New Ootsukinomi Paring Chisels

Envy was once considered to be one of the seven deadly sins before it became one of the most admired virtues under its new name, ‘social justice’.
Thomas Sowell

We’ve recently received a long-awaited (and we feared long-forgotten) order of two-handed Ootsukinomi paring chisels from our blacksmith. This post is a simple show and tell.

Your humble servant has scribbled about this tool in this article in our series about the varieties of Japanese chisels

Ootsukino, pronounced oh/tsuki/noh/mee, are large, long-handled paring chisels, the equivalent to the “slick” in the US woodworking tradition, a standard tool for timber framing. It is a rare chisel nowadays, and difficult to make.

This chisel is never struck with a hammer, but is pushed two-handed to pare surfaces and joints in wood to final dimensions. The long handle provides much greater angular control and precision than a standard paring chisel, while the ability to grasp it firmly in two hands makes it possible to effectively employ the greater power of one’s back and legs.

We also carry Mr. Usui’s Sukemaru-brand ootsukinomi, but after looking for a less-expensive option for our Beloved Customers, we ordered these from our Nagamitsu blacksmith over five years ago. Soon after placing the order we despaired of them ever being completed due to the difficulty of forging and shaping them in his advanced years, and did not want to pressure him. But we were surprised to learn recently, indeed after he had retired, that he had actually made significant progress on nine 2-piece sets, lacking only sharpening and handles, and so arranged for them to be completed. At long last they have been delivered.

Yes, this variety of chisel can be procured individually, and Mr. Usui of Sukemaru fame has been kind enough to fill many special orders to meet specific requirements of our Beloved Customer. But the standard way to purchase these in Japan is a 2-piece set, one chisel in 42~54mm blade width and the other in 24mm. We had these forged in the most common 48mm and 24mm boxed sets.

The overall length of both chisels is approximately 640mm (25-13/16″) with a 140mm (5-1/2″) long blade, 160mm (6 -19/64″) neck, and a 340mm (13-25/64″) handle made of an attractive grade of dark-red Japanese red oak. Both chisels have a standard, nicely-formed single ura with the hardened steel lamination properly wrapped up the blade’s sides for the extra toughness and rigidity essential to this tool.

A triple-ura on the 48mm chisel is a useful feature, and we have had Mr. Usui forge his chisels with this detail, but it would have added quite a bit to the cost and so is not available in this more economical brand.

The 48mm chisel is used for paring wider joint surfaces, the cheeks of tenons, and the interior side walls of mortises. It’s the standard mentori beveled-side design seen in our mentori oiirenomi, hantatakinomi and atsunomi.

The 24mm chisel is forged in the shinogi style with a more triangular cross-section to provide clearance for the blade in tight places to pare the many dovetail joints used to attach beams, purlins and bottom-plate (土台) timbers, as well as the end walls of the many 24mm mortises commonly found in traditional timber framing work.

These are not mass-produced tools but hand-forged in Japan from beginning to end by a highly-experienced blacksmith in his one-man smithy using Hitachi Metal’s Yasugi Shirogami No.1 high-carbon steel (White Label No.1 steel), famous for its superior sharpness, ease of sharpening, and sharpness retention performance for the cutting layer, forge-laminated to a softer low-carbon steel body and neck for toughness, typical of all our Nagamitsu-brand products.

These are nicely shaped and finished, top-quality, serious chisels for serious work, but are not suited to everyone. While joiners that make large doors and panels often have a set in their workshop, most cabinetmakers and furniture makers will seldom need such large chisels. But they are one of those tools that when you need them, nothing else will do. Indeed they are indispensable for cutting precise joints in large timbers and joinery, even when those joints are hogged-out using electrical equipment.

At this reduced price, We only have a few sets looking for new masters who will feed them lots of yummy wood, so if you are interested, please contact us using the form below.

YMHOS

If you have questions or would like to learn more about our tools, please click the “Pricelist” link here or at the top of the page and use the “Contact Us” form located immediately below.

