LV japanese dovetail chisels

[jim hedgpeth]

I'm still procrastinating about some "Good" chisels. The wife has given me an "order" to find some good ones("Do I have to Dear?") so I'll stop grumbling at mine. My cheap stanleys (not old enough) take a good edge but dull as soon as they see wood. I have looked at the Matsumura cabinet chisels several times, and will probably go with them. I do wish he made a skew chisel to go with them though.

Now for the ???

Any body have these
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...72&cat=1,41504

Just wondering if they are tapered all the way to the sides, and if they are worth the $$.

Sounds kinda high to me considering these
http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept....&dept_id=12775

Thanks,
Jim

[Chris Friesen]

Chris Schwarz has a writup of a number of different chisels at http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/c...LN_chisel1.asp and you might want to check that out before buying. There was a relatively recent test in FWW as well.

Partly because I got a good deal on them I ended up getting a set of the Lie-Nielsen chisels with a single long handle for paring. Haven't had a chance to use them a lot yet, but so far I'm happy.

As for the LV ones you linked to, the sides do come down to a sharp edge (that's why they're advertised as dovetail chisels) and that style can be a bit tricky to use with a top-clamping guide because of the triangular shape.

You might take a look at the selection at Tools for Working Wood. They've got lots of different chisels available. The Blue Spruce chisels are amazing as well.

[Dave Schwarzkopf]

but I do own the LV set you linked to. They can be honed very easily, and mine retain their edges well, but they are not my go-to chisels. I much prefer my Barr's or Lie Nielsen's for daily use, but I hold the Japanese set in reserve for when I just want to mix things up. If you're stuck on Japanese styled chisels, you may want to read:

http://www.sauerandsteiner.com/archi...1_archive.html

If I were to get a Japanese set, I think these would be it. Before you mention it, I understand that I have a chisel problem, (and a plane problem, and a saw problem, did somebody mention a slope???) I'm actually expecting the new Blue Spruce set to arrive on Monday, If you're interested, I'll let you know how those hold up to the others

[Fred Krow]

My suggestion for dovetails is the Blue Spruce chisels.

http://www.bluesprucetoolworks.com/i...hisels_web.jpg

http://www.bluesprucetoolworks.com/c...listcategories


For the heavy duty work, I like the Matsumura Blue Steel bench chisels.

http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_...esechisels.htm

Regards,
FK

[Mike Henderson]

Japanese chisels have the advantage of being harder (generally) than western chisels so they may hold an edge longer. But I've used all kind of chisels to make dovetails and about the only difference is that some don't hold an edge as long as others. With dovetails, the thing that beats up the chisel is chopping out the wood. To make the edge last longer you can use a higher bevel angle for the chisel you use for chopping and a lower bevel angle for the chisel you use for paring to shape.

Mike

[Danny Burns]

Japanese chisels have the advantage of being harder (generally) than western chisels so they may hold an edge longer. But I've used all kind of chisels to make dovetails and about the only difference is that some don't hold an edge as long as others. With dovetails, the thing that beats up the chisel is chopping out the wood. To make the edge last longer you can use a higher bevel angle for the chisel you use for chopping and a lower bevel angle for the chisel you use for paring to shape.

Mike

Good advice! I'll second that!

Any of the chisels listed will do a way better job, than what you were using before.

I myself like the balance and feel of the Lie-Nielsen chisels.
The Blue Spruce are nice too, so you see it's a win win call for you!

[Phillip Pattee]

If you are looking for chisels that taper all the way so that there isn't a flat area on the side, well most chisels just don't taper that much. Not even the Japanese dovetail chisels. Blue Spruce and Ashley Iles MkII chisels come pretty close though.

I noticed that your order was for "some" good chisels. Is that a blank check?

[Jerry Gerard]

http://www.sauerandsteiner.com/archi...1_archive.html

If I were to get a Japanese set, I think these would be it.

Do you know who carries these Chuttaro Imai chisels ?

[Dave Schwarzkopf]

I'm trying not to laugh; I googled 'Chuttaro Imai' trying to find at least a website, unfortunately no prospects and my original post on this thread was the #6 hit. This does not bode well. If I were you I'd email Konrad and ask where he picked his up, while you are at it, if he happens to have any old beater planes of his lying about, I'll be happy to take them off of his hands!

