Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.

Dismiss

FAQ: Hand Tools

0 views

Skip to first unread message

Ken Smith

unread,

Dec 1, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/1/96

Last Updated: Tue May 9 09:16:42 EDT 1995

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

0) What do I need to know before I start with Hand Tools?
1) General Information on Wood.
2) What Hand Tools do I need?
3) What Hand Tools would be nice to have?
4) What other Hand Tools are out there?
5) Should I buy Hand Tools new or used?
6) Where do I get new Hand Tools?
7) Where do I get used Hand Tools?
8) How do I sharpen chisels, plane blades, etc?
9) How do I sharpen saw blades?
10) General Information on planes.
11) General Information on scrapers.
12) General Information on saws.
13) General Information on chisels.
14) General Information on Japanese Woodworking Tools.
19) Collecting old tools.
20) What books can I get to learn more?
21) What magazines are oriented towards hand tools?
22) Tidbits
23) Tool Collecting Organizations

Note: I am only the editor of this FAQ. A *small* part of the
information contained here comes from me. The majority of it
comes from books and from previous traffic on rec.woodworking.
The entire section on Japanese Woodworking Tools comes from Dave
Burnard. The rest of the sections come from many contributors.
I apologize for not keeping track of who contributed what information
so proper acknowledgements could be made...

0) What do I need to know before I start with Hand Tools?

For some people the choice between hand tools and machinery is
something of a religious war. Most sensible people realize that
there is more than one way to skin a cat and to each his own.
If you agree with that then there is no Right Answer to the
question of whether hand tools are better than machinery, it all
depends on the person. GROSSLY oversimplifying, hand tools tend
to be less expensive, quieter, generate less saw dust (often in
favor of wood shavings...), and take longer to use for a given
task (especially for cases where there is a lot of repetition
since often the major time consuming factor in using a machine is
setup time). THERE WILL ALWAYS BE EXCEPTIONS TO THE ABOVE (hence
the religious war attitude some folks have). It is hard to say
whether you will find using a hand tool easier than using a machine,
this is different for everyone. Some people pick up the skills
needed for machines faster than for hand tools, for others it's
the opposite. Using hand tools versus using machines doesn't have
to be an either/or proposition. It is possible to mix the two.

If you decide to start using hand tools for stock preparation or
large shaping tasks you will quickly realize you need a good bench.
Speaking from personal experience a WorkMate (TM) won't cut it if
you're trying to use bench planes to prepare rough-sawn lumber.
Good benches can be bought or made, see the books section for a
reference.

Another thing you will quickly find necessary is a means to sharpen
the tools. Sharpening will be covered later. You will probably
need a set of sharpening stones. If you're fixing up old tools
you may also need a bench grinder.

If you're a klutz like me seriously consider keeping your Tetanus
shots up to date. You need a booster shot every 10 years. This
is especially true if you decide to give fixing up old/unusable
tools a try... If you cut yourself with something rusty you run
a risk if getting Tetanus (Lock Jaw). I'm told just cutting
yourself won't give you Tetanus but increases your risk of getting
it - I'm not sure but will try to find out.

1) General Information on Wood.
Wood is not a material designed for humans to build things with.
Wood is a material designed to provide life functions for a living
organism, namely a tree. This (seemingly obvious) fact is often
forgotten by novice woodworkers, and this fact causes many problems
that woodworkers need to be aware of.

To begin with a grossly over-simplified model, think of wood as
being made up of groups of tubes held together with glue named
"Lignin". The circular ends of the tubes are what would be called
"end grain", while the sides of the tubes would be "edge grain". It
is much easier to break apart the tubes parallel to the tubes
themselves (i.e. breaking the lignin holding the tubes together) than
it is to break through perpendicular to the tubes. Keep this very
simplistic model in mind when you are working with the wood and
you should be able to avoid some problems. For example when
trying to plane the end of a board (end grain) you can't run the
plane across the whole end of the board because when you reach
the end of the stroke it is likely the wood will split off on
the far edge of the board because the lignin holding the tubes
together is relatively weak and the tubes along the edge of the
board will break away rather than be cut by the plane blade. You
need to stop the stroke well short of the far edge and do a second
stroke towards the center from that other edge. When using a chisel
with the blade parallel to the grain there is a tendency for the wood
to split apart very easily, it is best to first make a cut with the
chisel perpendicular to the grain at the point you want the cut to
stop (this is known as a "stop cut") before working the chisel parallel
to the grain.

To understand things like "tearout" better we need to complicate our
simple model a bit. Now picture wood as being made up of tubes
and lignin as before but now the tubes aren't straight. They are
wavy, with some meeting the surface of the board at an angle. If
you push a plane "with the grain", meaning along the tubes starting
where a given tube is below the surface towards where the tube
meets the surface, then any splitting that happens will be harmlessly
up towards the surface. If you plane against the grain then any
splitting will occur down into the board, causing "tearout" (little
holes in the surface where wood has been torn away). These little
patches of tearout will be noticable. Power planers and jointers
will also cause tearout if used against the grain.

