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Thread: Which style hammer do you prefer for Japanese chisels

  1. #16
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    Hello all,

    Tangential, but gennou have a relatively soft core smithed onto hardened faces. The result is a more solid feel and noticeably less bounce than a hammer with a solid head. While my Hiroki is one of my favorite tools, I suspect that any laminated gennou such as those sold by TFWW would work similarly. I have not had a chance to try a damura.

    Vince, that's a nice pair! Here is the pair I use, handled based on Stan's excellent set of posts. (240 g Hiroki and 375 g Tsuchime).
    IMG_1572.jpg
    "You can observe a lot just by watching."
    --Yogi Berra

  2. #17
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    Here's my favorite hammer some of my best work has been done with this one. Not sure who made it I bought it from Harrelson Stanley.
    I have a weakness for hammers probably because I was a roofer.Even though I have lots too choose from I still look at new ones when I go to a new hardware store.
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    Aj

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Christopher Charles View Post
    Hello all,

    Tangential, but gennou have a relatively soft core smithed onto hardened faces. The result is a more solid feel and noticeably less bounce than a hammer with a solid head. While my Hiroki is one of my favorite tools, I suspect that any laminated gennou such as those sold by TFWW would work similarly. I have not had a chance to try a damura.

    Vince, that's a nice pair! Here is the pair I use, handled based on Stan's excellent set of posts. (240 g Hiroki and 375 g Tsuchime).
    IMG_1572.jpg
    Chris, you have an even nicer pair! Mines are a differentially hardened solid head, I've always wanted to try a laminated one. I hope to make a few laminated gennou someday but acquiring (and cheaper believe it or not) a Hiroki might be an easier task then me finally setting up a proper forge. I just got a smithing gennou head in from So Yamashita (Japan-Tool) which is also differently hardened. I can almost envision the day this solid gennou forges out a laminated one. Then I remember I'm broke and need to start saving for post secondary.

  4. #19
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    F7A27BFF-933F-4A5B-8EA6-7F3F3648EB69.jpg

    Here are the three I have. The middle one is a Hiroki 300g, which was a size Stanley recomended at some point. The difference in the Hiroki is most noticeable when you feel the precise work in the hole in the head. You will learn to covet the precise work on the hole when you start trying to fit a handle. The handles on mine were made from fruit wood cuttings. Making ones own handle is an important part of the puzzle with these hammers. I am still working on my handle making skills. Getting a handle to fit the first time is the challenge.

    I believe the Daruma shaped heads are more popular for heavier/rougher work. I bought the smaller Daruma before I figured that out. One side of most of these heads is convex, for setting nails. The flat side is more typically used for driving chisels. Some people like much heavier heads for driving larger or mortising chisels, some don’t.
    Last edited by Mike Holbrook; 06-09-2018 at 10:26 AM.

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