# Japanese Chisel I.D Help



## tylerh (Mar 15, 2015)

Hey there everyone. So I stopped by a local antique shop today that I've been to a few times. Once in a while the guy will have a few decent things floating around. He doesn't know to much about hand tools so I do most of the talking and explain what he has and tell him correct prices. However today he pulled a large canvas chisel roll from behind his counter and asked if I knew anything about japanese chisels. Not to much.. just that some can be very expensive. So we looked at them and I decided that they seemed pretty nice and not used very much. So I need help with the I.D of these things. Here's some pictures. The darker handle is a gouge and I think there was 5-6 of each chisel and gouge. The sticker on the gouge reads "BEST" "MIKI INAOKA" The only thing on the chisels is No. 2000. Thanks to all that can help.


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## robertb574 (Jan 12, 2011)

I own some Japanese chisels and like them. But I am no expert by far. But I can tell you that the hoops are missing from those chisels. In general though white oak is more expensive than red oak for handles. Multi-hollows are more expensive than single hollows. Chisels with a maker's mark on the blade are more expensive than chisels without a maker's mark. Unfortunately I wouldn't know a maker's mark from a company stamp. Also look at the bevel to see the line between the hard steel and soft steel. I believe that chisels with the line straight across are usually factory made. The chisels with the line curving up on the ends are usually hand made. The more expensive and better made chisels are hand made. This might help you to determine which chisel is more expensive than the other. Maybe someone more knowledgeable will jump in and give a price range.


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## tylerh (Mar 15, 2015)

Thanks for the info Robert. The first thing I noticed was the ferrules missing. Not sure why the guy did that.. but shouldn't be to hard to put some back on. I told the guy they looked like they could be sold for a good amount of $. I bought a set of auger bits and he said if I'm interested he'd sell them to me for $10 a piece. I know that's a killer price, just want to learn a little bit more.


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## robertb574 (Jan 12, 2011)

Just from viewing your photo I would buy at $10 each in a heartbeat. It wouldn't matter if they were factory made or not. If the seller still has the rings you are in luck. But if not I found some on this page "http://www.hidatool.com/woodworking/chisels/chisel-rings-and-handles/fujihiro-chisel-rings-for-handle" if you want to go that route. I have used copper tubing with good results on some chisels that seen 30 or 40 years of hard use. The copper's elasticity may be a concern but so far so good. Those chisels pictured look like they been barely used so a proper steel hoop would look better. You might want to look up hoop setting on Japanese chisels.

You may come to like Japanese chisels. I have chisel sets from 7 different countries yet use my mismatched set of Japanese chisels almost exclusively. They hold an edge much longer than the others.


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## tylerh (Mar 15, 2015)

Well from what the seller told me, a guy came in his shop trying to sell them and the original seller asked if he would keep them in the back because he was going to come back and buy them (not a pawn shop at all) but the guy never showed. So there's no way of finding the original steel hoops. I'm the only person to see them and he rolled them up and put them back behind the counter. So i know I'm going to pick up a few if not all of them. Just wanted to find the original price. Thanks!


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## robertb574 (Jan 12, 2011)

You are welcome. I saw the much better photos at SMC. I would definitely grab them all. The white oak handled ones would not surprise if new that they run 50-70 dollars each to over 100 for the broader chisels. The gouges look good too. Rusty and uncared for, whoever left them did not know their value. Its even got a leather chisel roll-up holder.


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