Good guess David, these are generally well made chisels with good steel and temper. For the beginner that I feel does not have the "finesse" of working with the white and blue steel (glass brittle) of Japanese chisels, these are a good choice.

For a custom chisel of "excellent" class hand made to order, you can not beat Auntine (aka original John Neeman Blacksmiths) Janis, the owner and a friend, makes some of the finest tools I have seen.

The bevel can be reworked on Buffalo chisels, and as for the "flared" version, these are a type of "rondel" tipping for certain kinds of work reminiscent of some ancient Nordic (and Swiss) log chisels.

Regards,

jay