Wood will expand and contract (people usually call this "wood
movement") with changes in humidity because of water absorption.
Our tubes generally don't change in length but will get thicker
and thinner. Thus the wood will expand and contract in the directions
(note that's plural) perpendicular to the direction of the grain as
humidity changes. If you do not take this into account when designing
a piece of furniture then the piece may split or break apart due to
seasonal changes in humidity. It is usually "cross-grain" joints,
where the grain (tubes) is running one direction in one of the pieces
to be joined and a different direction in the other piece, that this
is a problem. Since wood is much stronger with the grain than across
the grain (easier to separate the tubes than to break through them)
you need to design pieces in such a way that the grain is running in
the direction of the load. But this goal often results in
cross-grain joints. It is usually OK to glue a cross-grain joint that
is up to 3 or 4 inches wide (some people say a bit more than this,
some people a bit less...) without too much risk because the change
in overall width for that narrow a section is small but for a larger
width the change in overall width will be larger. Joints wider
than this you run the risk of having the joint self-destruct over
time. Note that the simplistic model of the tubes getting thicker
and thinner is much too simplistic. Real wood will expand and
contract more tangentially to the annual growth rings than it
does radially. Explaining this any better requires pictures
not possible with ASCII characters, it is best to find a good
book (see Hoadley's, Korn's, or Frid's books in the section about
books). This difference in tangential versus radial movement
is why "quarter sawn" wood is better for some applications than
"flat sawn". Again, explaining this requires pictures so see the
above books.

When gluing wood the end grain will tend to allow glue to be drawn
away from the joint (into the tubes). There is also evidence
suggesting that the strength of a glue bond is mostly from molecular
attraction between the glue and the wood. End grain has relatively
little wood material (the plastic of the tubes) and lots of air space.
These two factors mean that glue joints involving end grain are very
weak and need to be avoided. Try to have as much edge grain as
possible in a joint. Modern woodworking glues, if used properly
(meaning use a thin layer of glue on edge grain), are stronger than
lignin so the wood around a properly glued joint will fail before the
joint itself.

2) What Hand Tools do I need?

Below is a starter's kit grouped by tool types. Get tools in the
various groups as needed for projects. See the following sections
for more information about the various tools and their use.

- paring chisels either bought one at a time as needed for
projects or a set 1/4" through 1" in 1/4" increments
- morticing chisels either one at a time or a set, start
with 1/4" and then 3/8"
- mallet for striking morticing chisels
- rip saw (4-6 pt)
- crosscut saw (7-9 pt)
- backsaw (15-25 pt)
- dovetail saw
- coping saw
- block plane
- #4 smoothing plane
- #5 jack plane
- #7 jointer plane
- rebate plane (e.g. Record 778)
- bit brace and auger bit set (1/4" to 1")
- hand drill and brad point bits (1/16" to 1/2")
- scraper, bastard mill file and burnisher
- screwdrivers
In addition general-purpose marking tools you will find useful:
- measuring tape
- steel rule or folding "zig-zag" rule
- trysquare and/or combination square (protractor head on
the combination square is optional but nice)
- scratch awl or marking knife
- marking guage
- sliding bevel guage
Misc. stuff:
- workbench is very important
- toolbox (first project you build)
- bench hook (second project, or maybe first and used to help
build toolbox)
- shoot board

3) What Hand Tools would be nice to have?
- bow saw (many people like these better than the traditional
rip and crosscut saws; they are harder to find but you can
make one yourself)
- #71 router plane
- drawknife
- spokeshave

4) What other Hand Tools are out there?

5) Should I buy Hand Tools new or used?

Most of the Hand Tool Gurus will tell you ``They just don't make
them like they used to''. Planes and chisels in particular seem
to be in wide abundance in the second-hand tool markets. Older
Stanley planes seem to be the most often recommended for beginners
who plan to work with them as opposed to collecting them.
Ergonomics, as much as it's in style today, is often a reason
to get the used tools. Handles of older saws are often more
comfortable, likewise for planes. The fact is tool designers
of old used the tools themselves, while current tool designers
tend to be most interested in how to make a tool for the least
amount of money and won't actually use the tool themselves.

6) Where do I get new Hand Tools?

You can start off looking in the local hardware stores or home
centers but be careful. This type store in some places will have
some reasonable quality hand tools. In other places this type store
will only carry junk (new Stanley tools for the Do It Yourself-er
types and stuff like that). Also see the separate Address FAQ posting.

American Machine & Tool Co. (AMT)
Fourth Ave. and Spring Street
Royersford, PA, 19468-2519
Phone: (215) 948-0400
Notes: Primarily importer of run-of-the-mill Taiwanese
power tools, marginal supply of hand tools.

Constantines
2050 Eastchester Rd.
Bronx, NY, 10461
Phone: (800) 223-8087
FAX: (800) 253-WOOD
Notes: No direct experience.

Footprint Tools
33 Dorman Avenue
San Francisco, CA, 94124
Phone: 1-415-920-7068
Notes: No direct experience.

Garrett Wade
161 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY, 10013-1299
Phone: (800) 221-2942
Notes: Best supplier of new hand tools I've found, at least
in US; catalog well worth looking at for the info it
contains. Slightly expensive but not too bad.

