Re: Japanese Chisels
Scott McIndoo
>Japanese chisels are desgined with the hollow on the back to make it easier to flatten the back to create a perfect straight line on the bevel edge, as opposed to western chisels which have a "full" back which is painstakingly flattened when sharpening, resulting in a lot of material removal and wear on the stone.
Don't tap out the back, as you will uselessly remove material prematurely. Every time you flatten the back of the chisel (usually whenever you sharpen) you decrease the depth of the hollow, but the portion just behind the cutting edge grows in length, providing more strength behind the edge.