Ryoba

• The ryoba is perhaps the best-known Japanese saw, and it is a specific design of handsaw. A ryoba saw has teeth on the top and the bottom of the saw blade. The dual blades are typically different tooth designs. One side is intended for crosscuts and the other for rip cuts. Ryobas sometimes have long handles. They cut on the pull stroke, not on the push stroke. This prevents the saw from buckling.
  
  

Dozuki

• A dozuki is similar design to a ryoba. A dozuki, however, is not a multipurpose saw. It is a finish saw, appropriate for fine joinery. Where one of the blade edges would be on the ryobi, the dozuki has a rigid spine to make especially precise cuts. And, like the ryoba, it too, cuts on the pull stroke, unlike most European saw designs.
  
  

Chisels

• Japan has a reputation for fine cutlery and knife blades, as do many European countries. Culturally, much of Japan's arts and crafts developed distinctly from from Europe's. Chisel designs common to England and Germany are very different from common Japanese designs. Shoji chisels are good examples. They are unlike typical European straight-bladed chisels, as the leading edge is curved. They work beautifully for cleaning up mortises. They also work well for European-style bas relief carving.
  
  

Kanna (Block Planes)

• Kanna are an elegant style of block plane with high quality forge-welded blades. The plane bodies are made of hardwoods, typically oak. Quality plane bodies are sometimes soaked in oil to stabilize the wood and keep them from drying, cracking or changing dimension with changing humidity. Like many Japanese blades, kanna blades are often hand forged. High carbon steel is forge-welded to iron. The steel is the leading edge of the blade, which can hold an extremely sharp edge. The heavier iron piece gives the a weight to the tool that improves its cutting performance and feel.