Is this a defective chisel ?

[Bruce Gray]

I purchased this Japanese style chisel from Lee Valley, and I am questioning if it has a defect. It appears to have a crack in the area of the socket. I am not at all familiar with this style of chisel, and how it's manufactured, so it's possible that this is normal.

Any insight please ?

Bruce

9769197692

[Mike Henderson]

Nope, that's the way they're made. The part above the line is a ferrule that holds the bottom of the handle together. The part below the line is a bolster that the handle rides against. There's a tang in the middle of the bottom that goes up into the handle.

Just the way Japanese chisels are made.

Mike

[Wilbur Pan]

A Japanese chisel has a tang on the handle end of the blade, and a ferrule that sits over the end of the handle which effectively "converts" it into a socket chisel with a tang. What you are seeing is the line between the blade of the chisel and the ferrule.

Here's a picture of some Japanese chisels where you can clearly see the line between where the blade stops (silver metal) and the ferrule starts (darker metal).

[James White]

Wilbur,

Those are some beautiful chisels. I would have to say they are a work of art. Are they yours? If so, how much were they?

I recently purchased the Japanese set from Grizzly. The ones that FWW recommended in there recent chisel test. I was a little disappointed to see that the hollowed out area on the back of the blade comes within a 1/16" of the cutting edge. I would think that you are very limited on how many times you can resharpen them. Am I wrong about that?

James

[Barry Vabeach]

James, I am not familiar with the Grizzly, but with traditional Japanese chisels, the hollow is tapered as it goes deeper into the back, thus as you flatten the back, the hollow eventually gets smaller and futher from the edge. So 1/16 is as close to the edge as it will get - plus, the steel is very hard - wait till you try sharpening it - you won't have to worry about the hollow. If you do have to regrind it at some point, there is a procedure called tapping out - that enables you to flatten the hollow if needed - but don't worry about it now.

[James White]

Thank you Barry. That makes me feel better about my purchase.

By the way they did not come sharp enough to shave with. Well you could if you wanted to risk bleeding from exerting more pressure than you normally would when a tool is actually sharp. However I don't mind that at all. Ill get them plenty sharp before testing them out.

James

[Wilbur Pan]

You can tap out the hollow, but for Japanese chisels it's much easier just to work on the back side with your favorite sharpening system. As you go through the back flattening process, you'll increase the flat area behind the edge, moving the hollow area back.

The hollow looks to be much deeper than it really is. My guess is that if you check the depth of the hollow, you'll find it to be on the order of 1/64" or so. But it's enough to make the back flattening process a lot easier than if it were completely flat.

BTW, those chisels aren't mine -- it's just a picture I found to illustrate what I was talking about. My chisels are the Fujihiro brand from Imai, available at Hida Tool. They aren't fancy looking, but they take an incredibly sharp edge, and they hold up just great. No worries about chipping, even in hardwoods.