For this Father's Day, my son and daughter bought me a number of things, but in specific my son bought me Graham Blackburn's Vol 3 "Traditional Woodworking Techniques" book as shown. Love the book!! I highly recommend it.

... and my daughter bought me a couple of Tataki Nomi Japanese Chisels. Both a 9 mm and a 15 mm as shown per Fig 1. They are beautiful!

FIG 1

Unlike Western Chisels, Japanese chisels need to be prepped for the hoop at the handle's end. Also like all chisels checked for flatness, sharpness, etc.

However, these chisels were very sharp upon receiving them and flat. Almost hard to believe they came this way. Shaved end grain on a piece of Maple like slicing through paper. Very exciting!

So this post is about setting the hoops.

When you buy Japanese chisels the hoops are loose on the handle.

Now you may ask, "Why are the hoops on Japanese chisels loose when you buy them?"

Hoops (katsura) on Japanese chisels are left loose by the blacksmith by design. Because wood naturally expands and shrinks with fluctuating humidity and temperature during transit and storage. Therefore, blacksmiths ship chisels this way to allow the end-user to custom-fit the hoop themselves before the tool's first use.

However... many woodworkers don't know this. So, I decided to share the process as I've learned it.

First, you remove the hoops as shown per Fig 2. Note the orientation of them before you remove them. They are often tapered with a bevel. You must put them back on the way they came off. While off, deburr them if necessary.

FIG 2

You now lightly sand flat the top of each handle. See Fig 3. This preps the wood for a water soak.

FIG 3

Next is peening the handle's circumference area where the hoop sits. You are compressing the wood. This is called "Kigoroshi". This allows the hoops to slip on nicely around the handle before seating the hoop. In my case, the hoops were already loose enough.

Seating is normally done using a

Japanese Chisel Hoop Setting Tool

but they are expensive. Many woodworkers use a hex socket. In my case, I used a 17 mm hex socket. See Fig 4.

FIG 4

In Fig 5, you see the hoop now seated. There should only be about 2 - 3 mm of wood extending above the hoop as shown.

FIG 5

Next is soaking. With the hoops now seated, place the chisel(s) upside down in a jar of water. You only need enough water to cover the wood end. Don't worry about wetting the hoop. Let soak for 20 - 30 minutes. See Fig 6.

FIG 6

Now, you start the peening process around the water soaked top's edge as shown per Fig 7.

FIG 7

You use glancing taps a little at a time to mushroom the edge over as shown per Fig 8.

FIG 8

Here are the two chisels now per Fig 9 with the completely seated hoops. Let them dry for a few hours before using. The water swells out the wood and makes the hoops very tight.

FIG 9

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

MrRick

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by MrRick

Thanks for the lesson!

Glad you liked it lew!

It seems everything in Japan developed differently from our procedures. Thanks for the process story.

You're welcome @Gerald Yes.. Japanese woodworking approaches are often different from western world practices. But they yield awesome results.