Need honesuki recommendations

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Strumples

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Hello everyone,

I recently started upgrading my knife collection to nicer Japanese knives and have been very impressed so far. After purchasing some all-purpose type knives, I'm looking to replace some of my specialty knives stating with my boning knife. I usually break down at least one chicken a week so I have been interested in trying out a Honesuki knife to replace my Wusthof boning knife.

LOCATION
What country are you in? United States

KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chefs knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)? Honesuki

Are you right or left handed? Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? No preference

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)? No preference

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no) No - prefer carbon steel

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? $130-150 max



KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? I'm just a mediocre home cook

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.) Breaking down chickens

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.) Looking for a good Honesuki to start working with, I think I would prefer it to the Wusthof boning knife I've been using. Plus I just want an excuse to add another Japanese knife to the collection. Want a carbon steel blade, don't care too much about aesthetics




KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.) Synthetic

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.) Yes
 
I recommend the Kanehide Bessaku Honesuki for $59 - it's semi-stainless though. Don't let the price fool you though - it's a heck of a knife.

If you're looking for more carbon flavored then there's the Sakai Kikumori Nihonko Honesuki. It's made of SK steel I believe. That's one's around $100 if I remember right.

Honestly though, they're both fairly robust tools that excel at breaking down chickens. I think you'd be pleased with either one.
 
I love my Moritaka Honesuki Blue#2. Very robust. Holds an edge forever. I refinished the bevels and there were basically no low/high spots. Profile is great, very precise tip.
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Ordered from here. He has 2 in stock. Small shop, but nice guy and easy to deal with. Moritaka Hamono Honesuki 150mm
 
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I recommend the Kanehide Bessaku Honesuki for $59 - it's semi-stainless though. Don't let the price fool you though - it's a heck of a knife.

If you're looking for more carbon flavored then there's the Sakai Kikumori Nihonko Honesuki. It's made of SK steel I believe. That's one's around $100 if I remember right.

Honestly though, they're both fairly robust tools that excel at breaking down chickens. I think you'd be pleased with either one.
Look to some of the options at Bernal Cutlery. Kanehide and Sakai Kikumori. I really like the performance of the SK steel used in the Kikumori.

https://bernalcutlery.com/search?q=honesuki

Thanks for the advice! These look like perfect recommendations for me to try out this type of knife. I found a Sakai Kikumori for $84, so i went ahead and ordered that. Thanks to you both for your help!
 
I love my Moritaka Honesuki Blue#2. Very robust. Holds an edge forever. I refinished the bevels and there were basically no low/high spots. Profile is great, very precise tip.

Ordered from here. He has 2 in stock. Small shop, but nice guy and easy to deal with. Moritaka Hamono Honesuki 150mm
Well, I commited to ordering one from another site right before you posted the link to this or I would have been tempted to go for the more expensive option. I did not see any available Moritakas on my earlier google search so I went with one of the other recommended options, but I may need to upgrade to one of these later on if I like it. I will definitely at least remember the seller for future reference. Thanks for the recommendation!
 
I have the Moritaka AS and love it.

You could purchase it from directly from Moritaka via Rakuten Store (https://item.rakuten.co.jp/moritakahamono/10000037/) and use a shipping poxy service. I use (FROM JAPAN) and they always have 10% off promo with stackable coupons.

Moritaka AS on their Rakuten store cost:
  • Honesuki with Sakura wood handle $11,495 JYP ($98 USD)
  • Honesuki with Red sandalwood handle $13,310 JYP ($113 USD)
 
Seconding the Kanehide. I just used one to process a case of chicken last week. 50 lbs of whole chicken cut into 2 deboned breasts, drum and thigh separated, 3 part wings, and backs for stock. By the end of the case (say around number 10 or so), it was taking maybe 3 minutes per bird. I would definitely choose a single bevel over the double bevels.

https://strataportland.com/collecti...mm-honesuki-kaku-wood-handle-baa-010-06-ha150
 
Seconding the Kanehide. I just used one to process a case of chicken last week. 50 lbs of whole chicken cut into 2 deboned breasts, drum and thigh separated, 3 part wings, and backs for stock. By the end of the case (say around number 10 or so), it was taking maybe 3 minutes per bird. I would definitely choose a single bevel over the double bevels.

https://strataportland.com/collecti...mm-honesuki-kaku-wood-handle-baa-010-06-ha150

To be clear, the Kanehide, like the Kikumori and so many others, are not single bevel. They're asymmetric double bevels.
 
Technically, sure a 95/5 is a double-bevel. In practice, however, it's just a back bevel that changes the angle you hold the knife when deburring. The benefits of the single bevel when cutting remain.
 
To be clear, the Kanehide, like the Kikumori and so many others, are not single bevel. They're asymmetric double bevels.
True, they have no concave back side. They are strongly asymmetric. That said, I don't understand why people would look for a symmetric honesuki. The only benefit I can imagine is when both a right- and a left-hander were to use it and both accept a sub-optimal geometry for this application.
 
I have the Moritaka AS and love it.

You could purchase it from directly from Moritaka via Rakuten Store (https://item.rakuten.co.jp/moritakahamono/10000037/) and use a shipping poxy service. I use (FROM JAPAN) and they always have 10% off promo with stackable coupons.

Moritaka AS on their Rakuten store cost:
  • Honesuki with Sakura wood handle $11,495 JYP ($98 USD)
  • Honesuki with Red sandalwood handle $13,310 JYP ($113 USD)
that's the best solution for me!!!!!!!
 
Hello everyone,

I recently started upgrading my knife collection to nicer Japanese knives and have been very impressed so far. After purchasing some all-purpose type knives, I'm looking to replace some of my specialty knives stating with my boning knife. I usually break down at least one chicken a week so I have been interested in trying out a Honesuki knife to replace my Wusthof boning knife.

LOCATION
What country are you in? United States

KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chefs knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)? Honesuki

Are you right or left handed? Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? No preference

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)? No preference

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no) No - prefer carbon steel

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? $130-150 max



KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? I'm just a mediocre home cook

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.) Breaking down chickens

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.) Looking for a good Honesuki to start working with, I think I would prefer it to the Wusthof boning knife I've been using. Plus I just want an excuse to add another Japanese knife to the collection. Want a carbon steel blade, don't care too much about aesthetics




KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.) Synthetic

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.) Yes

I bought a Shun Kaji (SG2 clad) 4.5” (115 mm) Honesuki from a discount bin.

ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT !!!

It has become a “go to” staple of my knife block.

It just does not get dull, and has a really keen edge. … After all, it is SG2!

It is shorter than most Honesukis, but I tend to prefer shorter blades anyway.

I am not a disciple of Shun brands per se, but his one is a great knife!
 

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