A splendid review of boning knife culture. Many, many orbits around the Sun ago, when I was working as a professional cook/chef, I had that Henckel and its shorter less flexible sibling. They are absolutely fantastic knives. Any cook should be proud to have such high quality knives. After many years of faithful service, they started to become too thin to be of practical use. They were starting to look like toothpicks. Alas, I had to retire them with reverence. As a retired globe trotting Englishman living in The Netherlands, I'm going to treat myself to a decent honesuki. Something around 15 cm, with a core of Aogami #2 clad in stainless steel. I adore using knives made from Aogami #2 steel. In my opinion, it's the best all round, high carbon steel. For cooks new to Japanese knives, Aogami #2 is also the most forgiving high end, high carbon steel. It's also the most affordable. I have my eye on a real beauty from Anryu Knives, owned by master knifesmith Takumi Ikeda. Breaking down chickens for the BBQ and wintery casseroles, will be easy with this beast.
Is it the same one that I have? Because I have that exact knife that you're looking at! Thank you for your comments and your expertise. Your experience is very helpful to those who don't know. I do love blue number two but I'm a big fan of super blue. It is a little bit more expensive but it oxidizes less. Best wishes to you during the holiday season and stay safe. We really appreciate you supporting the channel and I really appreciate your detailed commenting. It really does help those who don't know. Thank you and God bless!
@@nadm Yeah, the super blue is a little bit tougher too, thanks to the addition of vanadium. However, it's not as easy to sharpen and you can't get the edge quite as fine as with Aogami #2. Saying this isn't a criticism. You still get an atom splitting edge from knives made from Aogami super blue. Where the super blue excels, is with the edge retention and the improved robustness of the edge. It's a difficult steel for the smiths to work with. Unfortunately, they have a lot of quenching flailers, hence the additional costs of the knives. There's no doubt about it though, Aogami super blue, is another blistering great Japanese high quality, high carbon steel. If you'd like to see the knife I'm interested in, just do a search for Meesterslijpers in Amsterdam. In their search bar copy & paste: *Anryu Knives Aogami #2 Wenge Honesuki 15 cm* . You'll see the beast in all its glory. Hopefully they'll have it in stock sometime soon after the New Year. Ik wens jou en je familie, Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! 🎄❄⛄🎆❄
For the record...the "western-type" boning knives come in various levels of stiffness/flexibility - depending on the job. They also come in various metal types - stainless, carbon...All edged tools are fun.
As far as I'm aware, honesuki is made specifically for chicken/poultry;. if you were to butcher lamb/pork/etc. + bigger cuts in general, you'd use a honkotsu - more dagger like and can be used with the blade facing towards or away from you
i cant find a single honkotsu from an actual japanese manufacturer on amazon even though they have a big presence with other knives. also went through my japanese cook books and saw no mention of one. maybe they are not really used as much as u might think? update: was able to find one from japan by Misono using the correct spelling: Hankotsu with an A. op spelled it wrong. but yah just one japanese knife maker. looks like its specific for cutting hanging carcass and not for chefs cutting meat specifically
@@squintygreeneyes There's not really a "correct" way to spell a Japanese word using English alphabet. Non Korean People all the time would say i spelled my Korean words wrong, when really, spelling a Korean word with English alphabet is already spelling it wrong. The true spelling of "hankotsu" is in katakana or hiragana or kanji symbol
@@ericrichardson7210invalid argument. There is a standard to romanization, so spelling Japanese words in Latin alphabet has to be done in the agreed upon manner. It’s present even in cellphones and computer interfaces…. Hon necessarily corresponds to ほん not はん…
Very nice comparison. I think the flexability would put me of so seeing, that it does not really bring an advantage was helpful to me ^^. You can also cut away from you with the honesuki!
For 30+ years I used an F.Dick wide stiff boning knife. Always worked great. Now retired I don't have to worry about good knives going missing. I look forward to getting a Japanese boning knife. For me I'd buy the longer thicker one. The F.Dick does not bend.
So I think we use what we're used to. I like the hard nonflexible knife as well. You and I are the same. The orange handled knife is very resilient. It's not cheap but it is thick and it was the sharpest knife we ever received out of the box. That is by a blacksmith named Takeda
Great job! I've not seen another comparison video. I've not heard it pronounced the way you say it. I've only heard "ho-ness-ski". Not sure what is correct. BTW I'm sure you know but that Takeda is beautiful.
