Respected Honyaki?

I've recently gotten the itch to try a quality honyaki blade. Who are some of the most respected/recommended makers? I'm looking for a 210mm gyuto. Searching online led me to videos of a Konosuke Aogami Honyaki on YouTube that looked nice, but it doesn't appear like any are available. I normally lean towards lasers, but am open to trying about anything if the craftsmanship is there.

I have a kono b2 240 honyaki and I cant put that thing down. Cuts like a dream, thinner than I'm used to (have several katos) but feels nice and solid and holds its edge better than any of my other knives i own/ed. Needs a bit more effort to sharpen, but you won't need to sharpen often. I heard the tesshu series is the same smith but i cant confirm. If you have a chance to get a kono honyaki i highly recommend it.

Watanabe. Not that I can speak for their quality but when I do get one made, he'll make it for me. Mizuno has also piqued my interest

I only have one honyaki and that's the mizuno DX white steel. Even with my sub standard sharpening skills. It gets really sharp, can't imagine how sharp it can actually be if it was Dave or Jon of JKI to give it some TLC. It can take a pounding. Went thru kilos and kilos of prep a day including boat loads of tomatoes, pumpkins and fruits. Still sharp enough for meat fabrication during dinner service. Only complaint that I have is that the 240mm came in at 228mm.

I am still waiting on the availability of the gesshin ittetsu to be available so I can try another honyaki.

I've read good things about Sukenari's Honyaki knives. They are relatively available too.

For knifes that are realistically available, Watanabe, Mizuno, Tesshu (Shiraki) from aframes, and Sukenari seem your best bets. The kikuichichimoji honyaki is something I'd like to know more about as couldn't find much. A bit cheaper are offerings from Hiromoto and the singatirin blades Maksim had a while ago, which someone might have and be willing to part with. Konos, being Konos, are a bit harder to find.
For me it was a decision between Watanabe and Mizuno. Currently saving my pennies for the latter :biggrin:

Kristoff, may I ask if you have one of the older, thicker models, or the newer, thinner ones? Someone expressed to me they found their newer one a little *too* thin, and I wonder how you find yours?
That in itself lends to the benefit of dealing with Watanabe, and the possibility of customisation!

Gesshin ittetsu

Who is the ittetsu honyaki smith? Or is this withheld? Seem hard to get hold of too!

I don't know who the smith is, there's a western handled ironwood 270 on JKI that haunts me.

Jacob_x said:

Who is the ittetsu honyaki smith? Or is this withheld? Seem hard to get hold of too!

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Ikeda-san (the one in sakai... not the echizen one)

*there are a couple of ikeda-san's in sakai, but only one who is well respected for honyaki knives

JBroida said:

Ikeda-san (the one in sakai... not the echizen one)

*there are a couple of ikeda-san's in sakai, but only one who is well respected for honyaki knives

Click to expand...

I have two honyakis on order from him, the guys a legend.

Thanks for the info guys. If I'm correct this is Yoshikazu Ikeda? Very very well regarded, have never had the chance to try any of his or his brothers knives. Intrigued...

yes

Jacob_x said:

Kristoff, may I ask if you have one of the older, thicker models, or the newer, thinner ones? Someone expressed to me they found their newer one a little *too* thin, and I wonder how you find yours?
That in itself lends to the benefit of dealing with Watanabe, and the possibility of customisation!

Click to expand...

I am quite sure mine is the thicker one. I got it about 5 years ago and those honyakis were only in the market for a short while prior. I don't think it's too thick and I like the heft and weight of it. Had a look at it just now but definitely doesn't look thin to me.

I only have a kiritsuki shaped gyuto from watanabe in AS steel. It was a special group buy put together 6 years ago. Wasn't great until it got a TLC from maxim. He thinned out the whole blade and re did the edge for me. After that it's a beast of a knife. But first experience from that knife never made me persue anymore of his knives but I read a lot of good things about him still

Haven't handled a gesshin ittetsu but I reckon you wait for it. From what Jon told me about those honyakis, I am sure the wait is worthwhile and you won't regret it.

I do quite like my Hiromoto 240 Honyaki white 2 steel, western handle. This one clocks in abt 250grams

Comes with no wave like Hamon line ..but just a straight line that you see on the rear (ura) side of single bevel knives.

Very easy to touch up and after 2 sharpenings m edge has stabilized and very easy to maintain the edge. since then has been mirror polished, though I didnt remove all the factory grit lines, Handle has been epoxied ( thin coat) to prevent rust on the tang,

I do quite like the western handle as the blade does transfer some of the feel to the tang that is exposed on the handle as opposed to the Wa handle.

