Homemade Chisel: East meets West

[Green Woodchips]

Hey all.

Last week I noticed Jake's thread under 'Hand Tools and Machinery' about giving a Western chisel a Japanese ura (hollow on the back of the blade) to speed up flattening.

It has inspired me to post some pics of a chisel I made about 3-4 months ago. I bought a large half-round file which I annealed and used as tool steel to make a few bits from.

One of those 'bits' is shown below. It's a kind of 'East meets West' chisel. The cutting edge is about 35mm wide, and overall length about 200mm. It's hefty and nice to use. The handle is stained beech. Ferrules are copper pipe; bolster is a thick washer.

I ground the ura using my cheap little angle grinder. It is surprisingly smooth (more than it looks in the pics) and I was very pleased with the result.

There is a split in the handle but this was remedied with a good dose of epoxy, and the addition of the bolster (which I thought I could bypass - a naughty and ultimately unsuccessful shortcut).

Hope you like its lines.

Cheers,
GW

[Andy Mac]

Hi GW,
I do like the lines, a very sweet little thing!:D Makes it easier to flatten the back with that hollow grind.
Thanks for posting the pic:)

Cheers,

[JDarvall]

turnin japanesea, I'm turning japanesa. yes I think so.:D

Looks good mate. Do like that rounded over look in that first picture. I generally like the shorter chisels too.

I wouldn't have the dish as close to the edge as you've got it there, but I'm sure you know what your doing. In fact I think I put the dish in mine too close....uno, cause you do most of your grinding at the bevel not the back. ..... but we've all got our own ways eh.

Thanks for the pictures. Always good to see what others are doing. :)

[Clinton1]

nice one.
Why did you go with a short stubby one? Just something you like, or do you like them short for a particular use?

[Green Woodchips]

Thanks for the comments, fellas.

Andy - cute but deadly. Like my young son, really. Especially when you open his nappies!

Jake - yes, it is close to the front edge, but traditionally in Japanese chisels you can have the ura quite close to the cut. It is probably a smidge too close for my liking, but getting it back takes flattening!

Clinton - no special reason for being stumpy, except that most oire nomi are the equivalents of Western butt chisels. I also wanted a chisel I could really smash around with plenty of heft and no risk of bending.

Cheers,
GW

[BobL]

Nice work GW, it does look very cute. I have a couple of broken half-rounders - now I know what to do with them! Thanks

[JDarvall]

Thanks for the comments, fellas.


Jake - yes, it is close to the front edge, but traditionally in Japanese chisels you can have the ura quite close to the cut. It is probably a smidge too close for my liking, but getting it back takes flattening!



yeh, I know what you mean......easily fixed and all ... and never a big deal..... just my personal concern with my chisels are , that if the dish is too deep or close, then that may mean lots and lots of flatterning.......which means you'll probably be saying goodbye to that backs shinny finish when you bring out the coarse grit again.....

Also, if there isn't much meat behind the edge before you hit the dish, then, the chisel won't perform as well, when your cutting with one side off the blade out the edge of your timber......if that makes sense......uno, when the other corner of the blade is not in the wood....anyway doesn't matter. Like your blade.