Please share your insights and comments with everyone in the form located further below labeled “Leave a Reply.” We aren’t evil Google, fascist facebook, or thuggish Twitter and so won’t sell, share, or profitably “misplace” your information. If I lie may every spoonful of burgundy cherry ice cream I ever eat taste like dirty truck tires.

5 responses to “New Ootsukinomi Paring Chisels”

Gary

May 22, 2023

Very nice, Stan. I have a couple of similarly sized ootsukinomi. Besides large joinery, I find that picking one up and waving it around is useful for chasing people out of the shop. It gets their attention.
I have a question about sharpening these. I know that it is easier to remove the handle for sharpening the blade. But after a few rounds of this the handles have become too loose. I have added paper shims inside the mortise for the tang, but that seems a short term solution. Is there a better long term solution, or should I just continue to add shims?

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1. covingtonandsons
  
  May 22, 2023
  
  Thanks for your comment, Gary! I have never waved an ootsukinomi at, or used one to chase away, people, politicians or even pixies (descending order of humanity), but it sounds like a fun time was had by all. Please send link to video! (ツ) An ootsukinomi with a loose handle is extremely irritating, and if it becomes loose enough for the blade to separate from the handle on it’s own at an importune time that pervert Murphy may have a wonderful time dancing naked in puddles of red sticky stuff (sorry, no video). So while I don’t recommend routinely removing the handle after the initial sharpening, I do recommend using a honing jig to help maintain the proper bevel angle on the stones. Most people use a large block of hardwood cut at an angle and inlet to fit the chisel’s face for stability. When the wood becomes worn and the angle skewampus it can be refreshed with a thin angle-cut on a table saw, or maybe a pass or two on a jointer. I suppose the commercially-available jigs like the Lie-Nielson widget (perhaps with jaw extensions?) would work too and last longer, but whatever method used, it requires more physical effort and concentration than a shorter chisel does. Looking forward to the video! Stan
  
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Gary

May 22, 2023

Thanks, Stan. I have a little sharpening widget that fits the blades but the long handle makes using it awkwardly unbalanced. I’ll go with a shop made hardwood fixture. And I’ll work on that video.

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1. covingtonandsons
  
  May 22, 2023
  
  You’re right of course about how awkward and over-balanced the handle makes the process. Two options for the block. The first is moving the block/chisel on the stationary stone, and the second is to clamp the chisel/block down and move the stone over the blade’s bevel. The latter takes gear and time to setup, but perhaps yields better results with less risk. 2 drachma.
  
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Bruce MILBURN

May 23, 2023

COVINGTON & SON

To your humble servant from another humble servant. Let’s not argue our spiritual merits! I enclose a couple of photos of a chisel I sadly only use occasionally. I’m too ignorant to identify its origins but it feels good in the hand when working or not. You might enjoy! Yours Bruce Milburn (convictions in darkness)

Sent from my iPad

>

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The Varieties of Japanese Chisels Part 13 – The Shinogi Usunomi 鎬薄鑿 Paring Chisel

“All times are good for those who know how to work and have the tools to do so.”
Carlos Slim

The shinogi usunomi is another variety of paring chisel in the tsukinomi family.

We examined the word ” shinogi” in a previous post.

It means ”ridge” as in the ridge of a mountain, or a building’s roof, or the back of some Japanese swords. Shinogi-style chisels have two wide bevels on their face that meet at the bade’s centerline creating a ridge. Sometimes there is a narrow flat at the top of the ridge, depending on the blacksmith’s style and customer request.

If the atsunomi is the draught horse, the oiirenomis are the quarter horse, and the usunomi is the falcon of the chisel world (the one in my slightly addled head, that is), then the shinogi usunomi is a Goshawk, severe in appearance, fierce, strong, fast, and skilled at maneuvering nimbly in tight situations.

Shinogi usunomi have these same two bevels and center ridge as the shinogi oiirenomi. The side edges tend to be thinner than standard usunomi, and with less material in the way, they are often just the ticket for paring into right corners. And because the ridge is higher than the standard usunomi is thick, they tend to be a bit more rigid.

And of course, since it is an usunomi (meaning “thin chisel”) it has a relatively longer and more slender neck and handle, and no crown.

