wrote in message
oups.com...
I figure most folks here have seen how them thar' high-falootin
Japanese chisels have a concave bottom so that, when lapping the
bottom, the only material you have to remove is on the perimeter... not
in the middle. (If not, here's a pic:
http://www.benchworks.com.au/images/...isel%20Set.JPG)

I don't know anything about Japanese tools, but i can't see the point of
this.
for a joiner's chisel you want the face flat, no? - otherwise it would be
really tricky to use sometimes; and when you remove the bur you don't
actually take off any steel from the flat side, you just bend the burr one
way and then the other until it breaks off.

tim w