Japanese chisels: the old and the new

[Adriaan Schepel]

Hey there.

I have recently acquired samples of both new and old Japanese chisels.

It doesn't seem that difficult to get opinions on what is good (or not so good!) in the world of currently-manufactured Japanese chisels. My newer ones are not top-of-the-line, and I knew when I bought them that for the money I wasn't going to get Tasai!

Although this discussion on quality appears to be alive and well concerning new Japanese chisels, it seems that there's not much discussion at all on the old stuff (or have I missed something?).

Granted, of course, that all the maker's marks etc are in Japanese, which few of us read. Possible also, I suppose, that with a long history and thousands of smithys (small and large), one may not even be able to find out much about the maker anyway!

I am curious, however. The old Japanese chisels I've bought all appear to be wonderful quality. Has anyone had a bad experience with an old Japanese chisel? Or would you regard them to be of general (and I stress that word) better quality than today's mass-produced versions, and possibly as good as your Matsumuras etc.?

My curiosity also boils down to an economic question: if you're only willing to shell out $100 to buy some Japanese chisels what do you buy? New and cheap (but almost ready to go)? Or old and cheap (but potentially with some cleaning up to do)?

I often hear woodworkers telling their friends to buy old Western chisels, and not the new Western ones, but I can't say I've heard the same about the Japanese stuff. Is that just because it's terra incognito to many of us? It would be fascinating to know if Japanese woodworkers have the same discussions among themselves about what's good in the old and new of their chisels as we do about their Western equivalents!

So many questions!
Adriaan

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hi Adriaan

I'm in Japan, and I have primarily old Japanese chisels, and I find them a great value and I've not had one bad one yet, a few older Japanese plane irons I was not able to save, but chisels, well, I have some stubby ones that work very well.

I think that outside of Japan, you might find it hard to find older Japanese chisels, where as older western styled ones are not as hard to get. Here in Japan, except for a small number of people, the guy on the street would want new ones, just the way the consumer driven economy has gone here, IMHO.

"Don't fix it, toss it and buy a new one" seems too often to carry the day. I'd also say that there is truly a real lack of people getting into the trades here, so much so, that I often go by construction sites, and the true craftsmen are all over 60, the guys who run the diggers or drive the trucks, they are all young guys, but the guy with the nice set of tools and the know how to use them are all over 60.

Some pics of my older Japanese chisels....




This one is a stubby, but it still works great........


Cheers!