Tokyo - where to purchase good chisels and knives

[Frank Martin]

My wife will be in Tokyo for about 10 days for work. I would like to get a few good chisels and couple chef knives. I have several Koyamaichi chisels (oire nomi) that I like and looking to get chisels that are even better. Have no experience with Japanese knives. Looking for something better than Wusthof and Cutco. As for price range; around $100-$150 per chisel or per knife, could go a little higher for the knives.

Big question is where to purchase them. I searched prior posts on this, Tokyu Hands come up, but from what I understand they carry lower quality (equivalent of big box store items here). Any suggestions on where my wife can go to purchase these items in or around Tokyo.

[Scott Winners]

If you have a local Sur le Table or Williams Sonoma you might try the Global kitchen knives. If we were Lord of the Ring characters I am an orc and I love my Cutco, my elfen wife likes Sabbatier. It is a situation where we are both correct.

From the small amount of shopping I have done the really good bladesmiths in Japan are backordered for years and don't need a showroom.

Good luck and best wishes.

[Richard Coers]

I think it's pretty well known that it's easier to buy Japanese woodworking tools in the United States than in Japan. Especially if they get confiscated at the airport!

[David Bassett]

Can't speak to chisels or shopping in Tokyo. But given your location and interested in Japanese knives, you should check out Japanese Knife Imports (https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/). They know and work with different smiths for knives they stock. The range is from high end knives down to more affordable knives they spec and sell under their own brand. Specifically, in your price range, they have their Gesshin Stainless 210mm Wa-Gyuto. It is a classic Gyuto profile in a modern steel that is easy to use and maintain. From the reviews, I'm not the only one to feel it's a perfect intro to Japanese chef's knives.

Good luck with Tokyo stores, I'll be watching this thread in case I ever make it that way.

[Frederick Skelly]

This is not what you asked, but it may be useful. If your wife doesn't find the chisels you want "in person" while in Tokyo, you could place an order with Stan Covington and have them shipped here. Stan is very knowledgeable and contributed many excellent threads here. You can search in the archives for examples. He's at covingtonandsons.com. He has a good reputation as a seller too.

I have no affiliation with them - just passing on a possible mail order source.

[chuck van dyck]

There’s a department store called Tokyo Hands in Shinjuku. I believe the second floor was the hardware store floor. I don’t think it is the nicest stuff ever, but there will be a huge selection of Japanese woodworking tools you won’t see here. It would probably even be worth asking if they knew of a more specialized woodworking store. You could also try calling Hida or Suzuki Tool(both based in Berkeley). They might point you in the right direction. Emailing someone at Kez would probably be fruitful as well.
If your wife is anything like mine, she will enjoy the 8 or 9 floors of shopping.

[Tom M King]

I have a Scientist friend that traveled to Japan a bunch of times coordinating their space program. I had him do some shopping for me, but we found the prices to be the same there as the same thing was sold for here. After a couple of stops, I told him not to bother.

[Howard Pollack]

I've not been to Tokyo, but look at https://kurashigetools.com/ (Japanese website- use Google translate or something similar) enjoys a very fine reputation. The shop is in Tokyo. -Howard

[Tom Vanzant]

Frank, Williams Sonoma handles several brands of Japanese knives. My niece’s husband swears by his Shun knives.

[Frank Martin]

Sounds like I should just purchase them here in the US. I heard about Stan before. I will probably try that route.
Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Luke Dupont]

I live in Japan, and I own a bunch of cheapish Japanese tools from places like Tokyu Hands and even the various Home Centers (Japanese BORGs) here.

A few thoughts and observations:
- Many of the cheapish Japanese tools, by which I mean, lower end, are still quite decent quality--just avoid the really silly stuff such as replaceable blade planes and chisels (!!!!!)
- Tokyu Hands actually carries some nice Japanese tools and cutlery sometimes, especially the store in Shibuya, and to some degree, the one in Shinjuku also. I've seen hand forged Nata, carving tools, and even planes and chisels a few times, especially in the Shibuya store.
- These stores can be extremely fun to just browse and look around in.

I often buy vintage Japanese tools on Yahoo Auctions (Japan's version of ebay, basically) for cheap.

