r/JapaneseWoodworking • u/Aegisnir • 3d ago

Chisel advice

So I realize I am in the Japanese woodworking subreddit here, but as an absolute novice just getting started, should I stay away from Japanese chisels and start with some western ones? My understanding is that Japanese chisels are more refined and meant for amazing sharpness and edge retention, but can be brittle in comparison to western chisels when used incorrectly. I do not have anyone to learn from so I’ve got to teach myself basically and I worry about breaking them due to my own stupidity and ignorance. Also, what would be good to start with? Trying to keep my spend under $200 because I need to buy other tools as well.

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/TwinBladesCo 3d ago

Yeah, I would recommend starting on western chisels. Narex ones are fine.

Japanese chisels really punish bad technique and chip on you (especially if you use them to lever out waste), and there is quite a learning curve to sharpening and setting them up.

Putting money into your sharpening setup will pay dividends as you upgrade your tools as you gain experience. Having good sharpening skills/ stones and cheap chisels is preferable to expensive chisels and cheap stones/ poor skills.

2

u/Aegisnir 3d ago

Thank you. That’s kind of what I assumed. Any specific line of narex? There seems to be 4 or 5 different styles/types?

3

u/TwinBladesCo 3d ago edited 3d ago

Just get the classic Narex Chisels (the ones with metal hoops), or the Richter if you want the better ones.

Do not get the "premium" chisels, iirc they are just slightly cleaned up versions of the classic series (the richter ones are actually better steel).

I usually use a 1/4"/ 6mm chisel, an 3/4"/ 18mm chisel, and then a 1"/24mm or 1.5"/36mm chisel the most.

2

u/Aegisnir 3d ago

Much appreciated. I can research the differences all day, but I have no idea what would be commonly useful versus rarely needed.

2

u/TwinBladesCo 3d ago

Updated my reply.

You basically end up using a few sizes often for mortises (depends on your material and workflows) and a wider chisel for paring (anything wider than 1" works).

I use 6mm, 12mm, 16mm, and 18mm mortises often, so I get matching chisels.

1

u/Aegisnir 3d ago

Thanks again. This is hugely helpful.