A pox on anyone that would strike one of these beauties with a mallet or hammer.

One downside to this design is that the ridge down the face, which increases the overall thickness of this chisel, may make it difficult to pare down into skinny mortises. Another potential downside, but not one that bothers me, is that the ridge is not as comfortable to press on with your fingers when paring. I find this ridge gives my fingers a better sense of the blade’s precise location in my hand and in the cut. This is all personal preference that can only be evaluated through experience using both varieties of usunomi.

You may be able to tell from my choice of words that I am fond of shinogi usunomi. Indeed, I admit to prefering them. I like how they look. I like how they feel. I like sharpening them. I like how they cut. I like how the extra clearance on the side lets me see what I am paring. Subjective? Of course. And I admit they can’t do all jobs. The standard usunomi is probably a better general-use paring chisel.

The shinogi usunomi is a serious tool for serious work that looks good while doing it.

YMHOS

If you have questions or would like to learn more about our tools, please click the “Pricelist” link here or at the top of the page and use the “Contact Us” form located immediately below.

Links to Other Posts in this Series

The Varieties of Japanese Chisels Part 12 – The Usunomi Paring Chisel (薄鑿)

*24mm Mentori Usunomi by Sukezane (Face View)*

Our thoughts flow to our hands; our tools become as part of our bodies, the blade of our bodies.
Tsunekazu Nishioka, Temple Carpenter, Horyuji Temple Restoration, Nara Japan.

In the first post in this series, we examined the two main categories of Japanese chisels: the tatakinomi designed to be struck with hammer, and the tsukinomi used to pare wood without using a hammer. Beginning with this post we will shift our focus to several varieties of tsukinomi.

If you need to cut precise joints in wood, then you need both striking and paring chisels.

The most popular variety of tsukinomi is the mentori usunomi (面取り薄鑿）which translates to “beveled thin chisel.” The name is appropriate as the blade is long and thin and the neck gently tapered.

*42mm Mentori Usunomi by Sukezane (Side View)*

*42mm Mentori Usunomi by Sukezane (Face View)*

42mm Mentori Usunomi by Sukezane (Ura View)

*24mm Mentori Usunomi by Sukezane (Ura View)*

Description

Just as with oiirenomi, the blades of tsukinomi can be made with different profiles, such as the stiffer rectangular cross-section of the kakuuchi, or the more triangular cross-section of the shinogi usunomi.

The mentori usunomi has a streamlined cross-section similar to the mentori oiirenomi with two bevels ground into the right and left sides of the blade’s face, flowing over the shoulders and feathering into the neck.

An atsunomi or oiirenomi can pare joints, of course, but the steel crown and mushroomed wood fibers on the handle’s end make them uncomfortable for using hours on end.

In comparison, lacking the steel crown and mushroomed handle, the usunomi is more comfortable to use. More importantly, the blades and handles of these chisels are longer and lighter in weight providing superior angular control for precision paring operations.

Western paring chisels by comparison are even thinner and have longer blades than Japanese paring chisels. There can be no denying they do a fine job. But Japanese paring chisels like the usunomi have a few potential advantages worth considering.

The most significant advantage is that the steel cutting edges of Japanese paring chisels are much harder. The paring chisels our blacksmiths forge are around 65~66 HRc in hardness, whereas Western paring chisels are usually around 55 HRc. A Western style paring chisel with its thin blade of uniform steel hardened to 65 HRc would easily snap in half in practical use.

This extra-hard lamination is hand-forged by our blacksmith from Hitachi Metal’s Yasugi Shirogami No.1 steel (aka “White Label Steel”), an exceptionally pure high-carbon steel that makes possible an edge that stays sharper longer, with the result that, given the same number of sharpening opportunities and time in a given workday, a professional-grade usunomi will help you do more hours of high-quality work than a softer blade.

For craftsmen that use their tools to feed their families this higher-level of performance is not something to be sniffed at.