Highland Hardware
1045 N Highland Ave. NE
Dept F Atlanta GA 30306
Phone: (800) 241-6748
Notes: No direct experience.

Lee Valley Tools
P.O. Box 6295, Stn. J
Ottawa, Ontario K2A 1T4
Phone: (800) 267-8767
FAX: (800) 668-1807
Notes: No direct experience.

Leichtung Workshops
4944 Commerce Parkway
Cleveland, OH 44128
Phone: (800) 321-6840
FAX: (216) 464-6764 Fax
Notes: No direct experience.

Lie Nielsen Toolworks
Route 1
Warren, ME, 04864
Phone: (800) 327-2520 (outside Maine)
Phone: (207) 273-2520 (inside Maine)

Trend-lines
375 Beacham St.
Chelsea, MA 02150
Phone: (800) 767-9999
FAX: (617) 889-2072
Notes: Good selection of power tools, marginal selection of
hand tools but if they have what you're looking for
odds are they've got the best price (and will match
if not). Can be a hassle to deal with on occasion.

Woodcraft
210 Wood County Industrial Park
PO Box 1686
Parkersburg, WV 26102-1686
Phone: (800) 225-1153
Notes: No direct experience.

The Woodworker's Store
21801 Industrial Blvd.
Rogers, MN 55374-9514
Phone: (612) 428-3200
FAX: (612) 428-8668
Notes: Not the best source of hand tools but not the worst.
Decent prices, regional walk-in stores, good selection
of hardware like knobs, hinges, etc.

Woodworker's Supply of New Mexico
Woodworker's Supply of Wyoming
1108 North Glenn Rd.
Casper, Wyoming 82601
Phone: (800) 645-9292
FAX: (307) 577-5272
Notes: No direct experience.

Woodworking Unlimited
3931 Image Dr.
Dayton, OH 45414-2591
Phone: (800) 543-7586
FAX: (800) 722-3965
Notes: No direct experience.

7) Where do I get used Hand Tools?

This depends on what condition you're looking for. If you are
looking for tools that are an absolute bargain and you are interested
in fixing them up to make them usable then it's hard to beat the
local Flea Markets, garage sales, etc. As an example I picked up
a Stanley #4 smoothing plane at the local flea market for $7 that
would cost $35 or so at a second-hand tool dealer in usable condition.
It was unusable in its current condition (rust, blade severely nicked,
etc.) but it had all the parts and after a couple hours of work it was
ready to use. Chisels are in wide abundance and cheap but you'll need
to sharpen them and probably remove some rust.

If you want usable second-hand tools you may be able to find a store
locally that handles them. A few sources I know of are :

Patrick Leach
224 Whitney Rd.
Ashby, MA, 01431
Phone: (508) 386-2436
email: le...@bedford.progress.com

Lee Richmond
12640 Magna Carta Rd.
Herndon, VA, 22071
Phone: (703) 391-0074
email: M21...@mwvm.mitre.org

Anthony Seo
300 River Drive
York Haven, PA, 17370
Phone: (717) 266-3281 (Home, Evenings)
(717) 763-5772 (Work)
email: anth...@frackit.com

Andy Andersen
The Old Tool Shop
1221 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA
Phone: (310) 392-5441

Mark Williams
Classic Tools
3084 Fireside Dr.
San Jose, CA 95128 4006
Phone: (408) 985-8099
email:ma...@cup.hp.com

8) How do I sharpen chisels, plane blades, etc?

The following works for me and others I know. There are lots
of other alternatives, some explained later in this section, but
what follows seems to be a relatively cheap workable sharpening
setup. A set of Japanese Waterstones including 800 grit, 1200 grit,
and 6000 grit stones can be used for sharpening. Keep the 800 and
1200 grit stones in a tupperware container full of water. Water
is needed to lubricate and help the cutting action. Also keep a
squirt-bottle of water handy to add water as needed while using the
stones. Sharpening chisels and plane blades is roughly the same.
Start with the back of the blade or chisel (the long face of the
blade that meets the edge you're sharpening) to make sure it's flat.
Then work on the bevel. Use the 800 grit waterstone until the
edge is straight and nick-free. Then shift to the 1200 grit stone
to remove the scratches left by the 800 grit stone leaving finer
scratches, and finally polish with the 6000 grit stone. At this point
the back and bevel faces should be mirror smooth. Some final polishing
can be done with a cloth wheel or a leather strop. Simple
aluminum housings can be bought to mount cloth wheels on, just
add a small electric motor to drive it. Be careful with a strop or
the cloth wheels - it is possible to round over the edge.

Waterstones require fairly frequent lapping to keep them flat.
This can be done on a sheet of plate glass with some 120 grit
wet/dry silicon carbide sandpaper stuck to it.