I appreciate your support. Those things keep us going. I appreciate the compliments and I don’t know if I’m saying it correctly. I do pronounce it, “ hon-nay-su-ki”
I used to work in a fish shop and we used zwilling deboning knives for all cutting tasks (filleting mostly). Thats why id pick one over a honesuki.. more hygenic also.. If u are filleting 300 lbs of fish u dont want a japanese handle.. or the knife will smell like fish forever, u can dishwash those zwilling knives and they will be fine.... Its also a good knife for deboning meat.. that makes it dual purpose.. most people dont want to own a knife for every task.
Everyone has a preference and I definitely understand what you meant. I think, however you learn as what you're good at and used to. I need to apologize for taking so long. I've had a surgery on my knee and some other things going on. We've had the court case for my car accident. We had to deal with that as well. We've also had some other major things happening personally. Deaths in the family and lots of arrangements to be made. Also, I'll let you know that I will be having another major surgery in June and will not be making it to the Blade show. I will be out of work for two weeks because I'm having all the extra skin cut off of my body. We do apologize for an interruption of videos if it were to happen. Will try to shoot some head for you guys so we can fill the space. That being said, thank you for checking out the show. Thank you for your support and your comment.
Meaty episode :) Greg, you absolutely need to share the results after cooking. For example by posting a picture on Facebook or something like this;) I don't like sharpening these flexible knives: / probably because I have no experience. Otherwise great episode as always;) God bless you and your whole family;)
Absolutely! Everyone that has one will tell you it's a treasure in their collection. It's just very unique. It's very thick and it's very heavy. It was the sharpest knife I ever received out of the box. I have an unboxing on the channel somewhere
The moment a medium knife is 2 mm thick, there is not much flex. I do chickens with an old carbon steel table knife with a spine going from 2mm to 1mm and flex is negligible.
Boning knives are used in many ways and not just two debone. I do use this skill in different videos and on social media to remove the bones from the chicken. In this instance it was not necessary to compare the knives
@@nadm I mean... I guess. I came here trying to figure out which style of knife to buy for deboning, so I was a little salty that you didn't even mention it. Seems like if you're comparing them it would be worthwhile to test them in that application as well, no?
@@PlatonicVoyeur I would also say it has something to do with my ability at the time of this particular video shoot. I have since shot some videos on social media in which I take apart an entire chicken and all of the bones. I actually bought more than 10 chickens and spent an entire day doing it for several weeks in a row so I would be able to do it in less than three minutes. My ability now is not what my ability was at the time. When I was doing the comparison at that moment, I did not believe it was necessary. I would still tell you that I had the most success with the Japanese version. I would also tell you that it comes down to a personal preference. I believe that if you trained on a western knife then you are definitely going to be better on that knife. When I was deboning the chicken, I was cracking the leg bone with the Japanese version which is much thicker. I did not have to switch knives. I did not want to include the connective tissue. So I have a preference for using the Japanese version over the western version.
A splendid review of boning knife culture. Many, many orbits around the Sun ago, when I was working as a professional cook/chef, I had that Henckel and its shorter less flexible sibling. They are absolutely fantastic knives. Any cook should be proud to have such high quality knives. After many years of faithful service, they started to become too thin to be of practical use. They were starting to look like toothpicks. Alas, I had to retire them with reverence.
As a retired globe trotting Englishman living in The Netherlands, I'm going to treat myself to a decent honesuki. Something around 15 cm, with a core of Aogami #2 clad in stainless steel. I adore using knives made from Aogami #2 steel. In my opinion, it's the best all round, high carbon steel. For cooks new to Japanese knives, Aogami #2 is also the most forgiving high end, high carbon steel. It's also the most affordable. I have my eye on a real beauty from Anryu Knives, owned by master knifesmith Takumi Ikeda. Breaking down chickens for the BBQ and wintery casseroles, will be easy with this beast.
