記事: Guide to Japanese Chisels
Guide to Japanese Chisels
Size
Length
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Thickness
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I have made a pdf of the chisel sizes recorded in this book, click below to download.
Download：The dimensions of the chisel come from 『 Edo Blacksmith's Order Book ·江戸鍛冶の注文帳』
The size of the oire chisel— Based on reliable data and actual measurements
“追入鑿(押入、大入鑿とも言う)、長さ · 刃先一寸九分(約5.8mm)、首一寸四分(約4.2mm)、柄三寸五分(約10.6mm).” —IKEGAMI TAKANOBU. (1992) .『 Edo Blacksmith's Order Book ・江戸鍛冶の注文帳』
Translation of the original text： Oire chisel (also called Oshiire or Oire chisel). Length: Blade 58mm, neck 42mm, handle 106mm.
“大入ノミ自体は徳川末から明治初めに、東京八丁堀の名工、田中国弘によって考案されたといい伝えられています。首一寸四分、穂丈一寸七分でコミを含まない総丈で三寸一分と規定し……” — Noboru Tsuchida. (2013). Types of chisels in pictures 写真で見るノミの種類『Complete Guide to Chisels 鑿大全』
Translation of the original text：It is said that the Oire chisel was invented by Kunihiro Tanaka, a master craftsman from Hatchobori, Tokyo, between the end of the Tokugawa period and the beginning of the Meiji period. The neck is 42mm, the length of the blade is 51mm, and the total length excluding the komi(Tang) is 93mm….”
Measured object：
Left: Kiyotada I Oire chisel, made before 1950，lightly used 「Length: Blade 52mm, neck 47mm」
Center: Ichihiro II Oire chisel, made before 1955 「Length: Blade 55mm, neck 47mm,」
Right: Kiyotada II Oire chisel, bought from Tsuchida store around 1990「Length: Blade 56mm, neck 46.5mm」
Explanation of the "Chisel" part of the book 『和漢船用集/Collection for Japanese and Chinese ships, 1761』
Original text: "鑿, 所以穿木器也。鑿鐷釒冢並に同じ。又鑿仔（鄉談）剉子（正音）和名抄-能美。字彙云銑鋧は小鑿也，釒孱同。鍃は鎗鍃也，大鑿平木者と見えたり。其品数種あり，三厘五厘（分半と云）一分二分三分四分五分六分八分一寸也；七分九分と云者希也。一寸二分と小廣鑿と云；一寸六分一寸八分二寸是を廣鑿と云，平鑿と云。廣狹の寸分と以て名とす、又厚薄あり。"
The following is a sentence-by-sentence translation. The content in「」 is my further explanation.
所以穿木器也。Means "Used to punch through wood.” 「This text comes from the explanation of "chisel" in 『Shuowen Jiezi』 from the Eastern Han Dynasty in China.」
鑿鐷 釒冢 並に同じ。Means “these three Chinese characters “鑿”，“鐷”and“釒冢” refer to the same tool. "「“鐷” This Chinese character refers to a piece of metal sheet in ancient China, and 『Shuowen Jiezi』does not say that this is a tool. “釒冢”，Unfortunately, I did not find this Chinese character in ancient Chinese documents. It may be that there was an error when the information was transmitted to Japan. 」
又鑿仔（鄉談）剉子（正音）和名抄-能美。 Means " the dialect of chisel is "鑿仔/Zao zi”, and the Mandarin is "剉子/Cuo zi" in ancient China；In the Japanese encyclopedia『Wamyosho』, it is pronounced as "能美/Nomi”." 「As far as I know, the pronunciation of 鑿 is mostly “zao zi” in the north of China and “cuo zi” in the south of China. But the Mandarin for chisel has become “zao zi” in today’s China」
字彙云銑鋧は小鑿也， 釒孱同。Means "In the『字彙』book of the Ming Dynasty in China, “銑,鋧and 釒孱” refers to a small chisel."「In 『Shuowen Jiezi』, 銑 refers to a small chisel；In the book 『Jiyun』, completed in 1039 during the Song Dynasty in China, 銑 refers to a small chisel；In the book 『Pi Cang』 completed during the Wei Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period in China, 釒孱refers to a small chisel.」
鍃は鎗鍃，大鑿平木者と見えたり。Means "The "鍃" is "鎗鍃", which is a large chisel used to flatten wood."「The author made a mistake in Chinese characters here. The original text in 『Shuowen Jiezi』 is “鏓，鎗鍃也，一曰大鑿，平木者。」
其品数種あり，三厘五厘（分半と云）一分二分三分四分五分六分八分一寸也；七分九分と云者希也。Means "These chisels come in many sizes，0.9mm, 1.5mm, 3mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, 24mm, 30mm; 21mm and 27mm are relatively rare." 一寸二分と小廣鑿と云；一寸六分一寸八分二寸是を廣鑿と云，平鑿と云。" The 36mm one is called “Ko-hiro nomi”:42,48,60mm are called “Hiro nomi” or “Hira nomi”."「With the exception of the 0.9mm chisel, the sizes recorded in the book are still used on modern Japanese chisels. The name "Hiro nomi" has also been used in modern Japan.」
廣狹の寸分と以て名とす、又厚薄あり。 Means The naming is mainly based on the size of the chisel, or based on thickness（Usu or Atsu, Usu means thin and Atsu means thick）.「The modern Japanese for chisels “Atsunomi" and “Usunomi" already existed in the author's time.」
Additional information about Tataki Nomi and Anaya Nomi
Before the appearance of Oire-nomi in Japan's Meiji period, Tamaki-nomi were the most frequently used among carpenter's tools. Traditional Tamaki-nomi can be divided into Hori-nomi and Sarai-nomi.