There are a variety of ``honing guides'' you can get that help
hold chisels and plane blades while sharpening. Personally I
find them useful for plane blades but not chisels. The bevel on plane
blades is so small I find it difficult to keep flat while sharpening
but the bevel on chisels is wide enough I can sharpen those free-hand.
Some people swear by oil stones rather than waterstones. You need
a special oil instead of water for lubrication of these stones.
One argument for them is that water may lead to rust. On the other
hand the oil may be a bit messier. Diamond stones are also available
which also use water for lubrication. They are more expensive but
do not require any lapping (and can be used to lap waterstones if
you choose to mix the two - there is no reason you must stick to
strictly one type of sharpening stone but you are best off sticking
to one type of lubrication so don't mix oil stones with water stones).
The "grits" of different stone types are in different units. The
"US grits" are different than "Japanese grits".

If a blade is heavily nicked a bench grinder will save you a lot of
time getting the nicks out. It is VERY easy to overheat the blade
on a bench grinder. Keep a cup of water close by to dip the blade
in regularly. Special "white wheels" are available for grinders
that will lessen the chance of overheating the blade.

9) How do I sharpen saw blades?

HOW TO SHARPEN WESTERN PANEL SAWS

If you have had trouble cutting with a hand saw, it was probably dull.
Hand saws work best when kept well-sharpened -- and they are easy to
sharpen. It will probably take you less time to sharpen one than to
drive it to and from a sharpening shop, so give it a try.

In Praise of Older Saws

Better old hand saws are made of superb steel; they have comfortable and
beautiful handles, superior to the rough ones on saws today. You will
get a lot of satisfaction from restoring one of these old timers and
keeping it sharp yourself. Best of all, a great older saw can be
bought for much less than a new saw.

Look for names like Disston and Superior on the saw nuts. Avoid saws
with bent or pitted blades or broken handles. Other names to look for
are Simonds, Atkins, Bishop, and Spear&Jackson.

TOOLS for Saw Sharpening: Saw file and vice

The saw file has three equal faces, an equialteral triangle in
cross section. Any hardware store will have them.

You need something to hold your saw while you file it. Called a saw
vice, this is just a vice with a very wide pair of jaws. You can make
one from two scraps of plywood, a hinge to hold them together, and
some rubber to face the plywood with so the process is quieter. Clamp
the saw vice in your bench vice.

Old saw vices are around used, but they are becoming harder to find
and really don't work any better than the wood vice you can make.

THE SHARPENING PROCESS

Basically you just file each tooth the same amount, in the same
direction the old tooth was filed. Rip saws are usually sharpened
with all teeth chisel cut, not skewed to the blade. Crosscut saws
have each alternating tooth skewed to the blade, by about 15 degrees.

Every few sharpenings you will want to "set" the teeth as explained
below, and once every life time you may need to "joint" it, also
explained below.

Jointing the Saw (optional)

Start with teeth that are roughly the same height. If they are, skip
this step.

If the saw has been sharpened a lot, sometimes a dip or bump in the
height of the teeth develops, which should be corrected by "jointing"
the saw. Jointing is done by simply filing the tops of the teeth
level with an ordinary smooth file, held in a little guide to keep it
perpendicular to the blade. Then proceed to set the teeth and sharpen
them.

Setting the teeth (Optional)

The teeth on panel saws are set alternately, that is each tooth is bent
slightly away from the plane of the blade with a tool called a "saw set"
or a hammer and anvil. This set makes the kerf wider than the blade
so the saw can move through the cut freely.

You won't need to set the teeth every time you sharpen, but if the saw
is clean and binds in the cut, it's probably time to set it.

I'll assume you have a saw set which allows you to dial the amount of
set based on the tooth pitch (4,5,6,...). Once adjusted for the pitch,
the saw set is used to bend every other tooth one direction, the saw is
reversed in the vice and the remaining unset teeth are set.

Don't buy a new saw set; they are very common on the used tool market
and cost much less than new ones.

FILING the TEETH

The goal here is to take off just enough metal to put an edge on the
tooth. Two to four strokes per tooth should do it. Use the same file
and the same number of strokes on each tooth. When sharp, the teeth
lose the shiny flat on the tip, and have just an edge.

As I mentioned, crosscut saws have angled teeth, while rip saws have
chisel cut teeth. For rip saws, the file is perpendicular to the blade.

For crosscuts, follow the angle on your saw teeth now. It is usually
skewed about 15 degrees from perpendicular for crosscuts, and slightly
pointed on the outer edge of the tooth. Hold the saw file at a
consistent angle, sloped a little and skewed a little to match the
angle of the existing teeth. It should take less than an hour to
sharpen your saw.

Try your newly sharpened saw and you will be amazed at the difference
in effort and quality of cut you can make with a sharper saw.

10) General Information on planes.

The most common advice for beginners about getting planes seems to
be get some of the older Stanley metal bench planes (also known as
Bailey planes in respect to the person who first patented this style
plane, Leonard Bailey). These can be bought at virtually any used tool
dealer. If you opt for new planes Record makes planes that are "OK",
they will need some tuning. Avoid the junk at Sears or the new
Stanley's in your typical Home Center. If you are looking for a really
good new plane Tom Lie-Nielsen makes some very good but relatively
expensive planes.

There is a huge variety of planes available for different tasks, we'll
just cover the basics here.

