Best Chisel ✓ Testing and Comparing Bench Chisels

What Types of Chisel Constructions Are There?

Chisel construction generally falls into three categories: tang, ferrule (Japanese style), and steel ring. Each construction type has its own advantages and is suited to specific uses.

Chisel Shapes in Comparison

Overall, chisel shapes can be divided into two categories: Western style and Japanese style.

Western designed Chisels

In general, chisels with a Western form are made from alloy tool steels. Sturdy, less chip-prone blades are typically standard. Nevertheless, there are considerable quality differences, especially regarding the fineness of the steel’s grain, and how easily the blade can be sharpened or how cleanly the cutting edge and back can be honed. Western chisels have longer blades than their Japanese counterparts. This offers the advantage of being able to make deeper cuts and having a longer, flat reference surface on the back.

Blade Made of Tool Steel

The blade is usually made from tool steel, and in higher-grade chisels, it’s made from a high-alloy steel. High-alloy tool steels feature a very fine grain. As a result, you get a high-quality cutting edge that, due to the somewhat softer steel, can be re-sharpened and honed quickly once it becomes dull. These chisels are also manageable for beginners and less experienced users to restore to proper shape, achieving excellent sharpening results.

Swedish-Style Characteristic

A subcategory of the Western form is the Swedish style. Here, a shock-absorbing ring made of leather is placed between the handle and the blade. This ring absorbs the impact of the strike on the handle (which features a striking ring) and distributes it evenly to the cutting edge. This also reduces strain on the user’s hand.

Japanese designed Chisels

Wherever a high degree of precision in processing solid wood is required—be it for crafting wood joints, building high-quality furniture, or constructing musical instruments—Japanese chisels are indispensable. These tools offer the following structural advantages:

Two-Layer Steel Blade

The blade consists of a combination of soft iron, which protects against brittle breakage and dampens shocks, plus a thin layer of hard carbon steel (except in the case of HSS-Nomi), which is forge-welded onto it. The hardness ranges between HRc 62–63, or HRc 66 for HSS steel.

Angled Blade

The blade’s angled design provides a working depth that is nearly twice the length of the blade. The back can lie flat without the handle interfering during chiseling.

Integral Construction

The chisel’s neck merges seamlessly into the handle, ensuring comfortable handling. A solid, tapered steel ferrule reliably protects the handle from cracking or loosening when struck with a hammer.

Hollow Grind

The hollow grind (ura) on the back of a Japanese chisel is perhaps its most distinctive feature. It minimizes the contact area and thereby reduces friction. Additionally, it simplifies honing because only the edge of the hard laminated steel needs to be worked. Thanks to minimal material removal during honing, the straight cutting edge remains intact even as the blade shortens over time from repeated sharpening.

The Correct Way to Work with Chisels

It’s advisable to perform chiseling on a stable, solid surface. If the work surface yields under impact, part of the striking force is lost and the chiseling cannot be carried out with precision. Suitable bases include planing boards, low Japanese work stands, or massive European workbenches.

In Japan, the chisel is traditionally struck with a steel hammer called a genno, which has two flat striking faces. This Japanese hammer weighs about 400 g and derives its driving force from its long handle, ideally the length of the user’s forearm. However, if you’re more familiar with the wooden mallet (Klüpfel) commonly used in Europe, you can continue to use it, even though it’s harder to control than the Japanese steel hammer. On the other hand, the heavier mallet eases some of the workload. Its own weight helps deliver the blow, making your task less strenuous.

Thanks to their short design, Japanese chisels offer excellent handling, as the hand is closer to the work area. Despite the short blade, the working depth is not compromised because the blade is angled, and the chisel can lie completely flat. This nearly doubles the possible working depth.

How to Properly Sharpen a Chisel

Manual sharpening on a Japanese water stone has proven effective for sharpening chisels. This method, used throughout history for creating the sharpest edges—such as those on samurai swords—remains a top choice.

Compared to machine grinding, manual sharpening is fundamentally safer and gentler on the material. There are no sparks, nor is there any risk of overheating the hardened steel. Using flat stones yields a precisely defined geometric bevel without creating a weakening hollow or rounding the edge. The wide range of available grits covers the entire sharpening process—from coarse sharpening (e.g., for chips) to the finest mirror finish. Generally, a stone with an 800–1200 grit is sufficient for normal sharpening, while grits between 4000 and 10,000 are recommended for honing. Japanese water stones work particularly quickly, so with a bit of practice, you can sharpen a chisel in just 2–4 minutes.

Sharpening Japanese Chisels

When sharpening Japanese chisels, only fine-grained Japanese water stones with a grit between 1000 and 2000 should be used. For honing, a grit of 1000–4000 is recommended. The chisel is worked on both the bevel and the back until the hollow grind lies outside the cutting edge. The back (flat side) of the chisel should lie completely flush on the sharpening stone. Absolute flatness of both the sharpening and honing stones is crucial here.

Which Steels Are Good for Chisels?

Most chisels are made of HSS steel, CV steel, white paper steel, or blue paper steel. Each of these steels has its own advantages and disadvantages and is used for different tasks. Key factors include the steel’s grain size, edge retention, and sharpenability.

Aside from their composition, the steels’ properties also depend on the hardening process. Methods such as plasma nitriding, induction hardening, case hardening, tempering, or annealing are often used.

Relationship Between Ura and Uratsuki in Japanese Chisels

In Japanese blacksmithing, the term Ura refers to the hollow grind (“Hollow Grind”) on the back (flat side) of a chisel (Nomi). This hollow grind reduces the contact area during sharpening and makes it easier to hone the blade.

Uratsuki essentially describes the process or outcome of creating this hollow grind. One can think of it as the “making” or “application” of the Ura. So when we talk about “Uratsuki” on a Japanese chisel, it means that the blacksmith (or sharpener) has worked the hollow profile into the back of the blade in such a way that only a narrow edge at the cutting tip and a small area near the blade’s base lie flat against the sharpening stone.

• Ura = the hollow-ground section on the back of the blade itself.
• Uratsuki = the application or presence of this hollowed area—that is, the process or the result.

Because of Ura/Uratsuki, only a small amount of material needs to be removed from the cutting edge and back surface during each sharpening. This preserves the straight blade longer, and the cutting edge remains very precise and thin even after frequent re-sharpening.