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Has anyone here ever heard of a chisel maker by the name of Musaku? I saw in another thread here which listed other well known Japanese tool makers there was a plane smith with a very similar name. I wonder if he is the one who also maybe makes nomi too. I am looking at a set of timber chisels made by this maker, Musaku, very big and beautiful tools. thanks
Hi planebill,
I haven't heard of this maker/brand. I would guess its not the same as the kanna smith "Mosaku - Kikuo Kanda", but that's not definitive by any means. I just haven't heard or or seen any nomi by Mosaku.
I know the nomi you are referring to (having seen the place where they are for sale). Sounds like a good price - you might offer less. They look like they are soundly constructed, so should function well. If they were made by someone with the stature of Mosaku, I think would command a higher price.
If Schtoo is listening in, any ideas on who "Musaku" might be.?
Steve
Ditto, but that means nothing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheets
If would be disinclined to fork out for a set of nomi before knowing what I was getting. In the absence of reliable advice on a maker, I'd try to buy just one to test before buying more. If that wasn't possible I'd pass. There are many other makers, although not all make the bigger ones.
Also, depending on how much large work you do, you may manage with just one heavy duty medium width chisel (eg 24 or 30mm). You can always cut larger width joints with a smaller chisel. In which case you could spend the money getting known quality.
Another thought, have you considered HSS chisels (Japanese or Western) for heavy duty work?
Neil
I didn't get back to you in your email about these, and I've got a few spare seconds (kind of) so here we go.Quote:
Originally Posted by planebill
The only reference I can find on the interweb on these is on a well known auction site. Nothing here in Japan, nothing elsewhere.
The chisels on the 'WKAS' appear to be superficially decent at least.
I saw them last night at o-dark-thirty, and am not going to look at them again, so here's what I remember.
The handles are good, cored white oak is great for chisels you need to beat the stuffing out of. However the finish on them appears to be factory and not great. Even cheap chisels usually have few scratches like that. I can only hope the current owner did that, but it appears to be done while on the lathe, saying 'factory'.
The hoops, no comment. They look kind of OK, and kind of familiar. Nothing to get excited about. (I've got bags that look the same, they're cheap and effective.)
The neck says it's a Miki chisel, the smoothed out socket-neck is a Miki area style. Distinctly separate is usually Kanto ad Niigata/Sanjo.
The steel looks ok. Not that great, but reasonable and acceptable and the black back is a nice touch, not done by cheap-o makers and the overall grinding looked good too..
The iron backing appeared to be quite good, nothing untoward.
Branding appeared to be that of a distributor, not a maker, which means I think I know who actually made the chisels. If so, they'll be pretty good. Not great, not top shelf, but dependable if, and only if, they were actually made by who I think made them.
The elephant in the room? We don't know how good the steel actually is. As they're *ghosts*, there's no base of reference to work from, so you're taking a huge risk. They might be pure gold and lovely, but they might not be as well.
I also noted a lot of the chisels from that seller appear to be used hard, if not abused hard. Not inspiring, but the brands on some of the other chisels was accurate and correct.
You can take that with a grain of salt, and that's ok. But at the same time I've seen and handled a lot of chisels and I like to think I've got some feel for what's good, proper and decent and what is not. My general feeling with these chisels is that they should be alright, but they should also be dirt cheap because they're *ghosts*, and if they do happen to be dogs, at least you didn't pay that much for them, and they'll still be serviceable for some classes of work.
Stu.
*Ghost? My own term for Japanese tools that appear to be all in order, but there's no information about where they came from readily available, and they're not able to be bought without significant effort here in Japan.
Thanks everyone. I just cant chance it. I guess I work too hard for my money and think I'll just go with the koyamaichi from Stu. No, I haven't forgotten about your help and am still looking at them though am pretty sure Ive decided on the ones you've listed recently on your site. Just determining which sizes to start with. I was sort of waiting to see the larger ones listed but am pretty sure these are what Im after. As I explained to Stuart I work on large wooden vessels(ships) so do do mostly large scale work, at work, but at home mostly do work like everyone else, regular sized projects and have my trusty old stanleys for most of that. I really like how Stu puts things and that is why I think I'll follow his advice, especially since I really don't know much at all, well, nothing, about Jchisels. I do appreciate everyones help though.