Woodworking chisels (Nomi) from Japan are a fine example of the rich heritage of toolmaking and design that has existed in Japan for centuries. They are beautiful chisels to use. Nothing compares with their razor sharp edge for fine paring work, especially on endgrain. With a little understanding and care they will serve you well and make your woodworking even more gratifying.

According to Toshio Odate’s book, ‘Japanese Woodworking Tools’, towards the end of the nineteenth century, some of the blacksmiths who made their living forging the highly prized swords and spears for the Samurai warrior class, were forced to turn to making chisels and plane irons after the Emperor Meiji abolished the Samurai and their right to carry a katana (sword) in public. This left the blacksmiths unable to make their living as they had for centuries.

These highly respected craftsmen or shokunin were able to apply their discipline and expertise to the making of fine woodworking tools and knives. The Japanese chisels that you can buy today still emanate the principles of respect for craft and material, displayed by those shokunin.

Japanese chisels are almost always made with laminated steel, the bottom layer that forms the cutting edge is high carbon steel. This layer is very hard and has excellent edge holding properties. The top layer of softer, more malleable, low carbon steel is forge-welded to the harder steel, it’s designed to absorb the shock of mallet blows and give support to the more brittle cutting edge. It is this layer that forms the tang of the chisel that houses the wooden handle.

One of the most distinctive features of these chisels is the hollow ground fluting on the back. This is designed to reduce the surface area of the very hard steel to make flattening the back of the chisel a much easier job. A flat surface at the back of the bevel is essential for absolute sharpness. On very wide chisels it’s possible to have several hollows or flutes.

A commonly asked question is, “what happens when you sharpen the chisel all the way to the indentation of the flutes? is the chisel ruined?”

The answer is that it won’t be, if you hone the bevel and the back of the chisel at the same rate. The flutes will recede up along the blade as you hone.

The best way to maintain your chisels is to use Japanese waterstones (see Focus Edition 7). It isn’t recommended that you dry-grind the bevels of Japanese chisels. If you do need to grind to remove nicks or chips, from the edge, a whetstone grinder (water cooled, slow speed) is best.

There are several different styles of Japanese chisels and using the right chisel for the job is very important. They also vary in quality from the standard Oire Nomi with Red Oak handles to the exquisite set of Suminagashi Chisels with Sandlewood handles. These tools are works of art. The backing steel is repeatedly folded and hammered in the tradition of the Samurai sword. The steel is then acid etched to reveal the numerous layers giving the finish a marbled effect. Only a select group of shokunin are proficient in this highly skilled technique.

There is an extraordinary range of different chisel styles, some are so specialised that it would be difficult to find a use for them in conventional woodworking. There are many that are designed for specific trades such as boat building or Shoji making.

Generally the chisels are divided into two categories; striking chisels that have a steel hoop or ferrule around the top of the handle and paring chisels - these usually have longer handles and thinner blades for more delicate finishing work. Dovetail chisels ( Umeki-nomi) fall into this category and have become very popular with those western woodworkers who prefer to cut their dovetails by hand. The sides at the back of the chisel are bevelled to meet in the middle allowing plenty of clearance for paring between fine dovetails.

Paring chisels are enormously useful when fine adjustment to joinery is needed. You can achieve a high level of control of shaving thickness, this is great when you are fitting tenons to mortises or adjusting the fit of housing joints.

The hooped chisels often have shorter stronger blades - these include Mortise chisels (Mukomachi-nomi) which have a very thick blade to give strength and also act as a guide to control the straightness of the cut.

Probably the most commonly used and versatile Japanese chisels are the Butt chisel (Oire-nomi) or its longer version, the Bevel-edge chisel (Chu-Usu-nomi). These are used for general woodworking; they can be bought individually or are available in sets. Widths range from 3mm to 36mm in the Butt chisels and 6mm to 36mm in the Bevel-edge.

The hoops or ferrules are traditionally not fitted to the handles, they are in place but if you don’t fit them properly they will fall off with use and changes in humidity;

1. To set up your chisel remove the hoop, it may need a bit of persuasion with a small hammer if it’s on a bit tight.

2. Using the hammer, compress the fibres on the end of the chisel handle by tapping it all around the area that the hoop sits on.

3.Using a small round file or sandpaper, remove any sharp edges on the inside of the hoop.

4. Place the hoop back onto the chisel handle and tap it lightly into place. You will want a small amount of wood showing over the edge of the hoop. Rest the tip of the chisel on a piece of wood when you do this, don’t clamp it as you may loosen the whole handle in the socket of the chisel.

5.Soak the hooped end in a shallow container of water to swell the fibres back out. This may take 15 minutes or so. Try not to get water on the rest of the handle.

6.Using a small hammer ‘mushroom’ the edges of the timber over the hoop. This will keep it in place. There is no need to use any glue or adhesives of any kind.

If set-up properly and maintained well, Japanese chisels will serve you well for a lifetime of woodworking, their style and feel evoke a feeling of fine craftsmanship and encourage you to do justice to the tradition that created them.

For more detailed information on Japanese Chisels, I highly recommend Toshio Odates Book – Japanese Woodworking tools- Their tradition, Spirit and Use.

Japanese Suminagashi Chisel Set - 11 Piece

Japanese Chisel Set of 5