Hori-nomi mainly comes in six sizes: 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, and 30mm, and is kakuuchi style. It is used to dig mortise hole. Sarai-nomi has 7 sizes: 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60 mm, and is mainly mentori style. It is used for fine processing of the side (long side) of the mortise and the flat surfaces of other mortise and tenon structures.
It can be found that 24 and 30mm Tataki-nomi can be used as both Hori-nomi and Sarai-nomi. This may explain why good Tamaki-nomi in 24mm&30mm is harder to find. In addition, among the many retired carpenter's tools I bought, the 24mm Tataki-nomi is always the most frequently used.
There is no set length for traditional Tataki-nomi. The length and ratio of the neck to the blade (the working part) varies from region to region.
The question then arises. Where does the length specification of the modern Tataki-nomi come from?
The length of the modern Tataki-nomi is due to a special type of carpenter that existed in Japan from the mid-18th to the mid-20th century. These carpenters specialize in making mortises using large hammers (over 560g) and traditional Tataki-nomi that are about 29cm（Hori-nomi）&32cm（Sarai-nomi） in length. This carpenter is called Anaya(穴屋) or Ana-daiku(穴大工) in Japan, it is said that the daily wage of Ana-daiku is higher than that of ordinary carpenter's leaders. In order to make the mortise holes quickly and accurately, Ana-daiku has very high requirements for tools. Even if the chisel becomes shorter after long use, the Ana-daiku will keep the total length of the Tataki-nomi at the ideal length of the above by replacing the wooden handle.
For example, this one was made by replacing the wooden handle to maintain the used Tataki-nomi at the ideal length.
https://tenmoku0701.myshopify.com/products/tataki-nomi-japanese-hand-made-timber-chisel-by-osahiro
It is important to note that the longer Tataki-nomi now known as Anaya-nomi did not actually come from the chisel used in Anaya carpenter. This misunderstood Anaya-nomi is simply a lengthened neck or blade of the modern Tataki-nomi. The misconception may come from the special long Hori-nomi used in Ana-daiku. The special long Hori-nomi called Komisen-nomi, common sizes are 9, 12, 15, and 18mm, the metal part(usually the working part) of the chisel is twice as long as that of a regular traditional Hori-nomi. This chisel was only used to make a very deep mortise hole and was similar in length to the chisel known today as Anaya-nomi.
In addition, Ana-daiku first uses a regular length Hori-nomi when making this deep mortise hole. The Ideal length Hori-nomi makes the work more labor-saving and the verticality is easier to control.
Of the Tataki-nomi on my site, the ones that are closest to what traditional Ana-daikus use are these：
(24mm Sarai-nomi) https://tenmoku0701.myshopify.com/products/tataki-nomi-japanese-hand-made-timber-chisel-by-second-generation-kiyotada-24mm
(30mm Hori-nomi) https://tenmoku0701.myshopify.com/products/kakuuchi-tataki-nomi-japanese-heavy-framing-timber-chisel-by-kanetake-30mm
(18mm Hori-nomi) https://tenmoku0701.myshopify.com/products/tataki-nomi-japanese-specially-made-timber-chisel-by-second-generation-hidari-hisasaku
(30mm Hori-nomi) https://tenmoku0701.myshopify.com/products/tataki-nomi-japanese-hand-made-timber-chisel-by-osahiro
Information sourced from the following article:
Noboru Tsuchida. Types of chisels in pictures 写真で見るノミの種類 Complete Guide to Chisels 鑿大全. P28~32
