Honyaki question

[Itsalright]

I always knew that honyaki knives are something special.
Yet i never understood why!
So why are that special?
What for are the honyakis?
And why the price raises that much?
What does it offer that nonhonyaki does not?
Is it worth it?

 

[Anton]

you can always do a basic Search...
plenty of existing material

 

[Itsalright]

I did, it is common sense. As mentioned I still have questions i asked above

 

[parbaked]

Read this and see if it satisfies your curiosity:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honyaki

 

[Wdestate]

I always knew that honyaki knives are something special.
Yet i never understood why!
So why are that special?
What for are the honyakis?
And why the price raises that much?
What does it offer that nonhonyaki does not?
Is it worth it?

alot of questions. 1. they are not "special" 2.the prices are higher because a lot of labor goes into the whole process i.e fail rates, polishing etc etc. 3. it offers little over non honyaki other then aesthetics and if you appreciate old world craftsman techniques this is one of them (also some people will say feedback while cutting, i tend to not notice) and in fact they are a lot more hassle to maintain thinning etc 4. if you appreciate what goes into the process its worth it, if you are looking at a pure performance question, no they are not.

people may agree or disagree with some of that but thats my conclusions, i have been using lots of honyaki in a pro enviroment for many years.

 

[Chicagohawkie]

alot of questions. 1. they are not "special" 2.the prices are higher because a lot of labor goes into the whole process i.e fail rates, polishing etc etc. 3. it offers little over non honyaki other then aesthetics and if you appreciate old world craftsman techniques this is one of them (also some people will say feedback while cutting, i tend to not notice) and in fact they are a lot more hassle to maintain thinning etc 4. if you appreciate what goes into the process its worth it, if you are looking at a pure performance question, no they are not.

people may agree or disagree with some of that but thats my conclusions, i have been using lots of honyaki in a pro enviroment for many years.

I agree with your assessment. Way back Honyakis were reserved for the most senior chefs and made by the smiths that were considered masters from my recollection. Today they are made by everyone and used by everyone. I have several 200 dollar knives that far out perform my Honyakis. Just sayin.

 

[lemeneid]

Well, if you dislike san mai but like high HRC, honyaki is probably the only choice.

I’m a sucker for high HRC mono

 

[panda]

what 200 dollar knife outperforms what specific honyaki of yours?? i would just assume that particular honyaki was made half arsed, lol.

 

[Chicagohawkie]

what 200 dollar knife outperforms what specific honyaki of yours?? i would just assume that particular honyaki was made half arsed, lol.

Pick any flavor of Tanaka. Honyakis look pretty and all, but to say they outperform is silly.

 

[jklip13]

Just my opinion based on 3 years of using single beveled knives. I spend roughly 5 hours a day cutting with both stainless, carbon Awase construction and honyaki single beveled knives. Although it’s true for double beveled knives there is not such a noticeable performance difference with HobyakI, for single beveled knives i find the increase in edge holding and toothiness to be quite noticable. I am slowly switching all my knives over to honyaki except for Deba of course.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Used to look down on clad knives. Not anymore since most are. JMO performance is more based on steel & geometry than mono & clad.

That said I used honyaki gyuto at work & loved it. I can see using them in production kitchens, there really is something about mono carbon blades.