Preparing Japanese Chisels

Re: Anybody tried hoopless

Steve Elliott

Several of my favorite user chisels are Japanese and hoopless. After using them for a while I realized they were paring chisels for me--when I needed a chisel to strike I chose a western-style one. I removed the hoops, then smoothed and chamfered the ends of the oak. I find them more comfortable without the hoops.

What ever is handy

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I don't own a wood mallet. Don't like the sound or the size. Hard rubber, steel and brass are commonly available for bashing.

Whether the oak will hold up like dogwood, I don't know. I have beat severely the dogwood with a large hammer once with no noticeable effect. Given the few minutes to make a new handle, handle damage is something I never worried about. But then I never experienced any handle damage. If I used Japanese chisels I would make dogwood handles after the oak split, if it ever did and screw the hoops. They can be dainty on the hands.

I did wonder if this was a new technique! 

Re: Anybody tried hoopless

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

Hi Bill

The Japanese bench chisel is intended to be used with a steel headed hammer, a gennou. This method offers control and precision. Steel heads will eventually destroy any wooden handle. Chisels for pushing - paring chisels, often referred to as slicks - have a different design, typically with a long hoopless handle.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Yes

Warren in Lancaster, PA

I have used chisels without hoops all my life. Ash splits easily as firewood, but holds up well for chisel handles. I recently replaced an ash handle that I used for more than forty years with my favorite handle wood, beech. Historically, hoops have been used sometimes on carpenter tools, but not joiner or cabinetmaker tools. Ferrules are likewise unnecessary. Here are some historical examples.

15th century

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

Re: Anybody tried hoopless

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Many times splitting wood I encounter "strngy" grain and the solution is to begin the split with a steel wedge and then replace the steel wedge with a dogwood wedge. The wood wedge is driven until the split is wide enough to chop apart the pieces with an ax.

I pounded on a pair of dogwood wedges with a 10 pound sledge hammer for several years before I finally mushroomed them to where they were ineffective. A 10 pound sledge on a 2.5" diameter "handle" is proportionally more abuse than we normally would deliver to a chisel with a hammer of any sorts.

I suspect the reason for the hoop is the oak, not the hammer. Oak typically is one of the easiest woods to split, at least for firewood. The rays make dandy cleavage planes.

I suspect hoopless can be done; it just isn't Japanese to do it.

Hoop + Oak/Gumi + Gennou = Deadblow effect

Brian Holcombe

Akagashi (Japanese white oak) and Gumi (Japanese Boxwood) both have a unique springy effect that when combined with ferrule, hoop and differentially hardened gennou create a dead blow effect that really drives the chisel nicely.

I have no qualms with those that are more comfortable using a mallet, but it's worthwhile knowing the logic which drives the use of this seemingly odd combination.

Re: Yes

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

What type of hammer/mallet do you use, Warren? Wood or steel? How hard do you hit them?

If wood, would you use steel?

If steel, how do the handles fare?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Mallets

Warren in Lancaster, PA

We have been using mallets on chisels for millennia. I use mallets of Pennsylvania hardwoods: Cornus florida, Diospyros virginiana, Maclura pomifera. In determining how hard to hit the chisel, the main considerations are efficiency and edge life. Edge life is really part of efficiency, because if you wreck the edge there is remedial work.

I have made chisel handles of beech, hickory, apple, ash, and others.

I did not realize that this was a thread on Japanese chisels when I responded to Bill's post yesterday.

Hoops not confined to Japanese chisels

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I have bought some Two Cherries and Sorby "bench" chisels with hoops. The Sorby hoops fell off and I glued them back on with Epoxy, then sold them. Didn't like the soft steel. The Two Cherries have good steel but I came to prefer the nimble weight and balance of the chisels I made.....hoopless.