Mukomachi-Nomi Japanese Hand Made Mortise Chisel By Yukichika - 12mm

Brand name: Yukichika(行近)

Smith name:  unknown

Steel: White Steel

Blade width: 12mm

Blade thickness: Blade Bottom(about 14.1mm)，Top of Blade（about 11.4mm）

Manufacture Era: Before 1960

Weight: 205g

Blade Angles: 28°

Total length: 205mm

Neck length:  40mm

Blade length: 70mm

Types of wooden handles：Japanese White Oak（Shirakashi）

Accessories：—

Additional Information: Used, in good condition. It comes from a retired carpenter in the Tokyo area. I did a repair sharpening, bevel to 400 grit, ura to 5000 grit. The chisel is well made and the wooden handle is perfectly installed. 

This chisel is well-made, with a straight blade and a working width (approximately 12.10 mm) that remains almost unchanged from the front to the back of the blade. In addition, the two sides and top of the blade are concavely treated by hand tool - "sen". Ensures that the chisel can be easily pulled out even when making deep mortises. (See the last three photos.)

Yuki Chika is a personal brand of a wooden body artisan, and this chisel was likely commissioned by him to be made by a chisel blacksmith in Tokyo. Based on the information provided by Mr. Tsuchida, the chisel blacksmith was most likely "Sukekuni/助國" or his apprentice. The most distinctive feature of the Mukomachi chisels made by Sukekuni is the treatment of the two sides of the chisel neck. The planes on both sides of the neck do not extend to the blade, forming a triangle.See the third and fourth photos.

For more details about wooden body artisan, please refer to my blog：

「Yukichika」 The Genius "Daiya" - Japanese Woodworking Plane Body Artisans