RicodJour wrote:

http://www.benchworks.com.au/images/...isel%20Set.JPG)

Japanese chisels are laminated steel. The back is the harder steel
which is forged with the softer body steel to have that depression.

Old and high quality Japanese chisels are laminated with a thin steel
layer and the hollow is forged in. More recent and cheaper ones are
still laminated, but with a thicker lamination and with the hollow
ground in.

You tap out the thin lamination ones, you grind out the thick
lamination ones. If you try to tap out a thick lamination one, you'll
crack it.

Really nasty Japanese chisels are made in China and aren't laminated.
Apart from specialist ones, I've never seen a Japanese-made bench
chisel that wasn't laminated (i.e. they just don't cut that corner in
manufacturing).

Your econo-chisels aren't laminated

Those "econo chisels" are Iyori, so they're really pretty decent
quality. Thick laminations, so grind the backs flat as needed.