tsubanomi 鐔鑿

Lit. "sword-guard chisel." The chisel used to make the hole needed to drive a Japanese nail wakugi 和釘 into a piece of timber. The blade of the tsubanomi is about 300 mm long and tapers toward the end, approximately 4 mm. The blade can be either single or double-edged. A tsubanomi with a square-sectioned blade made to suit the wakugi is called hiratsubanomi 平鐔鑿. If the blade has a round section, used with the yōkugi 洋釘, a western style nail with round shaft, it is called marutsubanomi 丸鐔鑿.