I have a nice set of western chisels but have been dissatisfied with how quickly the edge deforms when chopping, for example, dovetails. Japanese chisels are laminated with a layer of steel, which provides the edge, and a backing of iron or very low carbon steel (so low that it will not harden when heat treated). The heat treatment given to Japanese chisels produces a harder steel in the laminated blade. I’ve read the Rockwell hardness specifications of Japanese chisels but it’s hard to know what those extra few points on the Rockwell scale will mean when using Japanese chisels compared to good quality western chisels, such as the Two Cherries.

To get some “hands on” experience with Japanese chisels at a reasonable price, I purchased the set of ten chisels from Grizzly.
The chisels are marked in English measurements but they are definitely made as metric. When measuring the width of each of the chisels, the measurements were dead on on a metric scale. The set of chisels are 3mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, 21mm, 24mm, 30mm, and 36mm. While you can relate these measurements to English, they can be quite a bit off. For example, the 24mm is marked 1 inch, when a real 1 inch would be 25.4mm, a significant difference in my opinion. This is not a problem for me since all my western chisels are metric, also, so I prefer to stay with metric chisels.

The Grizzly chisels came sharpened at a 30 degree bevel and the backs were flattened. I polished the backs and honed the edges but I could have used the chisels right out of the box.

One thing I really appreciated is that the sides are ground straight and parallel. I use the Veritas MKII honing guide and it uses the side to align the chisel for sharpening.

Upon close examination, I can see a “line” at the top of the blade, just below the neck. This appears to be the line between the iron back and the steel, which means that the steel actually goes from the blade edge all the way to the top of the neck – the iron is just forged on to the blade portion of the chisel. Apparently, when the chisel is heat treated, the neck is annealed more than the blade area so that it is not as brittle (and not as hard) as the blade edge lamination.

I think this is opposite to the way older hand forged Japanese chisels were made. I believe that the iron went from the blade up to the end of the neck, and the steel was forged to the iron. This was probably because steel was a lot more expensive than wrought iron. This was a problem because the iron could not be too soft or the neck would bend in use. The technique used by Grizzly allows them to tailor the characteristics of the steel through the heat treatment to the needs of the various parts of the chisel.

The chisels come coated with lacquer which should be removed prior to sharpening.

I do not like the handles. The hoop is at the very top of the handle and is uncomfortable when pushing the chisel with your hand. A much better design would be like the Two Cherries chisels where the hoop is set lower on the handle and the wood is rounded on the end. It is much more comfortable in my hand. When I have time, I may make new handles for the chisels which are more comfortable.

(side note) Perhaps the reason for the hoops being that high on Japanese chisels is that metal (iron or steel) hammers are traditionally used with them. There’s no reason that a metal hammer has to be used (that I can see) so I could make handles like the Two Cherries and use a wooden mallet on them.

I’m working on some chairs in Pecan and used the chisels to shape tenons and to clean out mortises. I found that the chisels cut well and the edge held up longer than my western chisels. The edge still deforms but not as quickly as on my western chisels. Some people reported that they had problems with the edges chipping on their Japanese chisels. I did not experience any chipping in the work I’ve done so far. I cannot tell what the Rockwell hardness of the Grizzly chisels is, but I suspect that they may be a bit softer than other Japanese chisels. The edges, while harder than my western chisels, are not as hard as I expected. Grizzly may be tempering these chisels a bit softer to avoid the chipping problems as people experienced with western chisels move to the Grizzly Japanese chisels.

Summary

Except for the handles, I’m satisfied with the Grizzly chisels. They appear to be well made, the edge holds up longer than the edge on my western chisels, and I have not experienced any chipping of the edges. I think that once I get around to replacing the handles, I’ll be very satisfied with them.

Mike