[Tobisho] Karikomi Shears (Japanese Hedge Shears) Shojiro Yamagata-type 195mm (7.7") Blade [TBS020101]

A Craftsman's Cut, Made Safe to Learn

About the Karikomi Shears Series

Two-handed Karikomi shears sit apart from the rest of our pruning shear lineup. Where most pruning shears are made by specialist secateur blacksmiths, large hedge shears like these are traditionally the domain of ueki-basami (planting shears) blacksmiths, a different craft entirely. Tobisho makes both, each blade forged from Yasuki-produced Blue Paper steel (Aogami steel), the handle carved from magnolia obovata (honoki), a wood chosen for how well it takes and holds an oiled finish over years of use.

The two models here differ in how the blades meet. On the Yamagata-type, the blades don't fully cross when the shear closes, a built-in stopper limits the swing, so there's no risk of catching a finger between them. It's the gentler of the two to learn on, though plenty of professionals use it by choice, not just necessity. The Kanto-type has no such stopper; its blades cross fully and its handles run narrower and closer to parallel, trading that extra safety margin for more direct cutting power. Both blades carry a curve suited to shaping rounded and spherical forms, sliding through material cleanly enough that the bark isn't torn or bruised at the cut.

These shears are built for hedges and shaped shrubs generally, not tied to any one species. We've heard from customers overseas using them on hedges considerably older than the shop itself: a customer in the Netherlands wrote to us after using a Yamagata-type on two Buxus sempervirens (common boxwood) hedges, one planted in 1890, the other in 1920, describing the work as careful and slow, done over the better part of a week, and the shear as having handled it beautifully.

About Karikomi Shears (Japanese Hedge Shears) Shojiro Yamagata-type 195mm (7.7") Blade

Seen fully open, this shear's profile forms a capital Y: the two magnolia handles spread apart like the letter's upper arms, meeting at the pivot where the single curved blade continues downward like its stem. The built-in stopper keeps the blades from ever fully crossing, which is what makes this the more forgiving of our two Karikomi models to pick up and learn on.

Named for Shojiro, the founder whose name is stamped on every Karikomi shear Tobisho makes, this is also the model most people mean when they picture a Tobisho hedge shear; the Kanto-type is rarer, and far fewer people have handled one. Fewer than a hundred of these are forged in a given year.

If in stock, this shear ships within three business days. If not, allow up to three months, it's made to order.

How to Sharpen Karikomi Shears (Japanese Hedge Shears) on a Whetstone

This demonstration isn't Tobisho's own work. It's Shunsuke Manaka of Kisuke, a different Japanese blacksmith, sharpening one of his own Karikomi shears. We're including it here because the technique itself, how the two blades are brought back into contact, how the whetstone is worked along the edge, applies to two-handed Karikomi shears from any maker, Tobisho's included.
Note: The first half of the video covers repair work. If you're looking for everyday sharpening technique, use the chapter markers to skip to the second half.
*Subtitles available in 15 languages.

How to Maintain Your Tobisho Karikomi Shears

Can I use this on individual branches?
This shear is built for hedges and foliage, including the thin twigs that naturally get caught up in a hedge face, not for cutting a single thick branch cleanly. For that, use a bypass pruner.

How do I keep the blade in condition?
Wipe off resin and sap after use where you can. Oil and clean the blade regularly to prevent rust and blade separation, this is an Aogami (Blue Paper) high-carbon steel edge, not stainless, and it will rust if neglected.

Can I sharpen it myself?
Yes, on a whetstone, once cutting performance starts to decline. See the sharpening demonstration above for technique.

What if I drop it?
Handle with care. A blade-first drop risks chipping the edge.

Anything I shouldn't do?
Don't twist or lever the blade mid-cut, and don't use it on wire, rope, or anything that isn't plant material. Keep it out of reach of children.

About Tobisho: Four Generations of Pruning Shear Hand-Forging

Tobisho has been forging blades in Yamagata since 1804, ten generations of blacksmiths, four of them dedicated to pruning shears. It was Syojiro Tobitsuka, the seventh-generation bladesmith in his family line, who founded Tobisho as a pruning shear forge in 1930, making him the first of four generations dedicated to shears.

Syojiro's shears served both the silkworm farmers already working the region and the orchardists who followed as Yamagata became one of Japan's great fruit-growing prefectures. The tools had to work. His name is still stamped on every Karikomi Shear Tobisho makes.

Generation by generation, the shears got better. What Tobisho is known for today, their heat treatment, their distinctive surface finish, is accumulated experience, made visible.

The late master Yasuhito Tobitsuka, third generation, developed the SR, the Hiryu, and the Asuka, and redesigned the A-type's handle. Daiki Tobitsuka, the fourth-generation master working at the forge today, has added the Hisui, the Hirei, and a Damascus steel A-type. His philosophy: "Cutting well is the baseline. Beyond that: simple and sturdy.", 質実剛健

Forging the Handle

Sharpening the Blade

Notes on use

IMPORTANT: This shear is made of Aogami Steel (High-Carbon Steel, Not Stainless Steel). It is exceptionally sharp but prone to rust if not maintained.
Do not twist or lever the blade during a cut.
Handle with care, blade-first drops risk chipping.
For two-handed use.
Designed for trimming hedges and foliage, including the thin twigs naturally caught up in a hedge, not for cutting individual thick branches.
Oil and clean regularly to prevent rust and blade separation.
Sharpen on a whetstone when cutting performance declines.
Do not use on wire, rope, or any non-plant material.
Keep out of reach of children.

💬 Story of This Model - By Shop Manager (Part 1 of 2)

Topic: The moment two-handed shears surprised me.

Hiroshi Urata

Trying these out, I was struck by just how sharply they cut. And they cut with a clean, satisfying snap that makes the work genuinely enjoyable, true of both the Yamagata-type and the Kanto-type equally. There's a reason I found myself this surprised: large, two-handed Karikomi shears sit closer to the world of traditional Japanese ueki-basami blacksmiths than to pruning shear makers. Most pruning shear manufacturers don't make two-handed hedge shears at all. Having spent years documenting garden tools and the people who make them, it felt to me like Tobisho had stepped past the boundaries of pruning shears and into the territory of Japan's traditional shear-forging tradition.

Continue to Part 2 ➔