Honesuki & Single Bevels...?

[HumbleHomeCook]

Our friend @Pie saw my recent inquires about different honesuki and subsequently got me all starry eyed for a single bevel. I have an awesome double bevel already from @MSicardCutlery and originally my desire for a new piece was one, to go shorter and two cuz I dig honesuki's. But the single bevel bug has really bit now. I believe @daveb is also a fan of the single bevel honesuki, well as much as he may be a fan of honesuki at all that is.

What say you users of single bevel poultry slayers? Likes, dislikes, benefits, cautions, brands, etc?

Now, I must admit, that I am intimidated by single bevel sharpening. I've watched @JBroida excellent YT videos multiple times over the years. I've also a read bunch. I always feel emboldened and confident right after but then get all nervous that I'll mess up the geometry. I don't do JNats. I have soft through black arks and my BBW and a SG4k. That's about as fine as I go. So, not that big of a deal and I should stop being a baby?

 

[M1k3]

Heiji does single bevel honesuki's. I have no experience with it. I believe @ian had one for a bit?

 

[ian]

Heiji does single bevel honesuki's. I have no experience with it. I believe @ian had one for a bit?

Sold it to @Ochazuke. I liked it a lot! Fun to sharpen and use.

 

[tim huang]

what they told me is that the single bevel honesuki cuts better, but I haven't feel that yet.

 

[daveb]

Mine's a Yoshikane - you know I like it.... True single w ura. Back in prep days I got to do a case or two of chickens every morning. Tried some of the other usual suspects, a robust petty was the only one that came close and it was a distant second. Now I use it for chickens at home, fun knife, does it's job exceptionally well.

 

[Ochazuke]

Sold it to @Ochazuke. I liked it a lot! Fun to sharpen and use.

Yup! Use it almost daily now. Handles differently than a double bevel for sure. I also have a slight preference for single bevel, but I have absolutely no problem using a double bevel. Single gives me a bit more precision and finesse since I’m better at sharpening single bevels than double bevels. Double bevels give me toughness.

This was my second of the now 3 Heiji knives I own if that tells you anything!

 

[Dan-]

There’s something magical about the bevel guiding your cuts. Single bevel sharpening (excluding kamagata) is not difficult, and it helps you to learn to polish properly while maintaining convexity.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Thanks for all the responses so far folks.

Mine's a Yoshikane - you know I like it.... True single w ura. Back in prep days I got to do a case or two of chickens every morning. Tried some of the other usual suspects, a robust petty was the only one that came close and it was a distant second. Now I use it for chickens at home, fun knife, does it's job exceptionally well.

Yup! Use it almost daily now. Handles differently than a double bevel for sure. I also have a slight preference for single bevel, but I have absolutely no problem using a double bevel. Single gives me a bit more precision and finesse since I’m better at sharpening single bevels than double bevels. Double bevels give me toughness.

This was my second of the now 3 Heiji knives I own if that tells you anything!

Do you guys change your style when using a single vs. double? Do you try to keep the bevel against the bone?

 

[Ochazuke]

Thanks for all the responses so far folks.






Do you guys change your style when using a single vs. double? Do you try to keep the bevel against the bone?

It’s kind of a wrong question imo…

Maybe it’s because I go through so many, but chickens could basically almost be pulled apart by hand. I use the the knife for skin and joints and a little bit of muscle separation.

The only place that gets blade intensive is the leg if you’re boning but keeping the thigh and drum meat connected. Getting around that knee joint can be some work until you get used to it.

A lot of ways to bone a chicken, so that’s just my two cents. Fish is a lot more knife sensitive; I have a strong preference for my deba. Pretty sure I’d be fine taking apart a chicken with just about anything. I have a nice knife for it because I like nice knives. I think you should pick whatever speaks to you because they’ll all pretty much be able to do the job.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

It’s kind of a wrong question imo…

Maybe it’s because I go through so many, but chickens could basically almost be pulled apart by hand. I use the the knife for skin and joints and a little bit of muscle separation.

The only place that gets blade intensive is the leg if you’re boning but keeping the thigh and drum meat connected. Getting around that knee joint can be some work until you get used to it.

A lot of ways to bone a chicken, so that’s just my two cents. Fish is a lot more knife sensitive; I have a strong preference for my deba. Pretty sure I’d be fine taking apart a chicken with just about anything. I have a nice knife for it because I like nice knives. I think you should pick whatever speaks to you because they’ll all pretty much be able to do the job.

Totally fair and I get it. Thanks! I only break down a couple a month but that's enough to understand and agree with how easy they are to get into pieces. And with my current honesuki the tip does the bulk of the work anyway.

So I reckon the allure, to whatever extent, of the single bevel in this application is just the fineness of the bevel then? I understand the difference in practical terms is likely slim.

