Dieter Schmid - Fine Tools

Dieter Schmid - Fine Tools Georg-Wilhelm-Str. 7 A - 10711 Berlin Tel ++49 30 342 1757 - Fax ++49 30 342 1764 Website: www.fine-tools.com

To the Japanese chisel page

A look into the workshop of master smith Teijiro Ohkubo Master blacksmith Teijiro Ohkubo lives and works in Yoita, Niigata Province, Japan. You can have a look at the different steps in the process of hand-forging a chisel. He sells his chisels under the band name DAITEI.

	The iron is placed in the coal fire until it glows. If you look closely, you can see the hard steel that will form the cutting edge on the softer steel that will form the body and tang of the chisel.
	The two layers of steel await the forging process that will turn them into one high-quality chisel.
	The spring hammer is used to forge the two pieces of steel together and to form them into a chisel blade.
	As the blade is forged, Teijiro Ohkubo measures the blade often to make sure the desired width is reached and maintained.
	The rough grinding before the hardening process. After hardening, the blade can only be wet-ground so as not to reheat the blade and reverse the hardening process.

The different stages in the process of hand-forging a chisel These samples come from Master Teijiro Ohkubo's smithy.
	The soft steel for the chisel's body
	The "hagane" hard steel for the cutting edge, which will be hammer-welded to the softer steel.
	Body steel and hagane forged together.
	The chisel has been raw-forged.
	The chisel has been rough-ground before the hardening process.