The second advantage of the Japanese paring chisel is their hollow-ground ura which makes it easier to maintain a flat bearing surface, especially important in the case of the hard steel used in our chisels. If you haven’t used Japanese chisels, this claim may sound unlikely. But please recall that there are narrow lands surrounding the ura, all in the same plane, that create a flat bearing surface to guide the chisel.

Usage

This tool is well-suited to reaching into narrow mortises and other wood joints to clean and pare surfaces roughed out by axe, adze, saw and tatakinomi to precise tolerances.

It excels at trimming mortise side walls and end walls. And shaving tenon cheeks and shoulders to precise dimensions without causing spelching or cutting too deeply as shoulder planes are wont to do is a piece of cake.

In addition, the longer blade and flat face of the usunomi make it ideal for paring angles, such a 45° mitres, in combination with wooden guide blocks or jigs.

The usunomi may be struck with the heel of the hand, but never with a hammer or mallet. The slender neck, thin blade, and un-reinforced handle will simply not accept such abuse gracefully.

Chisels intended to be struck with a hammer typically perform best with a cutting edge bevel of 27~30°. Any shallower and the hard steel at the cutting edge may chip instantly dulling the tool. However, the cutting edges of usunomi along with other tsukinomi are not normally subjected to the high stresses chisels motivated with hammers must endure, so the cutting efficiency can be increased by lowering the angle to 24° or so without creating problems, depending of course, on nature of the wood you need to pare and the type of paring you intend. For instance, paring end the grain of maple may require a steeper angle than when paring the long grain of pine.

If you have used long-bladed Western chisels hard for a few years, you will have no doubt experienced your chisel’s flat becoming somewhat rounded over after many sharpenings. This occurs because, for various reasons, the center portion of the blade’s flat is abraded at a slower rate when being sharpened than the blade’s perimeter, resulting in distortion regardless of whether you keep your stones perfectly flat or not.

Obviously, a chisel with a flat that is banana-shaped lengthwise and crosswise is not ideal for paring flat surfaces, but there is a bigger problem. Namely, it is simply more difficult and time-consuming to create a sharp edge on a blade with a curved flat than one with a true flat. A flat like this begs for amateurish tricks using rulers, etc.. of the sort professionals would be embarrassed to use. A friend once scathingly described these techniques as “training wheels.” Oh my.

The ura on the Japanese chisel is specifically designed to deal with this shortcoming, and it does a great job of it.

30mm Unsunomi by Nagamitsu – View of Mitsuura

30mm Unsunomi by Nagamitsu – View of Face

*30mm Unsunomi by Nagamitsu* – Closeup of Mitsuura

The 30mm usunomi in the photo above has an ura with three hollow-ground areas instead of one. This detail is called a ” mitsuura” ミツ浦 meaning ”triple ura.” It has the advantage of providing a larger bearing surface than the standard ura does, one that is helpful when used with wooden jigs for paring to precise angles, for instance. It also helps the ura index better when paring large surfaces, especially with chisel blades wider than 24mm.

Some people prefer chisels with the mitsuura detail for their appearance. I admit mitsuura look sexy, but I am not a fan of using this detail unless it is truly necessary because of the downsides I will not deal with in this already overlong post.

If I can liken the atsunomi to a shire horse, then the usunomi is a falcon. Both are beautiful powerful animals, but just as one wouldn’t use a draught horse to chase down a rabbit, or a peregrine to pull a plow, neither oiirenomi nor atsunomi are as effective as the usunomi for paring and cleaning joints.

A Shire Horse and His Little Friend. Stout, heavy and strong is good for some jobs, but…

Slim, light, fast and sharp is better for others.

The usunomi is one of those tools that is a pleasure to use.

Among woodworking tools, the usunomi is special: as it becomes part of your hand, you will discover that neither the blade nor your hand but your mind is shaping the wood.

YMHOS

If you have questions or would like to learn more about our tools, please click the see the “Pricelist” link here or at the top of the page and use the “Contact Us” form located immediately below.

Please share your insights and comments with everyone by using the form located further below labeled “Leave a Reply.” We aren’t evil Google, fascist facebook, or thuggish Twitter and so won’t sell, share, or profitably “misplace” your information. If I lie may a shire horse polish his hooves on my back.