First Tools Acquired: Sawing, Chiselling & Hammering My Way In!

Toolbox Foundations

Welcome back to The Woodworking Shed! In this post, I’m diving (not headfirst) into saws, chisels and hammers (mallets?). Let’s get some tools bought!

I need to decipher the world of woodworking tools and figure out the best beginner-friendly choices. I can tell you right now that these decisions were not as easy as you might think…

A quick recap: If you haven’t seen my previous post about my essential woodworking toolkit, be sure to check it out. It covers the reasons why these tools made it onto my list! (There’s a link below!)

Let’s get started!

Buyers Anxiety…

This is my first time buying woodworking tools. I have to admit I’m pretty excited! This is a crucial first step in my woodworking journey.

But… I have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t know any woodworkers either…

It’s daunting to say the least. There are so many resources out there to look at — and even more opinions.

I’ll be doing this the old-fashioned way — through solid Research! Hopefully, at the same time, I’ll help to make this process easier for some of you who may be looking to buy these tools!

I’ve spent hours trawling the web, reading forums, watching videos, and you know what I found out? It’s really tough to buy tools when you’ve never used them before. You have to rely heavily on the opinions of others, and it’s hard to know who to trust!

There are a lot of gimmicks out there as well that need to be avoided. Some of them may be helpful, but it’s not the best idea to buy into these things before you know what you’re doing.

Ever fallen for it and bought a woodworking gimmick? Tell me about your experience!

Now, where do I start…

Getting My Teeth Into Saws

You know what? I started with saws because I thought it would be easy!

But there are so many different types that it’s a little overwhelming at first!

When you delve a little deeper it does become a bit clearer, a lot of saws are named after a type of joint like “dovetail” or “tenon”, so that reduces the list somewhat. I’m not in the market for specialised saws… yet!

Then there’s another hurdle: Teeth Per Inch, or TPI… what does that do?

It’s a little scientific for beginner-friendly content, but here’s the gist of it:

• Low TPI is for rip cutting (Cutting with the grain)

• High TPI is for crosscutting and fine finishing (Cutting across the grain)

*Here is a good article for anyone looking to understand more about this topic.*

Yet another complication in my mission to find a hand saw..? All I want to do is cut wood!

I need a break!

I Think I’m Turning Japanese

I really think so…

I did take a break. I watched a few videos and came across someone using a Japanese saw. Great — More worms in the can!

Interestingly, unlike most of the saws we’re all used to, which cut on the push stroke, Japanese saws cut on the pull stroke. I’ve looked into this, and it’s supposed to make it easier to make accurate cuts… Interesting… can’t be bad for a beginner?

It’s not like I have any previous sawing muscle memory to unlearn either. I did a bit of shopping around to see what’s out there. They’re cost-effective, and the blades are replaceable too!

Have I hit the jackpot?

• Good for beginners
• Replaceable blade
• Affordable

I think I’m getting a Japanese saw!

I Choose You: Ryoba!

There are a few Japanese saws to choose from. Nothing like the vast selection of Western saws, thankfully. The one that really stood out to me was the Ryoba saw.

Image Licenced to Axminster Tools — Japanese Ryoba Saw

At first, it was just because it looked like a double-sided samurai saw… But then the benefits started to appear. This saw has teeth on two sides for rip-cutting and cross-cutting, so I only need one saw.

I forgot to mention this earlier: because of the pull stroke, cutting these saws also have thinner blades, which makes them better for finer work like cutting joints…

Surely that makes it the ultimate beginner’s saw?!

That’s settled then. My first ever toolbox decision is made! The Japanese Ryoba saw.

Do you have experience with Japanese saws? Make sure to share to share your thoughts!

Testing My Resolve: Chisels

The instruments of my doom — perhaps?! I have a feeling that working with chisels will be one of the harder skills for me to learn. Time will tell…

Image by Alexei_other on Pixabay — Traditional Woodworking Chisels

The price of chisels varies massively. You can pick up a set of budget chisels for £6 on Temu… Does anyone actually shop there? I imagine that plastic chisels would hold an edge longer!

