Nonaka Screw Punch: Body Only or with a 3mm Blade?

Eight Needles Journal · Nonaka

A screw punch can look like a single purchase, but the cutting size lives in its removable blade. Nonaka offers both a body on its own and a body supplied with a 3mm blade. Understanding that difference is the first step towards buying a tool you can actually use for your project.

A Tokyo tool with a tailor’s problem behind it

According to Nonaka’s company history, the business began in 1908 and later manufactured sewing-machine winding components. In 1972, a tailor’s request for a quieter hole punch prompted development of the screw punch. Sales began in 1976, followed by a utility-model registration in 1977. These are different milestones: 1977 is not the company’s founding date.

Nonaka’s workshop account places production in Sumida, Tokyo, and describes individual hand sharpening of the blades. The small cutting edge deserves attention: it is the part doing the work, even though the wooden handle is the first thing many people notice.

Body only, 3mm starter option or another blade?

The manufacturer’s range separates these purchases. A body-only listing does not include a cutting blade. The 3mm version includes one 3mm blade, not an assortment of every diameter. Replacement blades are separate items.

Before choosing a diameter, read the instructions for the fitting or project. A rivet’s visible head is not the same measurement as its post or required hole. Put the actual fitting beside your sample and label the test result. That small reference is useful when you return to the project later.

See the mechanism before using it

Pressing down makes the blade rotate automatically; there is no need to strike the handle with a hammer or twist it manually. Nonaka instructs users to prepare a craft mat, fit the blade and press vertically, then lift gently after the cut. The tool is not intended for metal or hard materials.

Video linked by Nonaka on its official instructions page. If the player does not load, watch the demonstration on Nonaka’s website.

What a Japanese leatherworker noticed

In みどりの革遊び’s illustrated review, the writer uses the punch for a leather chest strap and its felt prototype. The quieter operation is particularly useful for their early-morning and evening work. They also report that unsecured leather can rotate with the blade. The review includes advertising links and describes one maker’s experience; its thicker-leather experiment is not a manufacturer-rated thickness limit.

The prototype is the most useful idea to borrow. Before committing to your final material, decide where the fastening will sit and check the spacing on a sample. Then test the final material separately: a mock-up can establish placement without proving that another material will cut in the same way.

What to put beside the punch

Lay out the project material, protective work surface, selected blade and the fitting you plan to use. Keep loose blades identified by size. If two projects use different fittings, label two separate samples rather than relying on memory. This turns a collection of spare blades into a useful record of your own work.

For a gift, the body-plus-blade option can avoid the surprise of opening a tool that has no cutter. It is still worth checking the recipient’s intended hole size. Someone who already has a Nonaka punch may find a specifically chosen extra blade more useful than a second body.

Choose the correct listing

The three listings below cover the body, the 3mm option and replacement blades. Select the diameter on the blade listing; the range title does not mean all sizes are included.

Nonaka Seisakujo Screw Punch – BODY ONLY

Nonaka Seisakujo Screw Punch with 3mm blade

Nonaka Screwpunch Replacement blade – 1.0mm-5.0mm

Read more about Nonaka and the Japanese screw punch.

Research: Nonaka’s official company history, workshop account and instructions; みどりの革遊び’s Japanese review. Product photographs and workshop reel from Eight Needles.

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