New Japanese Chisel....Bargain?

[jimi43]

I was floating around fleaBay the other day and spied this Japanese paring chisel for sale...

It arrived today....and it is something I wanted to have (one from Japan) just to try it but I didn't realise how beautiful these things were...

The back is absolutely flat...with just the residue of signature concave grinding seen in Japanese chisels..

I have just opened the parcel and photographed it to gauge opinion so need to scary sharpen it...and then try it out...

It seems in really nice nick...not sure I like the total gloss on the handle...might remove that and satinize (?) it....

But the wood looks interesting...anyone know what it is?

The branding is in Japanese and difficult to photograph...black on black but I tried...

Cost me £18 plus postage which is a huge amount for me for one blinkin' chisel but I fell in love with it and had to have one...

Did I buy a pig or a prince?

Cheers guys and gals!

Jim

 

[frugal]

Oh, sorry was there a chisel involved somewhere, I was too busy staring at that gorgeous lump of wood :lol:

 

[head clansman]

hi jim

that will keep you out of trouble for a while , nice chisel buy the way . hc

 

[jimi43]

Oh, sorry was there a chisel involved somewhere, I was too busy staring at that gorgeous lump of wood :lol:

Some burr elm I also found on fleaBay and it did WOW for me...

Another 18 squids...not sure what I am going to do with it but it has so far served me well as a "woody" photo support....

 

[jimi43]

hi jim

that will keep you out of trouble for a while , nice chisel buy the way . hc

It makes me want to fondle and stroke it, it is SO tactile....

I am sick...I know...but AM I ALONE!!!?

I haven't cut myself yet...will sharpen it then stop fondling it...well near the bevel anyway!



Jim

 

[Karl]

Nice chisel, and a good price. I've got quite a few Jap chisels and think they're superb.

The handle is red oak (at least that is what mine are, and it looks the same as mine).

Cheers

Karl

 

[woodbloke]

Looks like a nice chisel Jim and has obviously seen some use as the scallops on the back have disappeared. Handles on these things are usually Jap Red Oak - Rob

 

[jimi43]

Cheers Karl....Rob....

It's comforting to know that I didn't impulse buy and waste my dosh!

I have yet to sharpen it to my liking...was playing too much with it...

Paring chisel...does it par?

Yup

I suppose that's "par" for the course!! :roll:

Since I had dragged the old Nik 105 micro out of the cupboard...I thought I would see if I could still do "manual" and get a decent shot of that illusive Japanese writing....here ya go....

I swear those old optics...30 years old...are better than the new ones!

Anyone speak Japanese here?

Jim

 

[Modernist]

Looks very nice with a good shape to the hard steel. I can't help being a little concerned about the heavy flattening of the back. It could be that it was to make it flat. Mine bent like banana's after a while (couple of years amazingly). The edges look a mite thick for delicate work but not a problem for paring. Think about your honing angles. I would stick to a single bevel to give the maximum support to the edge which will be much more brittle than carbon steel. It might be an idea to start at 30 deg and save anything shallower until you have proved it. Edge sharpness should be a revelation.

Happy paring

 

[studders]

Anyone speak Japanese here?

Jim

I think that's Japanese for Dakota.

 

[WoodAddict]

Anyone speak Japanese here?

Jim

I think that's Japanese for Dakota.

I speak fluent Japanese. It says - "For display purposes only!"

Hope this helps

 

[jimi43]

Anyone speak Japanese here?

Jim

I think that's Japanese for Dakota.

That would be in the Rutlands...high up on the sides of Mount Fungi?

M....it has a very fine 30deg second bevel. The main bevel looks to be a tad under 25deg.

I just sharpened it...boy...this steel is weird! It hones like a razor...and it actually FEELS brittle....

I just want it for paring....the curls are now almost microns thick and that is freehand...not even with the stock in a vise. I really MUST stop doing that if I don't want a serious injury.

The seller mentioned the flattening of the back....not a common practice I am understanding with these chisels where the back...other than just behind the bevel, is left concave.

As for display...I can quite easily see how people would want to do just that. This akagashi is a very beautiful wood indeed....very beautiful.

I am going to strip off the poly-like finish...the only thing I don't like...I want to rub some Tru Oil on it...