On the opposite end of the scale, the premium Veritas chisels are over £100 each! Madness…

The challenge is to find a set that is reasonably priced, and made from a material that I won’t spend more time sharpening than chiselling!

I have seen some advice online to only buy the sizes you actually need — good logic. It means you can spend more on less (Or save money!). However, I’d like to have a set to cover the basics, and I don’t want to be panic buying a chisel mid-way through my workbench because I got it wrong!

It doesn’t matter what you search for: Chisels, Woodworking Chisels, Bench Chisels… You will be overwhelmed with hundreds of brands across every price range — and guess what?

They ALL look the same!

How can I narrow this down? I know… Traditional! Traditional woodworking chisels have wooden handles. A significant difference from most of what you will find.

This is how I stumbled upon a particular brand…

Enter: Narex

They’re a Czech brand that’s been making chisels for over 100 years — So surely they must know what they’re doing by now… They aren’t the cheapest, but they aren’t bank breakers either!

Delving deeper these chisels have great reviews all around! They also come in a nice presentation box — I’m sold! You can save a bit by skipping out on the box, but with my current lack of storage, it’s much appreciated. Long term… who knows!

There’s a few other brands, such as Ashley Isles and Robert Sorby, but they’re too far out of budget for me! There’s nothing bad said about them either, so if you were to go down the “only buy what you need” route, these could be solid options!

I don’t think I’ve expressed well enough how difficult it’s been to find a set of chisels — There has been a LOT of umming and ahhing. Too much. But… It’s finally over.

I’m relieved to have finally picked a set of chisels. However, they have pretty limited use on their own…

You know what that means — it’s…

Hammer Time!

Let’s talk hammers.

I stated previously that I want a soft-faced hammer in my beginner’s woodworking toolkit. There are a couple of reasons for this:

• They are less likely to leave marks
• They make less noise during use

Chiselling is meant to be refined and controlled work. Not just bashing out wood all over the place! There shouldn’t be any need to smash these things hard. If it comes to that, sharpening is probably the issue, not the hammer…

Even so, the tang sound produced by a metal hammer is loud, and it carries far. I’d like to keep the neighbours sweet if possible! (Not that they would do the same…)

A nylon hammer produces a deadened sound so it should not carry as far… At least that’s the theory!

Anyways… I did say it was an easy one.

That’s because I chose my hammer before I started this process. It’s a hammer I’ve used many times before. It’s well weighted, feels nice in the hand, and the impact faces can be replaced. It was my first thought when I added a hammer to my tool list!

My decision was set in stone when I learned that this hammer is also used by master woodworkers like Paul Sellers and Richard Maguire!

Could it be the only hammer I ever need? No. But it will be the most frequently used!

So here it is… What you’ve been waiting for… Named after the god of thunder himself!

Thor.

Image Licensed to Axminster Tools — Thor’s Hammer

They’re honestly great hammers, and I will be adding one of their nylon-faced hammers to my woodworking toolkit.

What type of hammer do you prefer to use for woodworking? Let me know in the comments!

Bringing it Home

That’s that! The first 3 official entrants into my woodworking toolkit have been decided! Choosing the right tools was a lot harder than I expected. There’s a reason for that, though — Overthinking.

It’s too easy to get hung up on the details when you don’t have any experience. I’ve realised now that it doesn’t really matter! They’re just tools. Yes, quality tools are always best. And I absolutely want quality tools… But realistically, whatever I buy will be suitable for a beginner.

Here’s the final list of my choices:

• Ryoba Saw — Z-Saw Japanese Double-Edged Ryoba Saw — 250mm
• Chisels — Narex 8105 Bevel-Edged Chisels
• Hammer — Thor 712R Soft & Hard Faced Hammer — 38mm

I’m thrilled at the idea of owning these tools. It’s been an exciting (and frustrating) journey so far building my woodworking toolkit, and I’m only just getting started! Perhaps the next ones will be easier?

What’s your tool selection process? Do you get hung up on the details, too? Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

~ The Woodworking Shed

Want more hands-on woodworking advice and project inspiration? Subscribe to **The Woodworking Shed newsletter here** and never miss a cut!

Originally published at https://thewoodworkingshed.substack.com.