white steel matsumura bench chisel

[mike johnston]

can anyone tell me where I can buy a Matsumura 30mm white steel bench. With guaranteed delivery within 10 days. Need it for a class I'm taking. Or a similar quality Japanese chisel.

Thanks Mike

[Jessica de Boer]

I wouldn't know but I would try to get a chisel by another maker. Matsumura is completely unknown in Japan which doesn't speak well of the quality.

[Derek Cohen]

I had a few Matsumura dovetail chisels about 18 years ago. They kept chipping. They were replaced by Koyamaichi. I've been very satisfied by these. Never chipped, sharpen easily and hold a good edge.

Get them from Lee Valley.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[brian zawatsky]

Mike-
You can get a much better quality entry-level bench chisel in the Masashige brand from Hida Tool with only a 2 or 3 day turnaround in shipping (as long as it’s in stock). I have a few of this brand and while they are not nearly the best chisels in my arsenal, the steel is of decent quality and they are not very expensive, so good to learn on.

[Jessica de Boer]

I have a Masashige usu-nomi and I use it a lot. It's finished very nicely, it sharpens easily and the edge retention is very good. I can recommend the brand.

[mike johnston]

Ok I now have my new masashige chisel, can anyone recommend a good sharpening video? I do have norton water stones. 1000, 4000, &8000. and veritas mk2 or 3 jig can’t remember. Also work sharp 3000. If any of that stuff will work. Did I mention I’m terrible at sharpening.
Thanks again everyone
Mike

[brian zawatsky]

Asking for sharpening advice on a hand tool forum is a bit like drinking from a firehose lol

I’ll try to be brief but thorough. Your water stone setup will be fine. Eventually you may want to add a diamond plate for initial flatttening of the back face & also for water stone flattening. It’s important to keep your stones flat, they will dish with use.

Because of the oire nomi’s tapered thickness, the MKII jig may not work well. You could try one of the side-clamp designs if you feel you need a jig. Freehand sharpening is a skill that I’m very happy I took the time to develop though, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend that you try to do the same.

When you flatten the back, you only really need to work the area in front of the hollow (ura in Japanese). When you work the bevel, take short strokes, it is easier to keep from rocking that way. Until you are more comfortable, taking long strokes will almost ensure that you end up with a rounded shape to your bevel. You want to avoid this under normal circumstances. A nice flat bevel is easier to maintain. One of the advantages to Japanese chisels is that no secondary bevel is necessary, which eliminates the need for a jig and simplifies the sharpening process.

[Jessica de Boer]

One of the advantages to Japanese chisels is that no secondary bevel is necessary, which eliminates the need for a jig and simplifies the sharpening process.

And you think this doesn't apply to a Western chisel? I wonder when, and more importantly who, decided a secondary bevel is needed. Could it be this allows certain companies to sell a sharpening jig...

[brian zawatsky]

And you think this doesn't apply to a Western chisel? I wonder when, and more importantly who, decided a secondary bevel is needed. Could it be this allows certain companies to sell a sharpening jig...

My western chisels are 01, so no, I’ve never used a secondary bevel on them. I do not sharpen with a jig. My plane irons do not get microbevels, which is why I dislike A2 for plane cutters. People with A2, D2, or HSS chisels may disagree with you since those alloys are much harder to sharpen hence the short-cut of a microbevel.

Mike, see what I mean? We’re one post in on your sharpening question and already I’ve pissed someone off hahaha

[John Schtrumpf]

Example basic sharpening method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhgzGI4vlkY

[Jim Koepke]

Example basic sharpening method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhgzGI4vlkY

A good video, even for someone who has done a lot of sharpening.

jtk

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

Whats that steel plate ? is it just mild steel ground flat ?

[Flamone LaChaud]

Whats that steel plate ? is it just mild steel ground flat ?
The kanban - an absolutely flat steel plate that serves the same purpose as a diamond stone as far as getting the back flat. Can be steel, some swear by cast iron. But you start with either the plate itself, or with your grit of choice (Silicon carbide) to aid in the flattening process.

[Jessica de Boer]

Can be steel, some swear by cast iron.

My dad has a thick cast iron plate that he uses with diamond paste. He's had it as long as I can remember.

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

Can any waterstone be used to create the slurry on a Kanban? From 240 grit to 8000?

[Flamone LaChaud]

In theory yes, if used dry. Wouldn't use water tho to make a true slurry. But mine is also not the only way of doing things . . .

[Lasse Hilbrandt]

One would think that using a plate like that with loose grits is going to wear on the plate too ?

[Mark Maleski]

My western chisels are 01, so no, I’ve never used a secondary bevel on them. I do not sharpen with a jig. My plane irons do not get microbevels, which is why I dislike A2 for plane cutters. People with A2, D2, or HSS chisels may disagree with you since those alloys are much harder to sharpen hence the short-cut of a microbevel.

my plane irons are A2 and I don’t microbevel. Can’t be bothered really, i’d rather just sharpen a little more often.

[Vincent Tai]

One would think that using a plate like that with loose grits is going to wear on the plate too ?

Lasse, that is indeed the case. This is true for all hand lapping plates. They need to be resurfaced, precision ground/hand-scraped etc. With other items one can minimize wear greatly by spreading the work around the plate but that is not the case with a chisel like in the video. Wear is not as fast as one would think, and especially so with finer grits. The instructor in the video recommends the slurry of stones over silicon abrasive powders because some coarseness issue; I would recommend to simply get the appropriate abrasive grit or compound for the plate. Coarseness is only a problem with coarse grits; the coarser grits also happen to be more easily obtainable; perhaps the reason why he thinks that the powders may leave scratches. With powders and compounds there is no scrubbing about with an abrasive stone on the plate with the powders and compound, and you can get a lot more powder or compound on to the plate which lets you work quicker. To get the equivalent amount of abrasives onto the plate with a water stone would take a bit of scrubbing about and promotes wear on the plate. Of course if one is a more casual user than this would matter a lot less. Also with care and a bit of spreading around the strokes the water stone may not wear the plate as much.