The Stanley #5 plane (aka the Jack plane) is considered the "workhorse"
plane. For example it is what you would probably use to begin working
a rough-sawn board, taking off the saw marks and beginning to make
it flat. It is also what would be used for a lot of shaping tasks
like chamfering an edge, etc. The Stanley #4 plane is known as a
smoothing plane. It would typically be used to make the final passes
on the board after the board has been flattened. The Stanley #7
plane is a jointer plane. It would be used to "joint an edge" which
means make edges flat and ready to glue two boards together. It can
also be used in surface preparation to help making large boards
flat. The last plane in common use is the small block plane, which
is used to do small shaping tasks, plane end grain, etc.

The main difference between the larger bench planes (#4, #5 and #7)
is the length of the sole. The smoothing planes are generally about
9 to 10 inches long, jack planes about 14 inches long, and the
jointers run about 22 inches long.

If you get a used plane, and even if you get a brand new plane,
it is likely to need some tuning. I've bought an old badly rusted
Stanley #4 plane at a local flea market and made it usable so I'll
describe what I did to it, incorporating extra information gained
from books and rec.woodworking postings. If you're starting off
with a plane in better shape than my lump of rust you should be
able to skip various steps in this.

Start by taking the whole plane apart. Brush off as much of the gunk
as you can, then scrub off the parts with a brush (old toothbrush
worked great - NOT a stiff wire brush because that will leave
scratches) and mineral spirits. This should clean up pretty much
everything but heavy rust. Some WD-40 and synthetic wool will get
rust off, as will Naval Jelly. I have had one warning from someone
that Naval Jelly is itself corrosive so it may make things worse
over the long haul. You should pay special attention to cleaning up
where the plane's cast body meets the frog (cast part that holds the
blade, lateral adjustment lever, depth knob, etc.). With the plane
cleaned reassemble the whole thing. Put the blade in but set the
depth so the blade is not sticking out of the bottom. Now set up
a lapping table. This is a large-ish chunk of plate glass with
220 grit (rougher if your plane's sole is in really bad shape) wet/dry
cloth attached to the glass with spray adhesive. Someone also
recommended cloth-backed sanding belts for this. Use the lapping
table to flatten the sole of the plane. If you need the sides to be
perfectly perpendicular to the sole (this is needed for a planing
technique called "shooting") then use something long-ish with a good
right angle on it as a guide to flatten the sides as well. Some people
recommend using a tool bed for a lapping table. If you've got a
jointer you may find it perfect for this. Personally I'm afraid to
use the spray adhesive on my jointer bed and I don't like the idea
of having metal dust around my jointer but this doesn't bother some
people. Finally sharpen the blade and adjust it (and if necessary
the frog). Check to make sure the chip breaker meets the blade
perfectly along the whole width of the blade, file the chip breaker's
edge flat if necessary.

11) General Information on scrapers.

I have no personal experience with scrapers yet. The following is
posts from other folks.

Tage Frid did a long article on scrapers in Fine WoodWorking
that was reprinted in the hardcover version FWW #1. [I also found
it in "Fine WoodWorking on Hand Tools" in softcover] The article
includes pictures of each step that make the whole thing a lot
easier to understand. I made notes for myself, intending to pick
up one at Lee Valley on Vancouver on my next trip over. As Tage
Frid says "since most people buy only one or two blades in a
lifetime, it is a good investment to buy the best" which he says
is the Sandvik #475.

Sharpening involves 3 steps: filing, honing, burnishing. He does
all four edges each time, repeating only when all 4 edges are
dull.

Filing squares the edge to the side. Scraper in vise, file in
hands, fingers below, thumbs above, sliding lengthwise with
scraper between fingers, few long even strokes.

Honing smooths the edge (still square), but involves two
different stones. Honing part 1, with scraper still in vise,
medium wet dry carborundum stone in both hands on edge, thumbs
on top, finges on bottom, sliding lengthwise with scraper between
fingers, to remove roughness left by file. Honing part 2, with
scraper still in vise, using Belgian clay water-stone (with water),
held flat but moved at a slight angle to prevent a groove. This
will be a problem for most people, since Belgian water-stones do not
exactly abound these days. When edge very smooth, wipe stone along
face to remove any burr.

Burnishing takes place with the scraper lying flat on the
bench, with edge extending 1" over the side of the bench, all
scraper edges oiled. With back of chisel, held almost vertical
(85 degrees) draw it back and forth a few times with light
pressure until a fine burr forms (check with light finger tip
pressure). Some have suggested that (lots) more than light
pressure is required.

Reburnishing, required when scrapings turn to dust rather than
fine shavings, is done with scraper flat on the bench, honing
oil, chisel back applied to remove the burr, then hone again. If
this does not work (after 4 or 5 times), start again from the
file.

12) General Information on saws.

13) General Information on chisels.

The "They don't make 'em like they used to" sentiment seems strong
in the chisel area. Chisels available new these days don't tend to
sharpen as well or hold a sharp edge for as long as the older chisels.
Manufacturers have tradeoffs to decide on when deciding how to
"temper" the blades of the chisels. The metal can be made harder
which generally lets it sharpen better and hold a sharp edge better.
However this makes it more brittle so if you use the chisel to pry
off paint can lids and things like that it will chip. Manufacturers
are catering to the weekend warriors more these days so they're
not tempering the blades as hard as they used to.

