Dai Dogyu Chisel Hammer, 10.58 oz. / 300g

This is marketed as a chisel hammer. But it’s also a good Japanese plane hammer. For chisels I would recommend something wooden and larger head. The quality is very good and the weight and balance feels nice in the hand. I use it on my hand planes and it works very well.

Love this hammer, seems well made and quite light. This is the 300 gram one, there is a heavier one, but I think this one is a great starter hammer for adjusting a Japanese plane blade or hitting a chisel. It has a nice shape to the handle which is light and easily held in the hand. The hammer head has two different face shapes: one is flat and the other is slightly convex, or slightly domed. The flat side is to drive nails, chisels, and other normal hammer needs. The convex side is used to actually set nails slightly into the wood, and also to slightly distress the wood when fitting a mortise and tenon joint. It will temporarily allow the wood to be compressed, but later will expand and make for a tight fitting joint.

I was skeptical that I would benefit from a special hammer seeing as I already have several Western hammers. But I'm so glad I bought this. Not only is it much easier to adjust Japanese planes with a genno, it's so comfortable to use with chisels and it's the perfect weight. The handle is nice and comfortable to use wherever you grip it. There were only minor negatives. When it came the head was very slightly loose, but that completely went away and never came back after the first use. And yes, the paint on the faces of the head will chip off with usage, but it's nothing a little paste wax won't make up for to protect the steel. I'm still very much an amateur woodworker so take that into account in my review as well. Aside from the price there was one very important reason I chose this brand over others: It has a sticker with a little caveman on it.

The hammer is very nicely made. The handle is a great thickness and the overall product is well balanced. I did notice the metal wedge put in the top was sticking out a lot so idk if I’m meant to put that in further or leave it but the head is fit in totally solid. So unless I see need for it later, I’ll just leave it alone. Only real con I can bring up is their is a sort of protective sealer/liner on the head which is pretty easy to mess up on the point of impact but it is a hammer so inevitably their will be scrapes.

Great little hammer

Great hammer. With it and four other hammers. one double ended, tapered round one and two wood hammers, my shop is maybe complete. There are never enough.

From a distance it looks great, and it certainly has lots of potential. But as received the handle is very poorly fitted, though handle is plenty long enough to be refitted. Faces of hammer are not polished, just painted, which will leave marks on the first few things one hits, and if adjusting a plane that will be undesirable. If one is willing to put in a bit of work it can be a fine hammer, but since it was sold as a finished product and wasn't exactly inexpensive I'm not going to give many stars, but I figure 3 stars is like a "C" grade, passing but nothing to be proud of.

True concave & convex opposite ends of steel head; bevel strike not driven completely in leaving room so as use may loosen head so I can drive bevel in deeper as needed, head Secure already though. Solid, strong but light handle, comfortable & well balanced... Nice to buy a tool worth something...!!! Thanks