Holtey Hammer

[Woodster]

Hitting things! :lol:

 

[9fingers]

I'm surprised that there has been no mention yet of a hammerfore.

Ok Andy, ill take the fall so others can enjoy.

Whats a hammerfore?

i think it might be the French spelling confusing you Dave.

Uk spelling is usually Hammerfor :lol:
Bob

 

[novocaine]

There we go the jokes been set free and we can all move on. Someone else can be the fall guy next time please.

 

[AndyP]

Thanks Dave

Or should I say Sorry

 

[Woodster]

I don’t yet have a Japanese Hammer but have thought of getting one. I’d like one of these but €499 is a bit too much.

https://www.dictum.com/en/hammers-bafa/ ... mer-705692

 

[AJB Temple]

Yes, that Dictum price is a lot. I have a similar hammer, but with feather Damascus, that I bought on a whim in Kyoto for the equivalent of about £60 after a bit of bargaining. Bought a few Japanese tools and one day I will learn to use them properly. Or sell them for vastly inflated sums.

 

[Woodbloke]

Yes, that Dictum price is a lot. I have a similar hammer, but with feather Damascus, that I bought on a whim in Kyoto for the equivalent of about £60 after a bit of bargaining. Bought a few Japanese tools and one day I will learn to use them properly. Or sell them for vastly inflated sums.

What you actually pay for with these very fancy ‘Damascus’ Japanese tools (inc chisels) is the undoubted skill of the blacksmith who made them; by and large, they’re made for the Western market where they’re sold. The don’t though, work any better than a bog standard, good quality hammer (or chisel); they just look prettier.

I’t a bit like ‘go faster’ stripes on a car; believe it or not, when I was an apprentice I met a fellow Lambretta rider who really believed that ‘go faster’ stripes on his side panels would give him an extra 10mph :lol: - Rob

 

[Malc2098]

Yes, that Dictum price is a lot. I have a similar hammer, but with feather Damascus, that I bought on a whim in Kyoto for the equivalent of about £60 after a bit of bargaining. Bought a few Japanese tools and one day I will learn to use them properly. Or sell them for vastly inflated sums.

What you actually pay for with these very fancy ‘Damascus’ Japanese tools (inc chisels) is the undoubted skill of the blacksmith who made them; by and large, they’re made for the Western market where they’re sold. The don’t though, work any better than a bog standard, good quality hammer (or chisel); they just look prettier.

I’t a bit like ‘go faster’ stripes on a car; believe it or not, when I was an apprentice I met a fellow Lambretta rider who really believed that ‘go faster’ stripes on his side panels would give him an extra 10mph :lol: - Rob

Did you catch him?!

 

[AJB Temple]

That is completely wrong Rob. Everyone knows that feather pattern Damascus steel give a light as a feather blow, perfect in fact for Holtey planes. It has been developed over thousands of years and the method was almost lost, but luckily a hermit in a secret cave kept the flicker of the method alive.

It's also a well known fact that special steel like this has been used to beat out swords. In Japan everything basically comes from swords.

 

[novocaine]

Didnt relaise that damascus was in Japan. No wonder i failed geography, i thought it was in Syria.

 

[Woodbloke]

It's also a well known fact that special steel like this has been used to beat out swords. In Japan everything basically comes from swords.

I know, I assisted in the manufacture of a sword in 2012 and swinging a huge Japanese forge hammer to beat a lump of white hot steel was bloody hard work!

I also saw a few Japanese chippies at work and none of them, but none, were using posh chisels and my pal Mike Huntley (who can sharpen a Japanese saw and sells the files to do so) told me the same thing about ‘Damascus’ steel. When he worked for Sotheby’s he was also their resident specialist on Japanese katana.

See below for the sword making experience - Rob

http://woodbloker.blogspot.com/2012/05/

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I remember reading a long while ago that there is little amateur woodworking in Japan, hence the tools tend to be either very high quality or else site tools, with nothing in between.

 

[AJB Temple]

The culture is incomparable with ours really Phil. It is an amazing experience to spend time there immersed in the culture, and we have to set aside a lot of what we are used to over here.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes. My daughter was selected at school to go on a two week tour of Hiroshima etc. paid for by a wealthy Japanese businessman's foundation. She loved it and still keeps in touch with the girls she met there.

 

[AJB Temple]

Ah. Did she get to toll the great bell?

Hiroshima is a peculiar place. Very calm in the large park, very peaceful but also heavily and oppressively sad I felt. It affects people differently.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

She spoke quite a lot about it. The boy on the other hand went to Ypres and the Menin Gate and spoke about it not a single word.

 

[Woodbloke]

Ah. Did she get to toll the great bell?

Hiroshima is a peculiar place. Very calm in the large park, very peaceful but also heavily and oppressively sad I felt. It affects people differently.

Agreed; it’s a place you need to visit once, but only once - Rob