Bevel angle for Japanese chisels?

[James K Peterson]

Well, I got a few japanese chisels, a cheap set of bench chisels, and a HSS one to practice with and get the feel for them. Does anyone have advice on the bevel angle to use on them and should I put a microbevel on them or not? I've also read that I shouldn't grind them, anyone know if it is a good idea not too?

I'll keep you updated on how they perform (versus my cheap'o irwin and my vintage stanley's).

James

[Wilbur Pan]

On my Japanese chisels, the bench chisels are a little less than 30 degrees. No microbevel. You don't need one. My paring chisels are more towards 25 degrees, but I find it probably matters less what the exact angle is since I wind up skewing them a lot in use, which of course changes the effective bevel angle of the chisel.

The reasons for not grinding Japanese chisels is that [1] if they overheat, they lose their temper very quickly, and [2] a hollow grind is not used for these tools for the most part. I've used a Tormek on my Japanese chisels for major grinding work, but use waterstones for the vast majority of my sharpening.

[Manny Hernandez]

It depends on what you use them for and the answer that nobody likes to hear is that you play with the angle until you find one that works for your application. That can take a while. That angle will vary with brand too.

The quick and dirty answer is 30 degrees for bench chisels and 25 degrees for paring chisels.
Micro bevels won't hurt. No reason not to if that's part of your sharpening routine. I've seen some Japanese carpenters round over the edges to toughen up the edge much like a micro bevel. I don't use them because it's a personal preference.

Hollow grinding can or cannot hurt. It depends on your intentions for that particular tool. It also depends on your grinder wheel size. A large Tormek wheel puts such a small hollow on the bevel that it's ok for most circumstances except for heavy chopping, like mortising or removing waste while dovetailing in hardwoods. This will also depend on the brand and maker. I only need to take them to a grinder when I change the bevel angle or repair the edge. So, it's not that often. If I do then I will take it easy and won't use them for mortising (Yikes!! a bench chisel for mortising!? Yes) or any heavy chopping until subsequent honing removes the hollow. On a paring chisels it doesn't matter as they are not subject to abuse.

Manny