Honyaki? I don't get it ...

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naifu

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I am fairly new to JKKs so please forgive my ignorance. My question is, why are honyaki knives popular, and why would one pay $800-$1500 for a honyaki knife over say a $300-$400 knife? I get that honyaki is a more expensive process and they look nice, but is there any real value or advantage of a honyaki over some other type of steel combination/process?

The analogy that comes to my mind is someone who purchases an expensive Swiss made watch over a cheap digital watch. That is, some people like to spend the money on fancy things, crafted in a traditional manner, even if there is no practical reason to do so. Is this why people want honyaki knives?
 
No honyaki owner, but they strike me more as people that get a HP 5071A in addition to their digital watch :)
 
yes to all,generally because they are more difficult to forge then some, its a good craftsman makinga high quality blade and from my experience they generally keep it going and have skilled craftsman work on the grinding/polishing/sharpening, some people like the feel of monosteel blades, some like the aesthetics of the hamon and the idea of traditional arts being continued in a kitchen knife. for me personally its a combination of everything, i have a lot of honyaki knives, also if you are a good shopper you can find honyaki blades made by incredible makers for less than 800, i promise you that :)
 
Is there any of those in stock somewhere? For less than 800
 
F-Flash said:
Is there any of those in stock somewhere? For less than 800
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You can get to around 800 with direct orders I think - I have not seen a honyaki gyuto for that price in a shop - maybe some special discounts or such.

I keep banging my head against the wall for not getting on of the Maxims Singatirin honyaki knives when he carried them. I think the sale price at the end was around 350. Oh well.
 
It's one of those things that I find hard to explain. As a knife geek, you will only realise why you 'need' a honyaki knife when you actually physically handle one.
 
Honyaki seems to be the pinnacle of blacksmith's forging skill. The ultimate control over the simple, carbon steel they work with. With that you also end up with the blade that has the hardest and longest lasting cutting edge the simple carbon steel can get. Because of this it also takes a skilled user to get the most out of such blade. People enjoy this, it makes them think that they own the best that the given smith can produce and that they themselves belong to a very special and unique group of people that can appreciate such tool and give it the care and use it requires. In that regard, it is somewhat similar to owning fine watches or high performance, purpose built cars.

Plus Honyakis just look bad-ass :rofl2:
 
I agree that it is a lot to do with knowing that the knife is as good as it can get for that particular smith.

However there is definitely an element of performance to it too. The Sakai honyakis that I have handled have been amongst the absolute best cutters.

The Shiraki White2 for example is unbelievably thin and yet beautifully stiff and it ghosts through everything, I mean everything.

So it's not like these knives are just to be looked at, they are fantastic performers.
 
F-Flash said:
Is there any of those in stock somewhere? For less than 800
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you will have to wait a period while they make it generally takes 3-4 months for most my orders, but pm me if you would like to know where i get some of mine.
 
Isn't a honyaki gyuto or santoku - anything not a true to form wa bocho - kind of hipsterish in a way?
 
Honyaki seems to be the pinnacle of blacksmith's forging skill
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well...not realy....

it's hard to make a nice and well placed hamon, but It is definitely no more complicated to forge a honyaki than a sanmai or complex damascus or mosaic.
 
yes it look's cool and sexy.

you can have same hardness with damascus cladding or sanmai , you just have to choose the good clad steel.
 
No, because honyaki with a single piece of steel is more resistant to sideway-bending comparing to sanmai which is a combination of soft iron and steel.

But also yes, because I don't think we can use the knife as many times as professional Japanese chef. I only take my knife out and watch it for a while, then put it back. It makes me happy in a way I don't understand why.
 
akafat said:
No, because honyaki with a single piece of steel is more resistant to sideway-bending comparing to sanmai which is a combination of soft iron and steel.
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Sorry but can I say what you are describing is way to complex to simplify as you have described. And massively depends on type of metals involved and their similarities...

Also the risk with san mai is differential strain due to thermal expansion/contraction. Which can also occur in honyaki as you are insulating part of the blade.
 
panda said:
i plead guilty to the charge of steel snobbery.
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Same here, but the fact that it is a honyaki doesn't guarantee it will perform better than a san mai(in terms of flying through food with less resistance). My hiromoto honyaki is great at meats and softer stuff, but can't touch a Watanabe pro san mai or a Yoshikane SKD when going through harder produce. One thing i found true so far for honyakis is that, in general, they can take a very polished edge and hold it (it doesn't mean a harder core san mai can't, of course).
 
:D as long as were being honest... :angel2:

Wether its performance, looks or history..... if it makes you happy....

Does it really matter? :thumbsup:
 
akafat said:
No, because honyaki with a single piece of steel is more resistant to sideway-bending comparing to sanmai which is a combination of soft iron and steel.
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It sounds so authoritative - almost like you have extensive experience in making both. Is that true?
 
akafat said:
No, because honyaki with a single piece of steel is more resistant to sideway-bending comparing to sanmai which is a combination of soft iron and steel.

But also yes, because I don't think we can use the knife as many times as professional Japanese chef. I only take my knife out and watch it for a while, then put it back. It makes me happy in a way I don't understand why.
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Well, I'm the guy that has recieved more than one san mai knife with bends and twists that i easily remedied. I also have a honyaki from a very prominent maker that is warped and I can not straighten out myself. The knife is brand new and unusable. San mai knives are easy to straighten, honyaki not so much. So this resistance to bending aspect of a honyaki is not always a good thing.
 
Customfan said:
:D as long as were being honest... :angel2:

Wether its performance, looks or history..... if it makes you happy....

Does it really matter? :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
No. But it's useful for those that are considering one to know what they're buying. Are they just getting loos and history, but with performance comparable to more affordable knives, or are they getting better performance too?
 
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