jap chisel Help maybe

[mtt.tr]

Well i had to flatten one of after noticing it had never been done and noticed this the hollow seems close to the edge i cant think it would be a problem because of the shape of the chisel but wanted to double check

 

[Max Power]

Looks absolutely fine, no problems there

 

[mtt.tr]

Looks absolutely fine, no problems there

I thought so to as the hollow will allways make up the side

Best to ask no matter how stupid the question lol

 

[dh7892]

It's called the "Ura" and it's meant to be there. Saves time and effort flattening the back.

After years of sharpening and flattening the back, you may have to reform the Ura so that the edge stays flat but that will be a way down the line yet.

 

[mtt.tr]

It's called the "Ura" and it's meant to be there. Saves time and effort flattening the back.

After years of sharpening and flattening the back, you may have to reform the Ura so that the edge stays flat but that will be a way down the line yet.

I knew that just thought it was close to the edge it was only when i posted it i thouhgt well the hollow will get shallower so i will allways have a side :roll:

 

[woodbloke]

If the ura gets too close to the cutting edge, you'll need to just flatten the back a bit more (using your normal honing system) to take some more off. In the normal course of sharpening and honing, this should happen anyway, so the ura should never actually reach the cutting edge - Rob

 

[Max Power]

What a great forum, you even learn some new vocabulary. Now I just need "what is the hollow in a japanese chisel known as" to come up in a quiz

 

[dh7892]

Not just chisels; plane blades and knives too. (Might be more likely to come up in a quiz :lol: )

Woodbloke: I think there has been some discussion about this before (perhaps with you and me both posting). It is my belief that you are supposed to pein the front of the chisel to flatten a bit more of the Ura when it's getting near to the cutting edge.

If you just grind it flat, I believe that you will remove the (thin) layer of hard steel from the sides .

Disclaimer: I don't own any Japanese chisels, I've just read a bit about them so I might be talking rubbbish.

 

[yetloh]

On most Japanese chisels the layer of hard steel is quite thick so you can do a great deal of flattening with no problem. The only disadvantage is that this gradually removes the ura so it will reduce at the sides as well as the front. There are special tools available for peining which just extends the flat area near the edge and so does not narrow the ura.

Jim

 

[jimi43]

Fascinating...I suppose if it has two it's called a "double ura"?

How does one pronounce URA?

Since I had been getting HOLTEY wrong (tea versus eye) for years...I thought I would ask so I don't make a t1t of myself at the next bashe!

Jim

 

[woodbloke]

It is my belief that you are supposed to pein the front of the chisel to flatten a bit more of the Ura when it's getting near to the cutting edge.

If you just grind it flat, I believe that you will remove the (thin) layer of hard steel from the sides .

Not something I'd do, but I've heard it's possible but as Jim has said, the hard layer of steel is quite thick. In my view at least, the issue's not a crucial one with these chisels...they'll need a lot of use before the peining needs to be done (if at all) and that hard layer of steel is really hard :shock: - Rob

 

[Harbo]

The method of restoring the hollow with a hammer is covered in "Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use" by Toshio Odate.

Not something I have found necessary to do so far on my chisels thankfully!


Rod

 

[dh7892]

Is that Book good? I've seen it advertised and thought about getting it but I wasn't sure how readable it would be.

I've no idea how to pronounce Ura. I would guess: "oo-ra" rather than "you-ra"