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+-- Thread: Koyamaichi? (/showthread.php?tid=7365669)
Koyamaichi? - Aram - 10-25-2021
With Stu out of the business, is there still a source to buy Koyamaichi chisels from?
RE: Koyamaichi? - AHill - 10-26-2021
You may try searching for Koyama or Koyomaichi. Ichi means "one" in Japanese, and it's a suffix to his name. In the meantime, here are a couple of sources:
I have heard that the Japanese dovetail chisels sold by Lee Valley are Koyamaichi, but I can't verify they are. Maybe a call to their customer service would confirm that.
Iida Tool. I don't know if he has any in stock, but you can call. They are not inexpensive.
William Ng also has sets of them in his online store. Again, not inexpensive.
RE: Koyamaichi? - omark - 10-26-2021
Alan is correct about chisels previously sold by LV: both dovetail, paring and cranked versions were explicitly described as from Koyama. Everything seems to be discontinued now ...
RE: Koyamaichi? - mdhills - 10-26-2021
(10-26-2021, 06:11 AM)AHill Wrote: You may try searching for Koyama
Good tip -- are these from the same manufacturer?
https://wnwoodworkingschool.com/product/koyama-premium-10-pc-oleaster-handle-chisel-set-with-3-grooves/
I ordered a couple Koyamaichi chisels from Stu some years ago. Steel is good; but not sure why I talked myself into the witchhazel handles -- you'd think a name that cool would look better.
Matt
RE: Koyamaichi? - AHill - 10-27-2021
(10-26-2021, 10:15 PM)mdhills Wrote: Good tip -- are these from the same manufacturer?
https://wnwoodworkingschool.com/product/koyama-premium-10-pc-oleaster-handle-chisel-set-with-3-grooves/
I ordered a couple Koyamaichi chisels from Stu some years ago. Steel is good; but not sure why I talked myself into the witchhazel handles -- you'd think a name that cool would look better.
Matt
They could be Koyamaichi - at least based on price - but I don't think so. There is an article in Lumberjocks (link below) where the writer reviewed his purchase of Koyamaichi from Stu Tierney (used to sell tools from Japan). He said "...rest assured, buying your chisels from Koyamaichi, not Koyama, will net you all the quality and value to be had." He did not elaborate, but I'm assuming Koyama chisels are NOT the same as Koyamaichi chisels. Something I wasn't aware of prior to finding that article. I think it's best anyone interested in Koyamaichi do some research before buying them.
https://www.lumberjocks.com/reviews/3632
The ones that Derek Cohen in Australia has are the dovetail chisels. The ones in Matt's quoted link above appear to be general bench chisels. I tried to compare the labels to the one shown in Derek's review below, but the pic doesn't have enough resolution to compare, so I'm not really sure if they are Koyamaichi.
Here's Derek's review of the chisels:
https://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/KoyamaichiChisels.html