Need advice for WA honesuki

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Matus

Staff member
Global Moderators
KKF Supporting Craftsman
KKF Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2013
Messages
10,566
Reaction score
3,922
Location
Germany
Hi,

I currently have Fujiwarea FKM honesuki which I got to 'get the taste' of what a honesuki is about. I do not particularly love the steel, but that may be my lack of experience sharpening a honesuki (I use the marker trick - really helps here), but I definitely do not like the thick and heavy handle which is not only too thick for my girlie hands, but also makes the knife too butt heavy. I do like the fact that the knife does not have symmetric grind - makes cutting along the bones easier. I also found the profile of the blade working well - about 40mm at the heel and the tip to too far from the spine.

So - I am looking for a WA handled honesuki - preferably carbon, but would not say to to stainless . I would prefer asymmetric or even single bevel. After all - single bevel can probably be turned to quasi-asymmetric on stones in few minutes should the original edge prove to be too fragile.

I am not sure whether I should be looking for thinner and lighter blade like Gesshin Ginga, or for thicker and heavier one like Heji or Watanabe. My personal preference would go towards more substantial blade, but I am opened to your advices.

One of the knives that caught my attention was from JCK Fujiwara Teruyasu Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan (stainless clad white#1), but those are out of production since 2 years (answer from Koki). But also Konosuke Fujiyama white#2 and Watanabe look interesting.

Price-wise up to $300, but less would not hurt. I would be opened to used knives as well.

Oh and I can and do shapren my knives and use wooden cutting boards and do not plan to hack the bones with the knife :nono:

thanks :)
 
I had a couple of Watanabe honesukis passing through here and always really liked them. There are certainly good alternatives, but if I were to buy one, that would be my choice. I have the larger garasuki from him and love it - just don't use it often enough...

Stefan
 
I have his white steel garasuki as well and I like it as lot. Haven't tried any honesuki so can't compare
 
I have a stainless clad Heiji. Would highly recommend it. I'd say it's a medium thickness for a honesuki compared to others I've tried. Cuts beautifully.
 
CPD, thank you. How do you find the blade shape (width, position of the tip, and so on)? I am asking since Heji is shaped slightly differently that most other honesuki knives.
 
CPD, thank you. How do you find the blade shape (width, position of the tip, and so on)? I am asking since Heiji is shaped slightly differently that most other honesuki knives.

I haven't used a wide variety of honesuki so my ability to compare it to others from direct experience is limited. That said, I really like it. When I ordered it, I was getting other knives from Heiji - and at the last minute added it in. I wasn't sure if the shape would suit me and buying it was a bit of a gamble but it won me over. The cutting angle and tip position are very easy to control and comfortable. It's an easy knife to be both fast and precise with. Breaking down poultry, the angle gives plenty of clearance when working with the tip but is not so steep that the rest of the edge is lost when you need it. I had mine made at a slightly odd 140mm length but it's about just right for me. Gives me plenty of versatility. My only complaint about the knife was I didn't love the handle. The knife was very well balanced - and the charred chestnut handle is not bad at all - but I am really particular about what I like in D handles. The stock handle was a little narrow for my taste. I left the original for a while but ended up making my own custom handle. I like D's that have more taper front to back and I like to ease the ferrule for more comfort with a pinch grip so I made a custom that kept the balance in tact but gave me the feel I wanted.

Here's a poor picture of the Heiji shape from not long after I bought it and before the handle swap.

354d7200-9495-48cf-9034-a7ba8cdc0043_zps19ef2695.jpg
 
Thanks - that is great info. The new handle looks really nice.

Does someone around have a honesuki from Kato? I saw that he made both single and symmetrical bevel honesukis. These look quite substantial with blade length of 170mm and weight 240.
 
I have only held one (Kato honesuki) in my hand -didn't cut anything. It was substantiel - in a good way. I loved it. But they cost more like 500 $ and up as I remember.
I have a Masakage Koishi - double bevel. I bought 3 Masakages and disliked 2, but the honesuki works well. I do (now) wish I'd gode for a single bevel knife. I really like the Heiji from the pictures. I would prefer that to mine without doubt. Looks very similar to Katos in my view (esp. the gerasuki).
- Kim
 
I was also at first more oriented towards double bevel honesuki knives, but after using the Fujiwara FKM which has asymmetric grind I realised that there is a good reason for the asymmetric grind.

So yes - Heji looks interesting as well.
 
Back
Top