan. Naturally as you begin to compare these, prices will go according to the steel and forging process.

Are Japanese Chisels Any Good?

Seriously are they worth the effort? Yes! They are very good. Where you begin to see this impact is not on day 1, 10, or even 30. It takes time to really appreciate them. It is when you begin to see how well the blade performs over time and you would have replaced others that it shines.

One must keep in mind the focus of traditional Japanese art has always been attention to detail. This goes beyond the art and into the tool which also makes it.

Make no mistake there are Western brands which perform well. Yet what makes these so unique is the ability to customize the blade from the beginning and the lifespan it will have. If honed well the performance it gives certainly exceeds all the cheaper variations you can find.

If you are one who doesn’t mind putting a little effort into quality tools and you take care of them these are for you. It is a good idea to create a carving board to give added safety to protect the blade when working. In case of an accidental slip or drop it can save the blades edge.

But They Are Expensive

Yes they will cost you more than many alternatives. Let’s face it. If you have no tools of this variety there is a lot of up front costs. After you get a chisel set you also need the sharpening tools. By the time it is over you have have anywhere between 500 to 1k invested.

A simple Japanese marking knife, called a Harima, can run near 100 dollars. Genuine forged blades are hard to beat though.

Must will depend upon what your needs are. How many chisels you require clearly plays a role in cost. Yet once this is out of the way getting a single purpose chisel is not that bad. The question becomes how often do you use them?

For those who rely heavily upon machinery it may not be as beneficial. For wood artists that find themselves going between machine and hand working art it definitely can help you. For the purist who is all about hand carving you most likely already have them or others like them.

Any good tool is going to cost you up front. This any woodworker will know well. It really is a matter of whether or not the tool fits your needs. If you are looking into needing chisels, which most of us already have of some kind, then its worth looking into. Frequency of use really becomes the key.