Let's talk about Sukibiki. skinning and filleting fish

[newt111]

I work in a sushi bar, and break down fish once a week. My workload is usually two 8 pound fluke/hirame (rarely, they're usually half that size,) five 15-20 pound salmon, and a 10 pound Hamachi/yellowtail or 2.

I want to replace an aus-8 Suisin sujihiki, as soon as it even comes near a salmon bone it's done and I have to hone it. Trying to sukibiki those huge fluke even seemed to dull it. I need something sharp and durable, so that if I graze a salmon belly bone while filleting it will keep going, and also sukibiki/skin the fluke and yellowtail without honing during the shift.

I don't care if it's a yanagi or sujihiki or prison shank made out of a toothbrush. Please recommend a good steel/plastic/knife type combo to do this. :lol2:

Max is $300 usd shipped, I can go to 400, but I'm not ballin' so don't get crazy

240-270mm

 

[S-Line]

I use my beater yanagi when I do sukibiki, just a cheap 270mm white 2 yoshihiro which I got for <$150. I don't find it necessary to have a sharp blade to do it honestly, sure it makes the job a little easier but not that much difference. I don't think you're going to find a blade that is going to make a big difference in retention no matter how much you spend.

Sorry if that's not the answer you're looking for, but my 2 cent from another fellow sushi chef.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYyUjDRAAcQ/

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GAjAn1CDteY0YsuA3

 

[newt111]

Sharpness is the key to speed, I can scale one yellowtail in 10 minutes or less with a sharp knife. If my blade is dull, it goes up to 30 minutes.

 

[S-Line]

Guess you're right about it being faster, dunno if it's that big of a difference. But why even sukibiki hamachi if you're worried about speed?

 

[newt111]

I didn't think It was a huge deal until I timed one of the senior guys, then timed myself. When I have an extremely sharp knife I'm really close to his time, a dull knife is way slower. The reason I do it is because the boss says I have to. I'm leaving late almost every fish day so I'm trying to speed things up.

 

[S-Line]

Ha, can't argue with the man that writes your checks. For the heck of it, I broke down and sukibiki 8 faroe salmons today with my sukenari zdp189 gyuto. It does appear to hold the edge a bit longer compared to my beater yangagi, but there is definitely still a difference towards the last few fish compared to when I first started.

I prefer single bevels while doing sukibiki since it feel more "natural" to me. I can't even imagine the frustration trying to sharpen a PM steel single bevel knife. May I suggest putting a microbevel on your suisin to see if it helps with edge retention?

 

[newt111]

I ordered the Gonbei AUS-10 270mm Sujihiki. My Suisin is really flexible and yesterday I noticed it was warped. Not a big deal but it bothers me! Also, it's a 240mm (235 after tip repair!) and I find it small at times. The other guys at work have success with AUS-10 so I'll see how it goes!

side note: where do you put a microbevel on a 70/30 knife?

 

[Barclid]

You can microbevel both sides or just one. I usually do right side microbevel on a right hand bias grind. Hamachi shouldn't take much more than 5 minutes to actually sukibiki once you have the fins off and your station set. It'll obviously take longer to clean the fish the rest of the way, but the sukibiki itself should be easy as long as your knife is sharp. I usually use my takamura hana suji. On smaller fish or fish with bigger and tougher scales like Gobi and Madai, I'll just use my deba.

There's also a fair bit of just technique and repetition that will lead you to increasing your speed.

 

[newt111]

The right hand side micro was what I ended up doing this weekend. It just seemed to make more sense, the left side is already a "micro" bevel, of sorts. I'll get to use it for sukibiki today, since my new sujihiki will be delivered to my apartment while I'm cutting fish at work. :sad0:

I agree with your tips for speed. The knife has to be sharp and stay sharp or you'll just be fighting with the fish.

On a side note: To elaborate on why I want to go fast, it's because there's always room for improvement. I have to keep things interesting by trying to beat the people who outrank me.

 

[newt111]

I noticed that with a yanagiba Japanese chefs sukibiki with the tail on the left. With a right handed suji should I do the same? I was taught tail on the right, but I don't know if it's the most efficient way.

 

[Barclid]

Whichever way gets it done fastest and with no broken skin for you.

For me, that's tail on the right with a sujihiki. I don't own a beater yanagi that I care to practice sukibiki on to try it in reverse and I'm plenty fast with my sujihiki.

Take that as you will.

 

[newt111]

Thanks, I'm just looking for tips and tricks. Fish came really late yesterday (3 pm instead of 10 am), so someone else did the hirame while I broke down salmon. Didn't get to try my microbevel.... and I pick up my new knife today so that suji is officially retired from service

 

[StonedEdge]

You can definitely get away with using a yanagiba for sukibiki. You just have to give it a more robust edge than you would otherwise (read aggressive hamaguri) or micro bevel along the entire length of the edge. To me, tail to the left, skinning with the ura of the blade facing down works fastest for me. I'm no pro tho, and only ever do 1 dish at a time but I have hit little pin bones with my yanagiba and haven't had the edge get dull.