Tataki-Nomi Japanese Hand Made Timber Chisel 5-Pieces Set By Kiyotada Ⅱ ②

Smith name: Shimamura Kouzaburo 

Steel: White Steel No.2

Blade width: 18, 24, 30, 36, 49mm

Blade thickness(Blade Bottom/The blade near the bevel): 

49mm(about 12.3mm/7.0mm）

36mm(about 12.3mm/8.0mm）

30mm(about 13.0mm/9.0mm）

24mm(about 12.4mm/8.7mm）

18mm(about 11.7mm/8.7mm）

Blade Angles(49/36/30/24/18mm): 33°/29°/31°/30°/29°/

Total length(49/36/30/24/18mm): 305/310/310/313/290mm

Neck length(49/36/30/24/18mm): 73/72/75/73/68mm

Blade length(49/36/30/24/18mm): 85/87/83/88/88mm

Weight(49/36/30/24/18mm): 500g/415g/400g/358g/306g

Manufacture Era: Mid-to-late 1990s

Types of wooden handles：Japanese White Oak（Shirakashi）

Accessories: -

Additional Information: These chisels have seen only light use and were sourced from a retired carpenter in the Saitama region. I have personally sharpened them, bringing the bevel to a 400-grit finish and the ura (back) to 5,000-grit. According to the previous owner, these were originally purchased around the year 2000 from the renowned Tsuchida Hamonoten. 

I personally brought these chisels to Mr. Tsuchida for verification. He confirmed that they were indeed sold through his shop and noted that this specific set was manufactured between the mid and late 1990s.

Due to the advanced age of the second-generation Kiyotada blacksmith in the late 1990s, the overall shaping and finish of these tools are slightly less refined. However, Mr. Tsuchida assured me that the quality of the steel itself remains uncompromised.

To verify this, I paid close attention to the feedback and feel of the steel throughout the entire sharpening process. I am pleased to find that the steel quality is virtually identical to his work from the early 90s or even earlier. Most significantly, every chisel in this set produced a perfect, continuous burr (wire edge). The final photo shows the burr generated while sharpening the widest chisel in the set.