Kote Nomi Japanese Trowel Chisel Set By Hidari Hisasaku Ⅱ

Smith name: Ikegami Takanobu (池上 喬庸, Second Generation Hisasaku，1924～August 21, 2008)

Steel: White steel #2

Blade width: 9/15/21/27mm

Manufacture Era: before 1980 (according to collector’s memory)

Weight: 108g/145g/208g/246g

Blade Angles: 32°/29°/30°/29°

Total length: 299/307/308/312mm

Neck length: 95/98/100/105mm

Blade length: 69/72/74/74mm

Types of wooden handles：Siamese rosewood

Accessories：Wooden black lacquer box, 378x114x114mm；Wooden sheath with the chisel's name and dimensions signed.

Additional Information: Unused, in good condition. From a collector in Tokyo. He told me that it came from a collection that had gone out of business at a private museum. The neck of these chisels is not welded, but formed in one piece. They are made with very high precision; among the second-generation Hisasaku works I have seen, they can be considered masterpieces.

The signatures on the wooden sheath are as follows:

27mm：「木成鏝のみ, 9分, 関東型鎬造り, 左久作」

21mm：「木成鏝のみ, 7分, 関東型鎬造り, 左久作」

15mm：「木成鏝のみ, 5分,  左久作」

9mm：「木成鏝のみ, 3分,  左久作」

Judging from the handwriting, it is highly likely that it was written by the second-generation Hisasaku himself.

※ I consulted Mr. Tsuchida Noboru about the shape of this chisel. Because they are significantly different from the Tokyo Kote chisels that are commonly seen today. They are more like Kote chisels made by bending the neck of a common Usu chisel. Mr. Tsuchida told me that this was indeed the case, and that this type of Kote chisel was the early prototype of the Kote chisel in the Tokyo area. This reminds me of the Kote chisels from Hidari Hisahiro Ⅱ that I once saw; they were also this shape.

※ Why is the signature on the wooden sheath not "Kote nomi/鏝鑿" but "Kinari Kote nomi/木成鏝鑿"?  In most contexts, the Kinari chisel is equivalent to the Usu chisel. But I found the difference between the Kinari & Usu chisels in that book(p86&87): 『Edo Blacksmith's Order Book by IKEGAMI TAKANOBU (Hisasaku Ⅱ) 江戸騛冶の注文帐』.  The blade of the Usu chisel is about 91mm long and the neck is about 70-75mm long; the blade of the Kinari chisel is about 76mm long and the neck is about 90mm long.

※ Why does the signature include "関東型鎬造り/Kanto-type Shinogi-making)? I'm sorry, I haven't found a reliable answer to this question yet. In my opinion, the chisel's shape is the now common “Mentori type".