If you are looking for really nice tools and want to be assured of quality, though, I'd contact Stan Covington. One day, I'll get him to point me to some really nice tools, but my budget (along with the free time that is actually available to commit to my hobby to make it a worthwhile investment) will not allow that for some time yet to come.

[Luke Dupont]

Sorry, I wanted to add...

I've been to one extremely nice cutlery shop which sold everything from kitchen knives to razors, nata, and Jnats...

Everything they sold was extremely high quality, and with price tags to match. They seemed to be professional sharpeners (togi-shi) and I watched and spoke with the guy sharpening knives at the time, and asked a few questions about jnats and sharpening.

I just don't remember where it was! It was in a more traditional part of town with many old shops, but not overtly touristy. If I remember, I'll let you know. There are definitely nice shops worth your time though. I'd like to find more of these myself.

[rick sizemore]

Many years ago, I purchased several handmade chisels and saws from this small woodworking store.
It can be puzzle to find (as everything is in Tokyo)
4th generation owner, 100+ year old store...definitely an experience.
Can be found on google maps.

Inoue Hamono
3 Chome-17-8 Tatekawa, Sumida city, Tokyo 130-0023
81 3-3631-4264

[Frank Martin]

Luke, Rick, thanks for the suggestions. I will have my wife take a chance with these options. At least Tokyu Hands should be an easy shopping experience. The things is she won’t be able to tell mediocre from good when it comes to chisels or other woodworking tools. So, we will go with price and hope higher price means better quality.

[Rafael Herrera]

You could try to contact them in advance. In some instances fanciful sets are marketed to western buyers and not necessarily what typical Japanese cabinet maker uses.

[Michael Bulatowicz]

Buying on price, I’d suggest the following selection criteria for tools (I know very little about Japanese knives, though I would speculate that the same principles likely apply):

1. Plain rather than decorative tools; the artistic finishes can add a lot to cost without making a tool any better from a functional standpoint. Tools that look unremarkable but cost more are more likely to be excellent quality from a standpoint of being able to take and hold an extremely sharp edge while being easy to sharpen and from a standpoint of avoiding any tendency to chip in use. The reasoning is that a smith can only command a higher price for a plain-looking tool if the quality will support the price; otherwise, customers will go elsewhere.

2. Hitachi White Paper steel #1 or #2, or Swedish steel. There are other options, but these appear to be the best for price/quality ratio.

According to what I have read, tamahagane (“sword steel”) can also be excellent and rival the Hitachi white steel, but the price for a particular quality level is higher. I have no personal experience with tamahagane, however, nor have I pursued any purchase of tamahagane chisels.

Blue steel, according to knowledgeable people with a great deal of experience (Stan Covington is one example), neither takes nor holds its edge as well as white, and is more effort to sharpen thanks to abrasion resistance from the chromium and tungsten carbides—doesn’t sound like my kind of chisel, so I never purchased any. I therefore have no personal experience with Hitachi blue steel, but I do very much like the white #1 and #2.

I put excellent-quality #1 slightly ahead of excellent-quality #2 based on my seven white #1 chisels purchased from Stan Covington, my three Koyamaichi white #2 chisels, and my one Iyoroi white #2 chisel. Clearly a limited sample size, so take that as you will.

From what I have read, the “Swedish steel” Japanese chisels are very similar metallurgically and performance-wise to Hitachi white, but again no personal experience.

I also have no experience with any “special alloy” chisels, nor do I have any knowledge of what the steel composition or in-use characteristics might be. I also have no knowledge about the price/quality ratio.

Unless you’re doing rough work that includes abrasives in the wood and possible nails, I’d also suggest avoiding the high speed steel chisels; again, no personal experience, but knowledgeable people with experience using such chisels seem to agree that they take quite a bit of extra effort to sharpen and don’t get as sharp (but will take abuse better, such as cutting through nails without taking major damage).

I hope this helps.

[Michael Bulatowicz]

(snip)

P. S. Stan Covington retired from tool dealing years ago.

Are you sure? He has recently posted blog entries about new tools available, and his price list for hantatakinomi (for example) was last updated in April of this year. That doesn’t look like the behavior of someone no longer selling tools.