It has been a fun knife for me and a well used knife and I do not baby it... though I remove the patina stains once in a while. Mirror polish does seem to reduce stains..

HV fun... D

From the ones that I own:
Mizuno Honyaki white2 , 24cm: very beautiful knife, large wide blade, very very thin over the edge(combined with the tall blade means you will not have to thin for quite some time),Harmon and engraving does not come any more as you see them on the photos of JCK- those were old versions, Mizuno changed them- not as good as the old one, the new one, still very nice though), you have to pay the octagon handle some few extra-I did, sharpens like butter, becomes extremely sharp in no time, on the down side-my most chippy knife. I can't even realize when and how it chips, thought it does not affect the cutting. Maybe it is just mine.
Mirror polish is on good, but not perfect level, less than a Sukenari or a Kobosuke(indont own Konosuke-but from the photos they are obviously perfect mirror polished.
Cutting edge is less than 24cm. Has a little belly on the heel- not straight flat from middle of the blade towards the end of the heel.
Sukenari gyuto 21cm, white 1: The only Honyakis made from White 1, some of the cheapest, according to everyone that has seen my knives, the most beautiful ones.
The most perfect mirror polished Honyaki I own.
Not all Sukenari batches have the same mirror polish. Can vary from perfect to Mizuno level.
Not chippy. Sharpens like butter(all Honyakis do).
Pretty tall for a 21cm knife. Cutting edge is less than 21 cm. Very thin over the edge, will last for a long time without thinning. Octagon handle.
It is very odd, that it does not discolor red onion(mine at least.
Has the most perfect ham on, the master is a real artisan, Osaka style, with some extra dots.
All Sukenaris are very cheap buy for what they are.

Sukenari 24cm white1: normal tall for a 24cm knife, the rest as above.
This particular one, happened to come with a very beautiful buffalo bolster.
The first one that I received I returned it, it was Mizuno mirror polish level. Very flat(I love it)

Sukenari 27cm white1:
Short knife for a 27cm blade. Might be identical almost to Masamoto Ks 24cm. Sukenaru father, used to work for Masamoto. Haven't used it yet. The one of my two drawer queens, Hiromotos wa as 30 cm being the other.

Hiromoto Honyaki 24cm, metal bolster white2:
To me(being me), this knife has it all: a western Honyaki. Perfect balance, metal bolster, all beautiful, cones half mirror polished, I mirror polished it myself easily with an IKEA towel and diamond paste and became even more beautiful. Responds as a honyaki( equally with Sukenari and Mizuno), is a little thicker over the edge compared to Mizuno and Sukenari, but in action no difference, sharpens like butter and becomes hair splitting sharp on no time( as with all Honyakis). Has the most artisan spinal tapering. Not chippy, equally hard with the previous that I mentioned.
I have 2 of it, I want 2 more( and that's how crazy I am [emoji4][emoji6])
Cutting edge 24cm exactly, 240 gr.
Perfect weight for a western knife.

Hiromoto Honyaki white 2, rosewood handle, 24cm:
This one is not the batch with the above. Cutting edge 24cm, exactly same profile with the above, blade heavy, it weights only 214gr, feels like a sinner cabrio edition of the above.
I happened to get the very last one.
Sharpens and becomes sharp as all the above, but this one is softer. Feels softer, can take lots of abuse, no chippy at all, still when cutting you feel the Honyaki response.
Not available any more, was the Best Buy for the money.
Has a little less extra work at all details, compared to the above, that's why the price range was 190$ less.
Cutting edge exactly 24cm, my favorite knife to filter fishes between 5-25 kg, together with my Masahiro virgin carbon metal bolster gyuto 24cm. Whatever bone comes in your way has no luck.

Ichimonji Honyaki 24cm, white2: my unicorn. I have to get one, have send more than 5 mails to them, no reply.
Western style as well, I wish it will be 24cm cutting edge and perfectly balanced. As far as I can see from the photos, its metal bolster is not 1 piece, but pressed parts left and right of the blade.

If you want top aesthetics, go Sukenari or Mizuno.
Sukenari must be a much better choice than a Konosuke.
Sukenari makes water quenching, higher hardening than his white 1 Honyakis- Aogami Super cladded. I received it yesterday, had no time to use it, feels so sturdy, I will request him to make an Aogami Super Honyaki line.

If you want performance in a pro kitchen and you like perfect balance, metal bolster, don't think. About anything else, Hiromoto white 2 metal bolster is without equal.
Half price than the rest, lesser aesthetics, better performance.

If you want looks, performance and a good buy for the money, Sukenari.

