Tataki-Nomi Japanese Custom Made Timber Chisel By Ichihiro Ⅱ - 48mm

Smith name: Yamazaki Isamu （1912 ～1987）

Steel: White Steel

Blade width: 48mm

Blade thickness: Blade Bottom(about 12.80mm)，Top of Blade（about 8.10mm）

Manufacture Era: Before 1970

Weight: 491g

Blade Angles: 29°

Total length: 321mm

Neck length:  78mm

Blade length: 87mm

Wooden handles：Japanese White Oak（Shirakashi）by Tsuchida Noboru

Accessories：—

Additional Information: Used, in good condition. It comes from a retired temple carpenter in Chiba Prefecture. This carpenter has many good chisels, and the Kiyotada Tataki chisels I currently sell on my website are also from his collection. 

After I got it, I asked Mr. Tsuchida Noboru to replace the wooden handle. This is the post he updated after he finished replacing the wooden handle. 「 https://x.com/tsuchidahamono/status/1956865270125133916?s=12&t=wQwFnb6ag1yspThn3kdMzQ」The post can be translated directly into English using Google, but I have corrected the inaccuracies in the translation.

“This is a chisel by Hidari Ichihiro (Yamazaki Isamu), but does it make you think, 'Huh!?' In fact, this chisel was specially made by Mr. Yamazaki Isamu based on the pre-WWII Hidari Hisahiro Ⅱ(柏木政太郎) chisels in Mr. Tsuchida Ichiro's collection. The shoulder line naturally droops, the diameter of the 'Machi' (See the arrow in the last picture) is reduced, and the thickness distribution of the chisel from the neck to the tip becomes smoother. This is to correct the lack of continuity between the blade and neck when forged by machine, which tends to result in a shape with shrugging shoulders. It is said that the final price is 50% higher than the common Ichihiro chisel.”

The interesting thing is that when Mr. Tsuchida saw the chisel, he was absolutely sure that it was a chisel from his shop. The chisel on the right in his post is another identical chisel currently in the collection of Tsuchida Store. 「https://x.com/tsuchidahamono/status/1647745806064304129?s=12&t=wQwFnb6ag1yspThn3kdMzQ」 The following is part of the post I translated. This can be considered one of the reasons why Mr. Tsuchida Ichiro ordered this kind of classic chisel from the second generation Ichihiro.

“Both are by Hidari Ichihiro Ⅱ. The chisel on the right is based on a chisel that my father has in his collection that was made before World War II.  After the war, the deterioration and distortion in the shape of chisels became obvious. ……”

In fact, I decided to buy this chisel because I found that it was a little different from the common Ichihiro chisel. But I didn't expect at the time that I would find out more about this chisel. Mr. Tsuchida Noboru also shared some information with me that was not mentioned in the post. This chisel was only made in two sizes, with approximately 11 pieces of each size；Since it was more expensive than the common Ichihiro chisels, it was difficult to sell. It took many years for them to be sold out (except for one that is kept in the store collection).

The last three comparison pictures show the differences between the Hisahiro type chisel mentioned above and the common Ichihiro type chisel. They are all 48mm wide Tataki chisels made by Ichihiro. Here are some measured data：

Diameter of "Machi": 19.00mm(Hisahiro Type); 19.80mm(Common Type)

Thickness distribution of the chisel (measured at three locations: the machi, where the shoulder meets the neck, and near the bevel of the blade)：

19.00mm，12.80mm and 8.10mm(Hisahiro Type)；

19.80mm，11.60mm and 8.40mm (Common Type)