[Rafael Herrera]

Are you sure?

I recall seeing a post on his website about shutting down his business. Perhaps I'm confusing him with another dealer in Japan that closed his business. I'll amend my post.

[Michael Bulatowicz]

You might be thinking of Stu Tierny (sp?), proprietor of Tools from Japan. He did indeed stop selling tools years ago.

[Rafael Herrera]

That's the guy I was thinking about. Thank you.

[Andrew Hughes]

I have bought my Japanese chisels one and two at a time over the years. I’m fairly confident I won’t need to buy anymore
im also sure I cannot afford to.
I would like to share my experience with Japanese chisels. It’s not just the type of steel thats important. The shape of the back or work that’s needed to get the chisel ready to work.
Ive bought several that took a lot of work in the back and lost a lot of the hollow or the hard steel. But they were cheap.
Dont see much of a difference between white or blue steel.
The main difference is bevel be right angle for the wood. As in hard wood or soft fibers.
Here a pic of good chisel that holds a edge and took very little work on the back. Full hollow.
My favorite mortise chisel.

[Edwin Santos]

Tokyu Hands is a great store to visit and browse, but keep in mind it is an "everything" type store so if high quality artisan tools is what you seek, it's not the right place but still worth a visit.

Hamono Inoue is a very good little store, and Mr. Inoue is a very nice man. It's a bit out of the way, a short walk from a subway station called Kikukawa. In case your wife is a coffee aficionado, there's a coffee shop next to the station that makes smoked coffee which was something new to me.

But all this said, I think you would be best served by contacting Stan Covington. His relationships are direct with the blacksmiths, and he will do his best to match your goals and budget with the right tools. The artisan tool market even in Tokyo is not very accessible or apparent. It seems to be a relationship network that ultimately leads back to the blacksmiths in two different toolmaking towns well outside Tokyo. Now that Stu Tierney is unavailable, Stan is your most practical way into that network.

Regarding kitchen knives, I have been very impressed with the Japanese Shun knives that are available in the US. Williams Sonoma has their own signature line of Shun and the regular Shun line is available from lots of retailers both online and brick/mortar. I sharpen mine on a Tormek and they hold a razor sharp edge for what seems like forever. For a step up, there is a place called Korin in NYC with a good online presence that you can check out also.
But if your wife is interested in an experience, there is a street in Tokyo called Kappabashi street, and it is lined with kitchen supply stores. Some of them deal in knives with glass cases and guys at the counter that have probably forgotten more about kitchen knives than I will ever know. Language could be a barrier, but if you were truly after something special, that's where you'd find it. Kappabashi is a short walk from Asukusa which is a major tourist site and temple complex, which may be somewhere she might be going anyway.

[Luke Dupont]

I have bought my Japanese chisels one and two at a time over the years. I’m fairly confident I won’t need to buy anymore
im also sure I cannot afford to.
I would like to share my experience with Japanese chisels. It’s not just the type of steel thats important. The shape of the back or work that’s needed to get the chisel ready to work.
Ive bought several that took a lot of work in the back and lost a lot of the hollow or the hard steel. But they were cheap.
Dont see much of a difference between white or blue steel.
The main difference is bevel be right angle for the wood. As in hard wood or soft fibers.
Here a pic of good chisel that holds a edge and took very little work on the back. Full hollow.
My favorite mortise chisel.


Beautiful chisel.

I agree, cheap Japanese chisels often need a lot of work to get the backs flat, and you wind up removing a lot of the hollow. Some are better than others.

That's a common issue with any cheap chisel, of course -- it's just more of an issue with Japanese chisels considering the super hard laminated steel on the back.

[Lewis Justis]

I was in Tsubame Sanjo about 20 years ago, and it is a town known for cutlery and woodworking chisels. I saw some unbelievable tools at a shop my Japanese host took me to visit. It is a couple of hours trip from Tokyo on the Shinkanen. Maybe a nice day trip for you.

[Frank Martin]

Thank you for all the suggestions. My wife will be going to Kappabashi street this weekend to look for knives. We will see how that goes...