 

[Ochazuke]

I realize I have seemingly conflicting ideas. But I’ve come to believe more and more that while there are important differences in knife steels and shapes, what matters more at the end of the day is how much you feel like using it and maintaining it.

There are differences and they do matter, but you should just buy what you want to.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I realize I have seemingly conflicting ideas. But I’ve come to believe more and more that while there are important differences in knife steels and shapes, what matters more at the end of the day is how much you feel like using it and maintaining it.

There are differences and they do matter, but you should just buy what you want to.

Always the ultimate answer. Thank you.

 

[Mytola]

My first honesuki was a Misono in Swedish carbon steel, with a western handle and 99/1 grind. I liked how it cut, but I never really liked the handle heavy balance and the western handle in general. It's certainly a good knife though, just my preferences that made me get something else instead.

I got a Matsubara honesuki this spring, which is thinner, 50/50 grind and with a wa handle, and I like it a lot better, so the Misono is now given away to a friend. Balance on the Matsubara is how I prefer it and as it's a bit thinner and symmetrical it also works well for other tasks where you need a more robust knife. Cutting hard cheese for example is very nice with it, and it does double duty as a tough, tall and a bit weird petty. As with all the Matsubara knives I've had, fit & finish and steel is super good, especially for the $160 I paid for it.

Some part of me wants to try a true single bevel honesuki with a wa handle, an preferably a smaller point to it also, but I'm satisfied enough with the Matsubara for now and I don't break down lots of chickens every week, so it's not an area of knife-nerdyness that I should spend more money for a while I think.

 

[ian]

Totally fair and I get it. Thanks! I only break down a couple a month but that's enough to understand and agree with how easy they are to get into pieces. And with my current honesuki the tip does the bulk of the work anyway.

So I reckon the allure, to whatever extent, of the single bevel in this application is just the fineness of the bevel then? I understand the difference in practical terms is likely slim.

Personally, I liked that knife because it was fun to sharpen a single bevel. And I liked the shape and the balance. Now I use this because it was $30 instead of $300.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Personally, I liked that knife because it was fun to sharpen a single bevel. And I liked the shape and the balance. Now I use this because it was $30 instead of $300.

View attachment 267740

Yeah, even in my knife-knut mind I can only justify anything north of a hundred bucks by telling myself it's for pure enjoyment. And that's still a stretch.

I grabbed my Sicard last night was like, "meh, what do you need to spend $200 on a chicken knife for? You already did!"


They are cool though.

 

[Namaxy]

Way back when I asked these same questions, the pro chefs around here all steered me to a Tojiro DP honesuki, which can be had for $100 or less. I've since bought others, but still love my Tojiro. I use it for boning birds, making statlers, breaking down Pismo's and pork primals (I get much of my meats from a farm share, and it's less expensive to take the primals and break them down yourself). I like the honesuki for the fact that I don't mind wailing the heel through joints etc., but keep the tip end of the knife super sharp. The Tojiro is relatively cheap, stainless, and easy to maintain whether sharpening or fixing up dings.

I don't know if he's active here anymore, but Rick Theory had a bunch of great butchering videos on Youtube, many with a honesuki.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Way back when I asked these same questions, the pro chefs around here all steered me to a Tojiro DP honesuki, which can be had for $100 or less. I've since bought others, but still love my Tojiro. I use it for boning birds, making statlers, breaking down Pismo's and pork primals (I get much of my meats from a farm share, and it's less expensive to take the primals and break them down yourself). I like the honesuki for the fact that I don't mind wailing the heel through joints etc., but keep the tip end of the knife super sharp. The Tojiro is relatively cheap, stainless, and easy to maintain whether sharpening or fixing up dings.

I don't know if he's active here anymore, but Rick Theory had a bunch of great butchering videos on Youtube, many with a honesuki.

Found his videos. Thanks!

 

[blokey]

Something like JKI’s Rinkaku, Kanehide Bessaku and Masahiro are almost single bevel and lots of people sharpen them like one. Tho they tho come with bit thicker edge but sharpening those semi stainless aren’t really hard. They are cheap for the quality and quite fun once tuned in

 

[deltaplex]

Many of the single bevel ones are just chisel ground instead of having an ura, so even within the single bevel profile you have to determine if you want it to be a "true" single bevel or just a knife who's edge bevel is ground on one side.

 

[Jovidah]

Yeah, even in my knife-knut mind I can only justify anything north of a hundred bucks by telling myself it's for pure enjoyment. And that's still a stretch.

I grabbed my Sicard last night was like, "meh, what do you need to spend $200 on a chicken knife for? You already did!"


They are cool though.

I have a good compromise rule: you're allowed to buy a new one, but only after the old one has 'seen' its value worth of food.