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Okeya is a small blacksmith shop run by a father and son team who produce very well made and designed kitchen knives at really attractive prices. They use only high quality materials, in this case Hitachi White Paper #2 steel, which is hardened to 60 HRC. The hagane (inner core) is covered with a layer of softer steel to protect and add strength. The jigane (outer layer) is given a very nice hairline finish.
Honesuki blades are sometimes single ground, but in the case of this knife, it is a double-sided blade. This makes it useful to both left- and right-handed users. Being double sided means it is also much easier to sharpen. The main function of a honesuki knife is to process poultry and other birds. It is perfect at this task because of its stiff and tough triangular shaped blade. The extremely pointed tip is ideal for getting into the joints of birds but not for breaking bones. You will need a cleaver for that task.
The blade is given a simple oval wood handle with plastic ferrule. Home cooks or professional chefs who processes poultry or other birds should have a honesuki in their knife quiver. The price of this great little blade is low enough to make the purchase well worthwhile.Blacksmith: Okeya
Location: Miki, Japan
Construction: Hammer Forged, San Mai
Edge Steel: White #2 Carbon Steel
Cladding: Stainless Steel
Finish: Hairline/Sand Blast
Edge Length: 150mm
Weight: 3.1oz
Height: 39mm
Handle: Oval
Honesuki blades are sometimes single ground, but in the case of this knife, it is a double-sided blade. This makes it useful to both left- and right-handed users. Being double sided means it is also much easier to sharpen. The main function of a honesuki knife is to process poultry and other birds. It is perfect at this task because of its stiff and tough triangular shaped blade. The extremely pointed tip is ideal for getting into the joints of birds but not for breaking bones. You will need a cleaver for that task.
The blade is given a simple oval wood handle with plastic ferrule. Home cooks or professional chefs who processes poultry or other birds should have a honesuki in their knife quiver. The price of this great little blade is low enough to make the purchase well worthwhile.
Reviews
1 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval) Good Starter HonesukiPosted By: Alan Mundy - verified customer
6 people found this review helpful
I purchased this knife as an introduction to Honesukis with good steel at a low price, understanding that things like fit and finish, handle materials and blade grind would be sacrificed to achieve the low price point.The knife met my expectations across the board. The core steel takes a nice edge very easily, which is good because the out of the box edge was mediocre and pretty rough. The hardening of the steel is relatively low for carbon steel but that's a given with this type of knife that is going to run up against cartilage and bone on a regular basis. A super high heat treat would likely result in frequent chipping when those inevitable bone/cartilage collisions. I have broken down a few birds and have missed a few joints and ending up slicing through cartilage and even small bones with zero issues. The core steel is pretty reactive, but only to the extent of developing patina/dark spots. I haven't always been religious about cleaning the knife immediately after cutting and it hasn't shown any signs of rusting.With a lower heat treat comes lower edge retention. For a home cook this is probably fine because this is a specialty knife and you're not putting much wear on it, and again, it sharpens up nicely. I would not recommend this knife to a pro who is going to be breaking down multiple birds a day as the edge retention would probably become a hassle.Blade geometry is good. The edge has a nice continuous profile with no flat spots or curves. It is thick behind the edge, but that's what you expect with a honesuki. For that reason it's a mediocre performer at slicing, so I wouldn't recommend this as an all around knife or petty replacement. The tip is nicely profiled and would serve for detail work, though the overall size of the blade would make any fine detail work a little awkward.Fit and finish are mediocre. The plastic ferrule feels cheap and there's a noticeable ridge where it meets the handle. The handle itself is not sanded very smooth. I will hit it with sandpaper in the future to resolve both of these issues. The kanji on the blade are done with an engraver rather than chiseled. The blade road feels acid etched rather than a differential grind, but I can't be sure. The hairline finish overlaps the blade road in a number of spots. Again, these are all things you have to expect with this grade of steel at this price point, costs have to be saved somewhere.For the price point, I think the steel, blade geometry and grind are all excellent value. Fit and finish and the finer details of craftsmanship are where the low price point shows. I would recommend this knife for a home chef who isn't going to use the knife frequently but wants a nice performer when they pull it out. It's also a good trial honesuki to determine if it's a type of knife you want to invest more in later. A professional who is going to make regular/heavy use of the knife will likely want something with better edge retention and better fit and finish properties.
6 people found this review helpful
I purchased this knife as an introduction to Honesukis with good steel at a low price, understanding that things like fit and finish, handle materials and blade grind would be sacrificed to achieve the low price point.The knife met my expectations across the board. The core steel takes a nice edge very easily, which is good because the out of the box edge was mediocre and pretty rough. The hardening of the steel is relatively low for carbon steel but that's a given with this type of knife that is going to run up against cartilage and bone on a regular basis. A super high heat treat would likely result in frequent chipping when those inevitable bone/cartilage collisions. I have broken down a few birds and have missed a few joints and ending up slicing through cartilage and even small bones with zero issues. The core steel is pretty reactive, but only to the extent of developing patina/dark spots. I haven't always been religious about cleaning the knife immediately after cutting and it hasn't shown any signs of rusting.With a lower heat treat comes lower edge retention. For a home cook this is probably fine because this is a specialty knife and you're not putting much wear on it, and again, it sharpens up nicely. I would not recommend this knife to a pro who is going to be breaking down multiple birds a day as the edge retention would probably become a hassle.Blade geometry is good. The edge has a nice continuous profile with no flat spots or curves. It is thick behind the edge, but that's what you expect with a honesuki. For that reason it's a mediocre performer at slicing, so I wouldn't recommend this as an all around knife or petty replacement. The tip is nicely profiled and would serve for detail work, though the overall size of the blade would make any fine detail work a little awkward.Fit and finish are mediocre. The plastic ferrule feels cheap and there's a noticeable ridge where it meets the handle. The handle itself is not sanded very smooth. I will hit it with sandpaper in the future to resolve both of these issues. The kanji on the blade are done with an engraver rather than chiseled. The blade road feels acid etched rather than a differential grind, but I can't be sure. The hairline finish overlaps the blade road in a number of spots. Again, these are all things you have to expect with this grade of steel at this price point, costs have to be saved somewhere.For the price point, I think the steel, blade geometry and grind are all excellent value. Fit and finish and the finer details of craftsmanship are where the low price point shows. I would recommend this knife for a home chef who isn't going to use the knife frequently but wants a nice performer when they pull it out. It's also a good trial honesuki to determine if it's a type of knife you want to invest more in later. A professional who is going to make regular/heavy use of the knife will likely want something with better edge retention and better fit and finish properties.
