Japanese Chisels

[Jondale]

I am looking to purchase some japanese chisels and I noticed at woodcraft they have a set of 4 (6,12,18,24mm sizes) for around what I'm looking to spend on them.

Has anyone had experience with these chisels from woodcraft?
Here is a link to them

I'm looking to start off with around 4 and would like to stay around the $100 mark but could go a bit over if needed.

Is there a better set of chisels for around the same price? Would I be better suited to just hold off until I can afford a set of chisels from one of the big japanese family names?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

[Dario]

What will you use them for?

I've seen some descent chisels by Buck Bros, Stanley, Marples, etc...that will do almost anything for a lot less.

Dario :)
Innovate or Stagnate
"I count my blessings more than my misfortunes"

[Jondale]

Yeah I have some stanley chisels. I am looking to get something a little better quality that will hopefully hold an edge longer.

The reason I want japanese chisels I guess is mainly for aethetics. I really prefer the way they look as compared to a western chisel.

It's mostly a want .. a little self indulgance.

[Cactuskid]

I have a set of chisels like that from Japanesetools.com I love them for detail joinery like handcut dovetails, the steel holds a sharp edge better than western chisels, but still use my two cherrys chisels for most work..:)

[Steve Wilson]

Give Harelson Stanley at www.japanesetools.com a call and tell him what you're looking for. I have some japanese bench chisels to compliment the Two Cherries and Lie Nielsen chisels that I use but I really like the speciality chisels from japan for triming and fiting joints. Harelson caries chisels at a wide variety of price points but they are all very good chisels.

[rhull]

You've probably already seen this company; they have a large selection of chisels:

http://www.japanwoodworker.com

[Jondale]

A man could lose his retirement playing on those sites too long. The japanwoodworker.com site has some cheap chisels that compare in price to the woodcraft ones. They seem to be white steel unbranded(store branded) chisels just like the woodcraft ones too. The pictures on both show them to be darker unpolished (forged to shape and therefore better). I know of no other factors to check other than I can drive down to Woodcraft and feel a set of their chisels whereas that's not possible with the ones off the site. Do you know of anything I'm not considering?

The other site doesn't have any cheap chisels listed on their site. If I were to call Harelson Stanley would they have a cheaper set not listed?

[Limey]

To avoid disappointment do bear in mind that the reason that a Japanese chisel holds it's edge better is because the the steel has been hardened to a higher rockwell number.
They are therefore much more liable to chip if they are used on hard woods (rather than hardwoods :)) unless they are the true laminated types which cost a king's ransom. Even then I've heard of time spent re-grinding being longer than actual use.

But if it's a self indulgence than I guess it's not important.

Limey

[Dario]

Yep, the laminated steel, I think we call them Damascus steel here are super expensive. And if you are not careful you may get one that is not properly done anyway.

I can relate with the aesthetics thing...I am sucker for those too. One day, I will own one of those damascus samurai/katana ;).

Dario :)
Innovate or Stagnate
"I count my blessings more than my misfortunes"

[Steve Wilson]

Harelson has a bunch of chisels not on or at least not easily found on his site that are quite a bit less expensive than what you probably saw; many in the $25-$50 range which is more in line with what you're looking at. IMHO his site is rather poorly organized and you have to hunt a bit to find the lower priced chisels he carries. If you know the Japanese terms for various tools it's easier to find. Having said that, Harelson is a great guy to do business with and he is very knowledgeable and passionate about Japanese tools. He won’t try to sell you a bunch of chisels, just enough to meet your specific requirements, and the ones he recomends will probably be the least expensive he caries. I purchased some rather expensive bench chisels from him mainly because of the craftsmanship and art reflected in the tools – these I rarely use (although they do get used). I also purchased some very fairly priced chisels to meet specific needs like cleaning up dovetails, shaving tenons, some end grain work and these chisels get used on almost every project and are better at many tasks than hand planes. You have nothing to loose by talking to him and you will learn a lot.