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+-- Thread: Japanese Fishtail chisel (/showthread.php?tid=7336718)
Japanese Fishtail chisel - Harry Page - 01-23-2018
I was at a garage sale recently, and I picked up a 1/2" Japanese Fishtail chisel for $20. I really never had any desire or intention on buying one of these chisels, but this one was in pretty decent shape, so I picked it up. I don't have any Japanese chisels, so I have no clue how to go about sharpening the chisel. I use water stones for all my sharpening, so I'm assuming I can use these for this chisel. I would appreciate any advice and recommendations on sharpening.
Harry
RE: Japanese Fishtail chisel - Hank Knight - 01-23-2018
(01-23-2018, 05:17 PM)Harry Page Wrote: I was at a garage sale recently, and I picked up a 1/2" Japanese Fishtail chisel for $20. I really never had any desire or intention on buying one of these chisels, but this one was in pretty decent shape, so I picked it up. I don't have any Japanese chisels, so I have no clue how to go about sharpening the chisel. I use water stones for all my sharpening, so I'm assuming I can use these for this chisel. I would appreciate any advice and recommendations on sharpening.
Harry
Your water stones should be fine. I don't know how you sharpen, but most Japanese chisel owners hone the entire bezel rather than using a micro bevel. YMMV
RE: Japanese Fishtail chisel - JimReed@Tallahassee - 01-23-2018
I use my Japanese chisels all the time and sharpen them frequently. I use a Norton pink stone to grind out nicks and AO sandpaper to sharpen and hone. I flatten the backs just like western chisels and I put micro bevels on the front. I beat on the chisels with a Japanese hammer and don't hold back. These chisels hold up well without all the fuss and babying that some people think they need. Steel is just steel.
But I think I might be a little more gentle with a fish tail chisel because it gets more narrow with every sharpening.