You can do your own heat-treating of chisels if you want to harden
the steel yourself. See Michael Dunbar's book for a description
of how to do the heat treating. Most new chisels will also require
some or all of the sharpening procedure above before you can seriously
use them - it is rare to find chisels that don't need the backs
lapped and the edge resharpened.

There are two dominant chisel types. The paring chisels have
a bevel down both sides of the blade as well as along the cutting
end. Morticing chisels have square sides. Poor pictures of the
ends of the chisels are:

------ ---------
/ \ | |
---------- ---------
paring morticing

The paring chisels are usually used for general shaping and cutting
tasks. Morticing chisels are used to, you guessed it, chop out
mortices. The square sides of the morticing chisels help keep the
mortice square. There are also some special-purpose chisels. One
example is the "crank-neck" chisels which have a curve in the shaft
of the blade before it meets the handle so that the flat portion
of the blade can be kept flat on the wood surface even for large
pieces of wood (regular chisels the handle gets in the way).

If you are buying new chisels the general consensus seems to be
that Marples Blue Chip chisels are a decent chisel for a reasonable
price. Robert Sorby used to make good chisels but the feeling is
that they have dropped in quality recently. Henry Taylor chisels
seem to be the preferred chisel but they're more expensive than
Marples and harder to find. High quality Japanese chisels seem to
be the best of the chisels as far as quality of the steel used
but these tend to be very expensive.

Sometimes you will need something to hit paring chisels with while
using them (if you can do what you want with hand pressure you're
best off not hitting the chisel with anything but there are times
when it is necessary...) and you will definitely need something to
hit morticing chisels with. DO NOT use a normal claw hammer. Wooden
mallets with either large flat faces or round faces are available
for using with chisels, you are best off getting one of those. I
prefer the round mallet because you don't need to pay attention to
its orientation when you're striking the chisel and my attention
is usually focused on the blade of the chisel.

14) General Information on Japanese Woodworking Tools.

What's all the fuss about?
Over the past 20 years many American woodworkers have discovered that
there are alternative woodworking traditions and tools available in
the modern world. Many Japanese handtools available today (saws,
chisels, hammers, planes, etc.) are still made in the traditional
manner, by hand -- a master blacksmith with his one or two
apprentices, a charcoal fire, an ancient anvil...

Japanese hand tools are often distinctly different from their western
counterparts. Japanese saws cut on the pull stroke, planes are pulled
towards you instead of pushed away. Often these differences yield
advantages over their western counterparts, other times they are
simply evidence of a different tradition.

Japanese plane blades and chisels are made from laminated steel (a
hard tool steel for the cutting edge, and a softer steel, often
wrought iron, for the remainder of the blade). The tool steels used
in these tools is of a higher quality, and will hold a better edge
than just about anything else made today. Western tools used to be
made this way, or at least using higher quality steels, but the
"home handyman" mentality of most western tool manufacturers forces
us to seek out our grandfathers tools at auctions and flea markets.

The first step: Try a Japanese saw!
The next time you have a few dovetails to cut, or a tenon to saw,
buy a good replaceable blade saw (~$25, see sources below). For
furniture sized work a 210mm (8") ryoba (ree-o-bah), which means
two teeth, offers the highest utility (since it has rip teeth on one
side and crosscut teeth on the other).

The other common saw people start with is a "dovetail dozuki", a
dozuki is equivalent to a western back saw, and can be purchased with
either crosscut, rip, or thorn-style teeth (for dovetails). Dozuki
saws have very little set to their teeth so they leave a very smooth
cut. Either version is available for $25-30 (replaceable blade).

By the way, the replaceable blades saws, are really very good. In my
experience you would have to buy a very fine handmade saw ($100-200) to
reliably find a better saw. Don't think of it like a disposeable
razor, the reason the blades are replaceable is because with 18-28
crosscut teeth per inch, they are rather difficult to sharpen. (The
only time I've ever had to replace a blade was when it was
inadvertently used one to prune a tree, and the closing kerf put a
kink in the blade.) They will stay sharp a long time.

Taking the next step: Mastering your Tools
To really appreciate fine Japanese tools (or their western
counterparts), you need to really appreciate your current tools. I
don't want to sound elitist, but if you are happy sharpening your
chisels with 600 grit sandpaper on a piece of glass, then read no
further. Why, because you just won't notice much of a difference.
However, if you enjoy keeping a razor edge on your tools, and can
appreciate the difference between a sharp blade and a really sharp
blade, then read on.

Chisels. (Nomi)
After acquiring the saws above, the next step is to get a chisel or two.
Japanese chisels are made from high quality tool steel, that is only
tempered down to RC63-65 (as compared to RC58-62 for modern western
chisels), and more importantly, will take and hold a better edge.
Chisels come in metric sizes that correspond nicely (just slightly
undersize) to fractional inches. Just say 3mm = 1/8" and multiply
away... Common sizes are 1.5,3,6,9,12,15, 18,24,30,36. While they are
available in sets (usually 9 or 10), one can start with a couple of
common sizes and add as necessary. I recommend something in the 12mm
(1/2") to 24mm (1") range until your sharpening skills adjust (note:
sharpening jigs don't grip japanese chisels or plane blades very well).

