Anyone have experience wth Konobu Japanese chisels?

[shawn mcveigh]

I am curious if anyone has any experience with konobu chisels? I am debating about ordering some slicks from him but dont know anyone who has used them.

[David Weaver]

No clue, So says he has a good reputation as a maker of sculpting tools, but I personally don't like the rikizai looking lamination line on his chisels, especially if they are (this is implied) expensive chisels.

http://www.japan-tool.com/nomi/Konobu/Konobu_Uchimaru.html

Hopefully his parers don't look like that.

Some of so's other scribbles about them state that they are top shelf in durability, and he shows sen-made hollows, which is unusual (impressive) in the grinder age, I guess. He seems really high on them, and the finish looks good, but I can't get over the flat lamination and would find something else to order just based on that, as it doesn't have a real effect on the chisel durability with a good lamination, but it's associated with prelaminated or quickly made chisels.

If you decide you ever don't like them, though, there is trouble selling stuff in the US that is popular in japan but relatively unknown here - you're selling to a couple of buyers and that's it, and the white collar newbie to woodworking types only want whatever is being sold in catalogs with more bling.

[shawn mcveigh]

Yeah the lamination line looks odd to me. The other route I was debating on going is to order kiyohisa slicks but it will be a bit of a wait. With konobu it would be nice having a really high quality blacksmith available to make chisels. It doesnt seem his wait is too long. The sweedish steel does interest me but it is hard to justify the look of the lamination line....

[David Weaver]

Kiyohisa will probably be a little more expensive, and you have the wait (which you can easily get through by buying some inexpensive white #2 parers if you have an immediate jones), but they will be well known for quite a while.

Presume the swedish steel is the stuff that So likes to tamahagane, and not something more common like assab k-120?

The trouble (to me) with the very high quality japanese makers is that as soon as they become well known, it's hard to find their stuff without paying "this price is for americans" kind of pricing, and you'd have to know a dealer in japan to find out who the smiths were who were catering mostly to japan and doing the same thing, but without as much notoriety. I don't know a magic answer.

[shawn mcveigh]

david,
I believe it is Assab k-120. Any experience with this steel?

[David Weaver]

david,
I believe it is Assab k-120. Any experience with this steel?

I have a swedish iron that I believe is k-120, but it is not tempered as hard as it could be (it is still harder than western tools). It is a supple and nice-honing steel like vintage carbon steel in the iron that I have. If you only had tools made of it, you would be pleased with them, I think (at least I would - i'm sure it would make great chisels, too).

[shawn mcveigh]

I just saw a few pictures of konobu tataki nomi that someone ordered and they looked stunning! I wish stanley convington was active here as I really need to talk to him regarding konobu. It seems he hasnt been on the forums for a while. anyone know how to get a hold of him?

[shawn mcveigh]

stanley where are you : )

[David Weaver]

I think So's glowing comments about Konobu's work, and stanley's glowing comments elsewhere about it are probably enough that you could just make your order. It looks like most of the glam smith's that have super reputations will cost a lot more and take a lot longer. I've never seen stanley like anything other than the very super best edge holding tools, and his vouch without So's would be plenty for me.

[Stefan Saal]

Yes, I have a fair number of chisels made by Konobu. I got them when I was a student in the wood sculpture department at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, in 1981-83. I have two groups, ring handled chisels meant to be driven by a metal hammer, and smaller hand chisels, paring chisels. All sculpture students got these sets, and then we spent about eight weeks finishing them ourselves by hand, eight hours a day, six days a week. They are about as good a tool as can be made. The Japanese make some of the best woodworking tools in the world, and Konobu is considered to be among the best of the best.

I even visited the Konobu smithy once or twice, to order some extra profiles I wanted. In Japan, they had a good COD system run by the post office such that customarily you did not pay until the postman delivered the finished goods, at which time you paid the postman.

I am a wood sculptor. In addition to Japanese chisels, I also use chisels from Germany, Switzerland, and America. If you have any questions about these, I would be happy to try to answer you.