Thanks for the tips guys...I think I will go play with this in the workshop tomorrow. I feel a slope coming on. I would dearly love to find out who made it.

Jim

 

[wizer]

Very nice Jimi. Money no object, I'd go for a set of these:

But it is an object, so I'm going to stick with Ai's which are still not cheap but sensibly priced.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I swear those old optics...30 years old...are better than the new ones!

I'd say so. I do portrait stuff on my Canon 30D using a Pentax M f1.4.

It's a bit of a fiddle to get it set up. On it's first outing I realised I need better glasses (for focus!), but the quality knocks my Sigma lenses into a cocked hat.

Likewise with my Pentax f4 macro lens, used with the Canon on bellows.

 

[WoodAddict]

8) Good answer.

It is a nice looking tool. :wink:

 

[jimi43]

Yeh Tom...I saw the price of those things when I was doing some research today...lovely aren't they. And a nice price too. I must admit, part of the fun is getting nice things quite cheaply...that is a buzz!

Eric...that was why I chose the D80 because all my old 30 year old lenses fitted (all be it manually of course) and since I spent a fortune on those back in 1980 (far more than the F2 and F3), then I thought I would try them out....astounding!

Jim

 

[jimi43]

I belong to this wonderful website (other than this one) and I posted a picture of the brand to see if I could find out more....I received this reply...

since kanji is basically chinese, i'll take a stab...

as xxxxx mentioned, the first two words mean "five hundred", but i suspect the last word is a roughly scribbled "蔵"

so the whole thing is 五百蔵, "ioroi" which i *think* is a brand:

http://www.ioroi.co.jp/

Further research indicates that a pretty good candidate is a 12mm Nishiki Kinari...or extra thin paring chisel:

HERE

although I am now entering the mystical world of the Samurai so I may be WAY off!

Jim

 

[yetloh]

I have a lot of Japanese chisels and they are indeed a revelation. I sharpen them all at 30 deg.

I am surprised that you have had it suggested convex backs are the norm. Backs should be dead flat and I would suggest that your chisel was faulty and the first owner spent a lot of time putting it right; hence the disappearance of much of the flutes. This does not matter now the work has been done. The fact that it has multiple flutes suggests that it is from Iyoroi's premium range. I bought a set of Iyoroi's premium bench chisels (nomi) - multi flutes and boxwood handles - from Dick in Germany - and they needed a similar amount of work to flatten. On close inspection it was apparent that the handle end of the chisel had been lifted while the back was being ground during the manufacturing process so that the edge was rounded over; hence the need to remove a lot of steel to achieve flatness up to the edge. After flattening and sharpening one of them I sent them back to Dick as faulty, who replaced them without any problems. The replacement were fine.

The only problem with good Japanese chisels is that they are addictive. Once you have one and have experienced the edge achievable you will want more and be dissatisfied with European chisels. The next step along this path is Japanese laminated plane irons which are just as good as the chisels. I have one in my fettled Stanley 60 ½ block plane and it makes it a brilliant tool. I much prefer it to the LN equivalent which I eventually sold and bought a Veritas NX60 – another great tool, if a bit pricey. The DX60 is cheaper and just as good even if it doesn’t look quite as flash.

Jim

 

[Harbo]

All the Japanese chisels I have seen never have the grinding taken back into the neck like that and the hollow scallops should extend nearly to the tip?
There should only be a few mm's of flat at the tip and the sides?

Rod

 

[woodbloke]

The only problem with good Japanese chisels is that they are addictive. Once you have one and have experienced the edge achievable you will want more and be dissatisfied with European chisels.

Jim

They will take a decent edge, true. By far the biggest beef I have with them though is that they're just so bloody uncomfortable to use for hand work as they've got a damn great lump of iron at the end of the handle. Great for belting with a Jap hammer, but useless for anything else (not counting of course the ones with elongated handles)
If you like having a big red weal in the palm of your hand after a bit of horizontal paring or having the hoop dig into your thumb after some vertical paring...then more power to your elbow :lol:
Keep all your Jap chisels...I'll stick to my nice comfy LN's any day :wink: (and I have owned two sets of the things and flogged them) - Rob