Namisei Moku Hanga To - From bottom to top:
Sho To (knife), Maru To (u-gouge),
Hira To (straight chisel), Sankaku To (v-gouge)
Naimisei Moku Hanga To: Standard Woodblock Carving Tools
These are very good quality, reasonably priced tools, intended for students or printmakers on a budget. In Japan they are used by relief carvers, sculptors and even furniture makers as well as woodblock carvers.
Namisei Moku Hanga To use high quality hard and soft steels joined by an automated factory process (instead of being hand forged, as the steel for Futatsu Wari and Josei Moku Hanga To blades are). After forging, the tools are made by hand, like the Futatsu Wari and Josei Moku Hanga To.
Namisei tools are ultra sharp and easily re-sharpened. The manufacturer tells us they may need sharpening a little more often and they may not be as highly polished or symmetrically shaped as Futatsu Wari Moku Hanga To (professional two-part handle tools) or Josei Moku Hanga To (superior tools).
Compared to Komaskui (professional u-gouge), the shape of the Namisei Maru To (standard u-gouge) is more shallow, and compared to the Aisuki (professional bull-nose chisel, the shape of the Namisei Hira To (standard chisel) has a straight tip with right angles at the corners. The Hangi To (professional knife) and Namisei Sho To (standard knife) are the same shape, as are the professional Sankaku To and Namisei Sankaku To (v-gouges).
Namisei (standard) and Josei (superior) tools look identical except Namisei tools are marked with a capital "C" to distinguish them from Josei (superior) tools.
The handles of the namisei are honoki (silver magnolia) and are oval. The oval shape is comfortable to hold and helps you find the correct position for cutting.
Total length is about 8 inches. Many artists cut down the handles so the tools fit comfortably in their hand. Measure from the web between the first finger and thumb to the top of the middle finger, and cut the tool to this length. If in doubt, cut long; you can always cut the handle shorter if you decide it is still too long.
Namisei Moku Hanga To are made for hand cutting, not for use with a mallet.
Namisei Moku Hanga To also come in Sets. Or you can make up your own set of Standard Tools.
MAKE UP YOUR OWN SET AND SAVE!
Purchase any 6 or more tools and get a 10% discount.
Discounts only apply to Namisei Moku Hanga To. To qualify for the discounted price, all tools must be ordered at the same time.