Kawasei Cabinetmaker's Chisels
Japanese bench chisels can roughly be divided into three categories; machine made mass produced chisels of moderate cost and quality, hand forged chisels of excellent quality, and hand forged Damascus steel chisels that can be of exemplary quality. It should be warned that because of the reputation of Japanese Damascus chisels, this technique is sometimes used to mask chisel of inferior quality. Of course Kawasei chisels are all of superior quality. Mass produced machine made Japanese chisels have no place at The Best Things. We offer an excellent quality line of hand forged bevelled cabinetmaker's bench chisels and for the true connoisseur we offer a suminagashi (a type of Damascus steel that looks like an ink pattern on the blade ) line. Damascus steel refers to a process where the steel is hammered and folded repeatedly until the steel is composed of many thin layers. The advantage of the Damascus process is that the object, chisels in this case, can be made tougher than with homogenous steel. Both type of Kawasei chisels are laminated, meaning that the cutting edge is made from hardened tool steel laminated onto the body (jigane) of the chisel. The jigane is made from softer steel and acts as the shock absorber, which is what allows the cutting edge to be harder than is possible on homogenous (made from a single piece of steel) chisels. Of course with some modern steels, like A2, they are still tough enough to be hardened to a high level, but these have other limitations.
We have found that there is a lot of confusion surrounding "white" steel and "blue" steel in the context of Japanese tools. One is not better than the other. They have slightly different qualities and both are used for the best quality chisels. The quality of the tool, and the quality of the steel, is far more important that the choice of steel. We have written a treatise on this topic to help our customers sort the facts from the fiction. Click here to read our essay on Japanese blue and white steel.
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Shinogi Oire Nomi - High Quality Japanese Cabinetmaker's Chisels
9 3/4" overall with 4 1/2" Red Oak handle. Hand forged white steel blade. Full width bevels for dovetailing. Inch equivelants are approximate. 
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| Description | Price | Qty | Buy |
| 3mm (1/8") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$45.95 | ||
| 6mm (1/4") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$46.95 | ||
| 9mm (3/8") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$47.95 | ||
| 12mm (1/2") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$48.95 | ||
| 15mm (5/8") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$48.95 | ||
| 18mm (3/4") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$49.95 | ||
| 21mm (7/8") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$54.95 | ||
| 24mm (1") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$56.95 | ||
| 30mm (1 1/4") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$69.95 | ||
| 36mm (1 1/2") Shinogi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$79.95 | ||
| Set of 6 in Cloth Roll Includes all 6 chisels above in a cloth roll |
$274.95 | ||
| Set of 10 in fitted wood box Includes all 6 chisels above plus 15mm, 30mm, 36mm & 42mm |
$494.95 | ||
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Suminagashi Oire Nomi - Finest Quality Japanese Cabinetmaker's Chisels 8 3/4" overall with 3 5/8" Red Oak handle. Hand forged Damascus steel blades. Forged from the finest Japanese blue steel. Inch equivelants are approximate. 
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| Description | Price | Qty | Buy |
| 3mm (1/8") Suminagashi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$79.95 | ||
| 6mm (1/4") Suminagashi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$84.95 | ||
| 9mm (3/8") Suminagashi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$89.95 | ||
| 12mm (1/2") Suminagashi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$94.95 | ||
| 18mm (3/4") Suminagashi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$99.95 | ||
| 24mm (1") Suminagashi Oire Nomi Japanese Chisel |
$109.95 | ||
| Set of 6 in Cloth Roll Includes all 6 chisels above in a cloth roll |
$484.95 | ||
| Set of 10 in fitted wood box Includes all 6 chisels above plus 15mm, 30mm, 36mm & 42mm |
$979.95 | ||