Be careful though, that the 21cm is tall, the 24cm is medium tall and the 27cm is short.
Overall, Sukenari and Hiromoto were good people, philanthropists, honest

would love to hear about the sukenari 270 (profile and grind), is it a drawer queen of yours because it's too long for you? since youve tried the shorter one, what is the w#1 steel like in comparison to mizuno w#2?

No big difference, they both feel very hard, very unique Honyaki response( that's why they are my favourites, and as some metaphysics support that the crystals are alive, I support Honyakis are alive(I am not crazy, Honyakis have crazy response [emoji6][emoji16][emoji16][emoji1][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23])), but my Mizuno is very chippy.
Maybe it is only mine, that particular piece.

Also Mizuno and Sukenari come with basic edge.
Hiromoto comes sharp

If Sukenari believes in the Money God Religion, very soon they will go high up.
But I think that Sukenari, like Hiromoto, are lovers and believers and no money bitches

It is a drawer queen, because its time hasn't arrived yet. Profile is very French, I suspect it is almost identical to Masahiro KS, with the Sukenari having a lesser tip. If I remember correct, cutting edge must be 25,5cm+ some few mm extra.
Since I like western Japanese knives, and not pure blooded Japanese knives(which are the zenith of the Japanese knife making), I would had expected it to be taller.
I will have to check all the grinds later, and re report.
Sorry for mistakes on my comments, I write in a hurry, from a phone, and application here does not let me correct/edit the whole comment, but just the first 4-5 lines

Worst mirror polish, too thin behind the edge, chippy... It sounds like you want to sell me your mizuno :idea:

Worst mirror polish, too thin behind the edge, chippy... It sounds like you want to sell me your mizuno :idea:

Hahahaa, I don't. It's a blast of a knife, when you first touch it, you can tell only one thing: wow!!!

Too thin behind the edge is a very good feature.
I suspect that only mine is so chippy. Don't know about the technicalities, maybe not their average heat treatment?
I highly recommend it, as I think that just mine is so chippy. I haven't read someone else reporting this, very beautiful, but got the price range, and equally high aesthetics, Sukenari is a better buy

Supersayan, could you possibly post a choil shot of the miz, and maybe the others, if you have time? I would be very interested to see. Thanks for all the info too!

I can't. I have to borrow camera and learn how to use it. I am ashamed, but I don't have a camera yet.
I have only an iPad Air 1, worthless camera, unless under direct sunlight, and an old iPhone 5s with a decent camera, but the last 6-12 months, I don't remember, the camera has a software problem and is not working. Apple to fix it, needs 10 working days, and they are always out of replacement phones, so after 3-4 attempts to give it for service, it stayed with me without camera. But you can look the photos of the Mizuno Honyaki santoku at the buy sell trade( hope the new owner enjoys it, very beautiful at very good price),is similar, thinner than what you will understand from the photo, and Sukenari is equally thin. Masterpieces.
Also on the santoku photos, you can see the not perfect mirror polish.
It is mirror polished, but they could had put it on finer wheel. They stop it at that range, to save some labor.
The fact that it is not perfect, doesn't mean that it is not extremely satisfactory

My iPhone 5s is also a pos… sometimes I get these bizarre kaleidoscope glitches happening in the corner of the screen for no reason.

As for respected honyaki, I owned the sukenari 240 (sukenari measures from machi, so about 10-15mm less) and really liked it. No problems to use on a hinoki board for me in terms of chippage. Top notch f&f with polished choil and all, only quibble for me is I'd prefer to have an engraved kanji instead of the stamped looking one, although jck versions have (or had) additional engraved kanji Pure Japanese Carbon Steel "純日本鋼". I sold the 240 because it seems a bit small for the custom handle I had, but liked it enough I wanted the 270. I was on the jck waitlist starting in January with an ETA of mid-February. Unfortunately there were some delays of several months and by then I was into katos so decided to pass for the time being, as the custom handle is a good fit for a 240 Kato workhorse gyuto, and I also have several other honyaki.

My others are Watanabe mirror polished blue honyaki 240 gyuto, 270 suji, 150 petty, and 330 lefty kensaki Yanagi (not pictured). Here are the double bevels at JKI (I wanted Jon to see if he could make them more lefty friendly).


These procurements were predicated by the positive reviews I've heard of Watanabe honyaki both here and at zknives: http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/ktknv/watanabe/watanabehkgy270.shtml

F&f isn't as good as the sukenari, but I was able to polish the grind marks out of the choil (as shown by a before&after of suji and gyuto)

Really nice job on that choil Tj!