Chisels are made from laminated steel, and will have one or more
hollows on the back of the chisel to facilitate easily flattening
the hard steel back (contrary to many popular misconceptions about
why the hollows are there).

Planes. (Kanna)
Japanese planes are nothing like the Bailey style plane most
woodworkers are familiar with. Japanese planes are instead much closer
in design to the legendary Norris style planes of yore. Japanese
planes are very simply constructed: a tapered metal blade inserted
into custom fitted wooden block, with a chip breaker wedged under a
metal pin inserted through the block. The blade position is adjusted
by tapping the blade and block with a small hammer. No fancy adjustment
levers, no moveable frogs, no corrugated soles. The design focuses on
the simple, yet crucial, aspects of successful planing: A flat sole
with a narrow throat opening, a solid and well supported blade, a keen
cutting edge, and a close fitting chipbreaker. One must spend some
time adjusting the wooden soles, with heavy use and seasonal humidity
changes, but the results are well worth the effort. I often use my
Bailey-style planes when rough planing or jointing, but then
switch to my Japanese planes for smoothing, or whenever I encounter
difficult grain patterns.

Smoothing planes are commonly available in sizes ranging from 24mm (1")
up to 70mm (~3") in width. The smaller sizes are for more specialized
use, while the larger (>60mm) smoothing planes are difficult to learn
on. I recommend something in the 42-54mm range as a first plane. You
can find very nice planes of this size in the $70-$120 price range. A
wide variety of specialty planes are also available (chamfers, rebates,
groove, sliding dovetail, H&R's, etc.)

JAPANESE WATERSTONES:

Stone Selection: Most people recommend a 1000/6000 pair. But if you are
using Japanese planes or chisels (or older laminated western chisels),
the jump from 1000 to 6000 may be too large to achieve the best edge.
Most modern western tools use a softer steel (58-60 on the Rockwell
scale compared to 63-65) which is easier to sharpen. On the harder
steels, it will take a lot of polishing to get out the scratches left
by the 1000 grit stone, and while the bevel may look like a mirror,
the edge may not be as sharp as it could be. Unfortunately there
aren't many types of stones in between 1000 and 6000 grit. The choices
are: 1) use a 1200 instead, or 2) try a 3-4000 grit polishing stone
before going to the 6000, 3) use a 1500 or 2000 as a middle stone
(Japan Woodworker now sells both) or 4) Get yourself either a natural
"Ocean Blue" or "Mountain Blue" middle stone which is equivalent to
about 2000-2500 grit. Unfortunately these stones are "mined", not
manufactured and last I heard the underwater "Ocean Blue" mine was
closed and the "Mountain Blue" mine was nearly so. Last time I asked
(Early 1994), Hida had just gotten a few of the "Mountain Blue"
variety. Many of the "Ocean Blue" stones left on the market, if there
are any at all now, are of low quality and tend to "disintegrate" into
smaller randomly shaped chunks. Ask about the quality if you find one.
(A friend just traded a $800 set of chisels for a really nice one.)

Remember just because they are called "waterstones" doesn't mean you
need to leave them all in a bucket of water. The general rule is as
follows: 1) Never leave a NATURAL stone of any grit soaking. They tend
to disintegrate. Just sprinkle enough water on the stone to keep the
surface nice and moist. 2) Never leave a manmade stone over 1500 grit
soaking in water, again just use enough water to keep the surface wet.
Your mileage may vary. Some of the newer natural finishing stones may
work OK in the water bucket, I haven't felt the need to find out. I
do leave my manmade 220, 600, 800, and 1200 grit stones in a bucket of
water.

Flattening Your Stones:
Don't forget to flatten your stones regularly, the "red" King brand
800-1200 stones wear especially fast. I prefer the Bester brand ceramic
stones (white or yellowish), which are composed of small ceramic bits
(unlike the fused ceramic stones that claim to "never wear out"). I
use a piece of 1/4" glass with a piece of sandpaper on top, and just
rub the stone on the sandpaper.

Nagura Stones: Nagura stones are NOT used to flatten other stones, they
are used to enhance the sharpening characteristics of waterstones.
They are actually very helpful, but your mileage will depend on the
type of stone you are using it with, as well as the hardness of the
steel you are working with. On inexpensive "Western" chisels (sears
or stanley) the steel is "relatively" soft and I find the nagura
doesn't help much on any stone. With the extremely hard steel found in
Japanese chisels, and in some of the finer or older western steels,
using the nagura to create a bit of paste on the waterstone can really
help. When sharpening, if the tool slips or chirps across the stone,
try a little nagura. Some natural polishing stones are very hard, and
really need the nagura to cut smoothly. (Other stones can contain
impurities that can leave tiny scratches on the blade, the nagura is
used to "knock down" these impurities to prevent the scratches.)