[Wilbur Pan]

Do you know who carries these Chuttaro Imai chisels ?

Those chisels were called "sword steel chisels", and were carried by Misugi Designs back when they were in business. Imai also made a "regular" line of chisels which are just awesome. I have the regular line.

Hida Tool carries the regular Imai chisels, which are referred to as the "Fujihiro" brand chisels. You might try giving them a call to see if it's possible to order the sword steel chisels. Or you could get the regular ones. They really are great chisels.

[Pam Niedermayer]

You can get Imai chisels from Hida; but they're called Fujihiro. Also, you can probably get them from Iida in Japan. Also, So (Soatoz) can probably get them. The Hida version isn't the one Konrad has, although perhaps Hida can get them, which I'd bet he got from Misugi Designs, no longer in business.

However, I think Konrad is wrong about why they're called dovetail chisels. I think it's because they're shaped like dovetails, not that they're specially made for dovetail work.

Akio and Michio Tasai also make great chisels and are available from Tomohito Iida.

I'd also note that $70 per is not a high price for Japanese chisels, expect to pay more like $90 for the smaller chisels. This doesn't have to be a disaster on a limited budget, just get over buying sets, buy the one or two you need right now.

Pam

PS Sorry, Wilbur, didn't mean to copy your message, which wasn't there when I started my response

[David Gendron]

To my taste, I realy like the Blue Spruce chisels! The LN are ok but not the first one on my list. I have a friend that have the Barr one and just swear by them... Buy one of each brand of hight end chisel and you should have anought for a good set and more! That way you can chose the best one for you! I think it is like good saws these days, so many options in terms of hight quality saws that in the end it's a mather of persenal preferences!
Good luck with your "blank cheque"!

[Terry Beadle]

I vote with Pam. Anything below a $100 for a sword steel chisel is a real bargain. I say that with an ouch but followed by a quick smile when I reflect upon the performance of the 1/2 inch paring chisel. Even cocobolo submits.

I use my set of Ashley Islles set with a 35 degree micro bevel the most but I tackle tough paring jobs with the sword steel and the Blue Spruce. For the money, Blue Spruce comes closest to sword steel and delivers great performance for me. BS really gives you a great tool for the price.

I gifted my brother a LN A2 cryo and am waiting for a report from him.
( That's a hint Steve! )

What ever you pick of the sword steel, A2 LN - cryo or Blue Spruce non-cryo, or the Ashley Islles, they will work very well.

[jim hedgpeth]

OK guys I don't know about the whole blank check thing. More like make up my mind and we'll get them a couple at a time. I wish we had the money to just buy them all now.

So right now I am thinking start with the Blue Spruce dovetail chisels, for fine work. It sounds like they are the way to go for fine work, dovetails etc.

Continue using my Stanleys for chopping and other rough work until I can get a few Matsumura blue steel cabinet makers chisels.

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept....&dept_id=12775

From what I understand the Matsumura chisels can be pounded on (within reason) and hold their edge in hard or abrasive woods.

I'm not going to worry about a mortising chisel till I start doing more mortises.

Whats with all the skew chisels being 3/4 + 1". The only ones I seem to be finding in 1/4 - 3/8 are Blue Spruse. http://www.bluesprucetoolworks.com/c...ion&key=SK.250
And these Takahashi
http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/J!06.000.htm

The Blue Spruse are pretty, and pretty high for a "specialty" chisel I wouldn't use much. The Takahashi would be on the high end of my price range. Does anyone know if MHG, Two Cherries, or any in their $$ range make 1/4 - 3/8 skew chisels?
I will probably make a couple out of junk chisels I have around. My only concern is they wont hold an edge very well compaired to the new ones.

Thanks for the replies everybody,
Jim

[jim hedgpeth]

Just a crazy thought here, but if I make a handle why couldn't something like this be used as a skewed paring chisel?
http://www.japanwoodworker.com/produ...&dept_id=13219

Just a thought.

Jim