Zen-Wu DC-1 Paring Chisels (Pair)

The Zen-Wu DC-1 is a long paring chisel built for cleaning up mortise walls and paring joinery dead flat. Sold as a pair in two widths, each one has a ZW-C2 white-paper carbon steel edge dovetail-laminated into a titanium alloy body. DOVETAIL LAMINATED!

Most paring chisels are too delicate to strike. The DC-1's thin head takes serious leverage, and it can even take a mallet. The shape of the wider blade's head comes from a design by Kokichi, a temple carpenter.

The handles are jatoba. The pair ships in a bamboo box with stitched leather guards for both edges.

Specifications

• Widths: 49mm (1-15/16") and 24mm (15/16")
• Blade length: 100mm (3-15/16")
• Neck length: 110mm (4-5/16")
• Handle length: 210mm (8-1/4")
• Overall length: 420mm (16-1/2")
• Edge steel: ZW-C2 white-paper carbon steel
• Body: titanium alloy, dovetail-laminated
• Handle: jatoba
• Includes: bamboo box and stitched leather edge guards

Jonathan's Hot Take

Paring chisels are usually the divas of the tool chest. Long, thin, and you'd never dare hit one with a mallet. The DC-1 throws that rule out the window. You get the reach and finesse of a true paring chisel with a body tough enough to take a whack when you need it.

At 16-1/2" overall, you can reach deep into a mortise or lay the blade flat across a wide tenon cheek and pare with total control. The 1-15/16" blade is a beast for flattening, and the 15/16" gets into the tighter spots.

And holy smokes, that dovetailed white-paper steel in titanium. Same eye candy as the PalmBlade, just stretched out to full paring length. Only 10 of these pairs are coming in, so if you've been waiting for a serious paring set, don't sleep on it.