Honesuki talk

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I had only just received a pro series honesuki in white #2 from Watanabe when I saw this unique carbon fiber handled one on his Specials page. It really caught my eye and I even contemplated asking Shinichi if he wouldn’t mind exchanging mine (+ cash difference) for it. Ultimately, I thought it might be a slightly cheesy request so dropped it. Still look at it, though...

(It’s the third knife listed)

http://www.kitchen-knife.jp/special/gyutoknife.htm
 
Danzo said:
Let’s see some pics fellas, make this fun.
Here’s my misono carbon, dyed maple shoes. Probably go through a bird every two weeks. We eat mostly pork on our house.
2qatje1.jpg
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Damn! Looks pretty! That's arguably the biggest downside of my Carbonext; it doesn't get a nice patina. That Misono just has so much more character due to the combination of the fancy handle and the patina...

hmansion said:
I had only just received a pro series honesuki in white #2 from Watanabe when I saw this unique carbon fiber handled one on his Specials page. It really caught my eye and I even contemplated asking Shinichi if he wouldn’t mind exchanging mine (+ cash difference) for it. Ultimately, I thought it might be a slightly cheesy request so dropped it. Still look at it, though...

(It’s the third knife listed)

http://www.kitchen-knife.jp/special/gyutoknife.htm
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Certainly looks slick. For some reason when I see pretty Watanabe knives there's always some voice in the back of my head whispering 'Watanababe...'. Guess there's only one way to silence that voice at some point...
 
HRC_64 said:
masamoto honesuki or garasuki?


...well sharpened it looks like
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I think the one he uses for raw chicken with the more brown handle looks like a Garasuki, but the cooked chicken With the black handle looks to be a honesuki

What I want to know is what that really thick knife he uses to cut through bone?
 
ive been using a Masahiro bessak honesuki i got for like $50. thing is a tank.
 
I have an old Carter muteki honesuki 50/50 that you will have to pry from my cold, dead hands. Also perfect to cut hard cheese. For the more classic honesuki, I have seen a few and none has impressed me more than the Watanabe honesuki. More elegant than a beast, but esthetically beautiful. Of course, it needs a handle upgrade...

Stefan
 
Hey StoneEdge ... finally figured out what is up with my Marko regarding the hollow grind / ura ...

The knife is shown here;

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/431-Work-in-Progess/page53

Comment #524

Marko add's in Comment #528 that he made the honesuki a true single bevel hence the ura & hollow grind on it. FWIW I initially bought it since the handle was the sister half to a Sabaki that Marko made for me custom and in the end I just had to keep the pair together. Have both worked out great ever since ... Thx Marko if you read this!

TjA

MontezumaBoy said:
Thx StoneEdge ... interestingly my Marko honesuki is hollow ground on the "flat' side (put a machinist square to it) but since my "knowledge" of true single bevel knives is greatly lacking I appreciate the clarity on the ura ... you got me pondering the difference between a proper ura and just a hollow ground single bevel so thx!

= ;-)
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ThEoRy said:
Umm what? Lol no. A lot of Honesuki are 99/1 and some 50/50 but there are plenty of true single bevel Honesuki.

For example.
https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/gesshin-heiji-150-mm-semi-stainless-wa-honesuki
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StonedEdge said:
True single bevel honesuki are the exception not the norm. The vast majority are 99/1 to put in your terms. They are not for slicing but rather built to be robust
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Well yeah I know that you just reiterated what I said about the majority. But let's not spread information like:
StonedEdge said:
Honesuki do not have ura, they are not true single bevel knives.
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As that is an incorrect blanket statement as there are honesuki with hollow ura and are true single bevel. I'm looking to get exactly that sometime this year so I've had my eye on a few. The true single bevel honesuki seem to be more robust as well since they are a good bit thicker to accommodate the hollow ura. Just need to hamaguriba sharpen with a microbevel to add strength.

Don't mind me though I'm just a pedant.
 
ThEoRy said:
Well yeah I know that you just reiterated what I said about the majority. But let's not spread information like: As that is an incorrect blanket statement as there are honesuki with hollow ura and are true single bevel. I'm looking to get exactly that sometime this year so I've had my eye on a few. The true single bevel honesuki seem to be more robust as well since they are a good bit thicker to accommodate the hollow ura. Just need to hamaguriba sharpen with a microbevel to add strength.