My Choices:
I'm fortunate enough to have both blue stones, and they work extremely
well. The Ocean stone is rather hard, while the mountain stone is
softer. If such stones are either no longer available (likely) or too
expensive (also likely), then I think I'd opt for the 2000 as a middle
stone. My current stone collection includes 220, 600, 800, 1200 (the
workhorse), ocean blue, mountain blue, 6000, 8000 and several natural
polishing stones. I also have several different types of nagura stones
to play with, since some work better on different stones. When
sharpening a chisel or plane blade I usually start on the 1200 unless
there are big problems, then move to one of the blue middle stones,
and then finish up on the 6000 or 8000, or one of the natural stones,
depending on the quality of the tool (no sense polishing a $3 chisel
on a $200 natural waterstone). I tend to use a nagura with the middle
and polishing stones (different naguras though), but sometimes I use
with on the 1200 as well. I don't really like my 6000 grit S1 stone
very much, it seems very "soft". I received the 8000 G1 stone
recently as a gift, and it works much much better than the 6000. As
a result the 6000 has been relegated to sharpening small chisels and
other tools that can easily damage a polishing stone.

ADVANCED STUFF: SHARPENING "HOLLOW BACKED" PLANES & CHISELS

Japanese plane and chisel blades are hollow on the back side. In fact
higher quality chisels often have multiple hollows. I'm a terrible
ascii artist so netters who haven't seen this before will just have
to look in a tool catalog. The hollow serves a very simple purpose.
The steel used for the cutting edge is SO hard (Rockwell 63-65) that
flattening the back would take forever, unless you "scooped out the
middle" leaving only the edges to flatten. Sounds great until you
sharpen down to the where the hollow starts. Then what? The story
diverges here for chisels and plane blades, they are handled
differently.

Plane blades:
Unfortunatley, you can't just re-flatten the back (as you can on a
chisel), is that the blade needs to fit rather precisely into a
groove in the planes block, reflattening the blade would destroy
this fit. (Of course, it's fine to just touch up the back on your
fine stones to remove the "wire edge", from sharpening the bevel side.)

Instead you need to "tap out" the blade to "restore the land", where
"land" refers to the flattened part of the back of the blade between
the cutting edge and the hollow. You know, the part you just ran out
of. As Mr. Odate recommends you simply "hit the plane blade with a
hammer" until you create some more flat part. Scared the hell out of
me when I first read that! At least, until I saw someone do it, and
tried it myself a few times. I've done it dozens of times since without
any problems. I even started with a piece of a larger blade with no
flat part on the sides at all(!), and tapped it into shape.

First of all, realize that you don't have to do this very often. Plane
blades and chisels come with 1/8 - 1/4" of land to begin with and
unless you hit a nail or something to take a serious nick this should
last through several years of heavy use. Then you perform this process
once in a while to reestablish 1/32 - 1/16" or so of the land.

How to do it.
First off you use a SMALL hammer and you "tap". I use a 3 or 4oz hammer
with a small point on one end (like a nail or saw setting hammer). You
also need a hunk of iron or steel (like a small anvil), I have a piece
of 3" round mild steel about 5" tall. Holding the back of the blade
against the corner or edge of the "anvil" you tap the hammer into the
soft iron of the blade all along the front (near the cutting edge) of
the blade. I can't remember if Odate's book shows this very well,
again I learned by watching someone who had been doing it for years.
The hammer will leave little marks in the soft iron, and actually
deforms it and the hard steel so that the tip of the blade bends over
slightly toward the back. A few quick passes on a sharpening stone and
presto, you've got some land! Don't hit the hard steel of the cutting
edge with the hammer, it may chip, especially if you hit very close to
the cutting edge.

After you've been sharpening and occasionally tapping out you're
favorite blade for many, many years it will eventually get pretty
stubby and you will be really deforming the hard steel to keep some
"land" on the blade. If trouble ever occurs, this is when it happens.
Your favorite blade, the one you use on birdseye and quilted maple and
other difficult jobs, finally gives in and breaks.

Still with me...Okay, On to chisels.
Chisels are simpler because you sharpen them differently. On plane
blades you don't flatten the back very often, only when you tap out,
or if a big nick has distorted the back. With chisels you typically
need to flatten the back more often because they endure more abuse by
being hammered all the time. But don't do it unless it really needs
it. Anyway, because you end up flattening the back more often, you
tend to wear away the bottom of the chisel a bit and the hollow
naturally recedes away from the cutting edge. If this doesn't happen
naturally you can either "tap out" the chisel as described above or be
a bit more agressive in flattening the back. If you are too aggressive
in flattening the back the hollows will be gone while the chisel is
still young and the hard steel may become too thin and be more
susceptible to breaking. I've heard inexperienced users describe this
problem (Wow, it was hard work grinding off those darn hollows!). If
you tend toward this end of the scale, you'll need to ease up on
flattening and "tap out" some instead.

I tend to do a bit of both. If I distort the back of a chisel somehow,
sometimes I'll just tap it out until it's pretty flat again before
going to the stone. Otherwise I simply flatten the back on a stone,
when it needs it. It seems to be balancing out pretty well so far
(5 years on these chisels)...