AreAny of the $60 to $90 Japanese woodworking chisels worth buying?

[Chris Hachet]

...or do I really need to spend more like $150 or so for really decent worker chisels?

[Chris Hachet]

And while I am at it, is there any issue sharpening Japanese chisels with a tormek style system or are they stone sharpen only kind of a thing...?

[David Weaver]

Per chisel?

Koyamaichi chisels are fine. People seem to like the imai chisels (I don't have them, can't comment). They should both be in the $60 range.

Really, even the less than stellar hardware store chisels are actually very good, and if they're not, there's something wrong with them that would be solved by exchanging for another one.

One of the big favorites without conditioning japanese or domestic is the vintage US made chisels, and in reality, even the cheapest white II chisels are harder and perform better. The hitch is whether or not you can get by without using a grinder because the plain steel chisels have a low temper temperature and a deep hollow grind doesn't agree with the chisel design in the first place.

[David Weaver]

The tormek is fine. If anyone tells you it isn't, ask them if they've had a chisel fail because they used the tormek. The hollow is shallow, the grind is cold, it poses no problem.

[Chris Hachet]

Thanks for your help, David.

[Winton Applegate]

60 to 90 dollar chisels ,

60 to 90 dollar Japanese chisels are, emphatically, worth buying.
Yes.

[Chris Griggs]

Aren't the Ouchi's at the upper end of that range and supposedly sweet? Not that you need to go that high as good as the KIs are, but I've read that folks LOVE their Ouchi's

[Stanley Covington]

Three points:

1. Like anything else that can be sold off a blanket spread in the marketplace, Caveat Emptor.

2. A medium quality Japanese chisel is almost always a better performer than the most expensive Western chisel.

3. Only buy from a retailer who offers a money back guarantee.

Stan

[Joey Naeger]

I have a set of white steel Fujikawa bench chisels I got back in February. Right now, you get them in the $40-$60 range from Stu. I've used them pretty hard on a daily basis and am very pleased with their durability. I work in a violin shop and mostly use them for paring hard maple and occasionally ebony. I recently built a work bench and did all the mortising with one them with no issue. All five of them were a little chippy on the first few honings, but they are really working nicely now. A lot of people on this forum really like the Koyamiachis, and I have some new gouges by him. I'm still getting a feel for them so I can't compare the two. I do have a cheaper japanese chisel I got from woodcraft and it's definitely not as good.

[Tony Shea]

I would highly recommend the Fujihiro Brand chisels over at Hida tool made by Chutaro Imai. I have a couple of these chisels and the edge just lasts forever compared to anything western that I own. The only chisels that compare are my KI's. I feel like the Imai chisels hold their edge a bit longer and due to their normal bench chisel shape are easier to sharpen than my dovetail KI chisels.