Don't mind me though I'm just a pedant.
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Fyi all blanket statements are incorrect.

But anyone who took my statement as an attempt to give a definitive definition of a honesuki needs to go back to school.

Truth of the matter is that the vast majority of honesuki out there are not true single bevel. Someone who doesn't know a whole lot about them may order a misono or tojiro thinking it will have hollow ground ura will be in for a shock.

To say that honesuki generally are true single bevel knives is the actually misleading statement.

Either way it doesn't change anything to me as i have mine and am not looking to reinvent the wheel (yet).

Carry on.
 
I currently using a shun elite that I got from my boss and it gets the job done. The sg2 on it is a little softer than expected so it doesn’t chip too much but since it doubles as a utility knife, I find myself sharpening it more than I’d like and I’m not a big fan of sharpening it lol.

Aside from that the knife didn’t really skip a beat after 50 chickens or so. My only complaint about it is that the it’s a little thin and the handle can get a little slippery when greasy and wet.

I think if I were to get another honesuki, I’d probably go for a straight wa handle, something with decent edge retention and lower wear resistance (carbon or semi?)150-180mm, and something much thicker.

Or maybe try out that Munetoshi butcher that everyone was raving about...
 
StonedEdge said:
Fyi all blanket statements are incorrect.

But anyone who took my statement as an attempt to give a definitive definition of a honesuki needs to go back to school.

Truth of the matter is that the vast majority of honesuki out there are not true single bevel. Someone who doesn't know a whole lot about them may order a misono or tojiro thinking it will have hollow ground ura will be in for a shock

To say that honesuki generally are true single bevel knives is the actually misleading statement.

Either way it doesn't change anything to me as i have mine and am not looking to reinvent the wheel (yet).

Carry on.
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My point is that not everyone knows a super lot about knives. This IS their school and they are learning as they go just like we all did once. New guys reading these threads can get the wrong idea. So when you say, "Honesuki do not have ura and are not true single bevel knives" the simple use of the word "most" at the beginning of that statement corrects it. If someone said "honesuki generally are true single bevel knives" well that's just not the case either.

But that's just me pedanting again.
 
I think I’m most curious... and I would have to talk to somebody doing SERIOUS chicken.. whether a yakitori place or just breaking them down for service..why honesuki...vs western deba? Or Big petty with a tough microbevel...or..single bevel, beautiful ura, deba with a serious backside microbevel. Other than (and that may be the deciding factor).. that the shape and geometry is the key. Also..do Chefs worry about “nasty chicken juice” in a wa handle setting...vs yo. I am really into fried chickens...and very happy with a dual duty between my arigutsu garisuki and munetoshi butcher. Not sure which is better.
 
mise_en_place said:
A very useful thing on a honesuki, in my opinion, is a spine that has NOT been rounded. The "sharp" spine really helps scraping meat off the bone.

Overall, I prefer my honesuki to:

- Be semi-stainless (or well-patinated carbon) for ease of sharpening and low reactivity
- Have at least a portion (preferably closer to the handle) of the spine unrounded
- Have a thick spine
- Have a slight sweep, rather than a dead-flat profile
- Have a mini K-tip to maneuver in joints more easily
- Have a handle that does not get too slippery from all the fat/moisture
- Be at least 150mm on the edge
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I still think it would be nice to have the spine rounded close to the handle-wouldn’t use that area for scraping anyway.
 
Danzo said:
Water just posted a sweet single bevel Garasuki on BST. Legit single bevel with ura.
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I think Water is selling the budget masamoto line. For a single bevel I would go for a white 2 steel for that super sharpness on the edge.

On a side note, I have a single bevel mazaki petty and it has everything I need for butchering. Very versatile. It only lacks the pointy tip top edge of the honesuki. But that does not affect my work at all.
 
panda said:
a petty works just fine and is a lot more useful
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But you can't call it a "Honesuki" and when people ask *** is that, you can't say Chicken Knife

Yes Water's garasuki is indeed Tsujiki Masamoto, still a nice one
 
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