Is it the same one that I have? Because I have that exact knife that you're looking at! Thank you for your comments and your expertise. Your experience is very helpful to those who don't know. I do love blue number two but I'm a big fan of super blue. It is a little bit more expensive but it oxidizes less. Best wishes to you during the holiday season and stay safe. We really appreciate you supporting the channel and I really appreciate your detailed commenting. It really does help those who don't know. Thank you and God bless!
@@nadm Yeah, the super blue is a little bit tougher too, thanks to the addition of vanadium. However, it's not as easy to sharpen and you can't get the edge quite as fine as with Aogami #2. Saying this isn't a criticism. You still get an atom splitting edge from knives made from Aogami super blue. Where the super blue excels, is with the edge retention and the improved robustness of the edge. It's a difficult steel for the smiths to work with. Unfortunately, they have a lot of quenching flailers, hence the additional costs of the knives. There's no doubt about it though, Aogami super blue, is another blistering great Japanese high quality, high carbon steel.
If you'd like to see the knife I'm interested in, just do a search for Meesterslijpers in Amsterdam. In their search bar copy & paste: *Anryu Knives Aogami #2 Wenge Honesuki 15 cm* . You'll see the beast in all its glory. Hopefully they'll have it in stock sometime soon after the New Year.
Ik wens jou en je familie, Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! 🎄❄⛄🎆❄
For the record...the "western-type" boning knives come in various levels of stiffness/flexibility - depending on the job. They also come in various metal types - stainless, carbon...All edged tools are fun.
All edged tools are fun! Preach! Thanks for your input. We love you!
As far as I'm aware, honesuki is made specifically for chicken/poultry;. if you were to butcher lamb/pork/etc. + bigger cuts in general, you'd use a honkotsu - more dagger like and can be used with the blade facing towards or away from you
Thank you for that! Now you're gonna make me go shopping.
Yes, the Hankotsu!
i cant find a single honkotsu from an actual japanese manufacturer on amazon even though they have a big presence with other knives.
also went through my japanese cook books and saw no mention of one.
maybe they are not really used as much as u might think?
update: was able to find one from japan by Misono using the correct spelling: Hankotsu with an A. op spelled it wrong.
but yah just one japanese knife maker. looks like its specific for cutting hanging carcass and not for chefs cutting meat specifically
@@squintygreeneyes There's not really a "correct" way to spell a Japanese word using English alphabet. Non Korean People all the time would say i spelled my Korean words wrong, when really, spelling a Korean word with English alphabet is already spelling it wrong. The true spelling of "hankotsu" is in katakana or hiragana or kanji symbol
@@ericrichardson7210invalid argument. There is a standard to romanization, so spelling Japanese words in Latin alphabet has to be done in the agreed upon manner. It’s present even in cellphones and computer interfaces….
Hon necessarily corresponds to ほん not はん…
Great comparison between the two style knives!
Very nice comparison. I think the flexability would put me of so seeing, that it does not really bring an advantage was helpful to me ^^. You can also cut away from you with the honesuki!
So any sharp knife can be a deboning knife
For 30+ years I used an F.Dick wide stiff boning knife. Always worked great. Now retired I don't have to worry about good knives going missing. I look forward to getting a Japanese boning knife. For me I'd buy the longer thicker one. The F.Dick does not bend.
So I think we use what we're used to. I like the hard nonflexible knife as well. You and I are the same. The orange handled knife is very resilient. It's not cheap but it is thick and it was the sharpest knife we ever received out of the box. That is by a blacksmith named Takeda
Great job! I've not seen another comparison video.
I've not heard it pronounced the way you say it. I've only heard "ho-ness-ski". Not sure what is correct.
BTW I'm sure you know but that Takeda is beautiful.
I appreciate your support. Those things keep us going. I appreciate the compliments and I don’t know if I’m saying it correctly. I do pronounce it, “ hon-nay-su-ki”
I used to work in a fish shop and we used zwilling deboning knives for all cutting tasks (filleting mostly). Thats why id pick one over a honesuki.. more hygenic also.. If u are filleting 300 lbs of fish u dont want a japanese handle.. or the knife will smell like fish forever, u can dishwash those zwilling knives and they will be fine.... Its also a good knife for deboning meat.. that makes it dual purpose.. most people dont want to own a knife for every task.
Everyone has a preference and I definitely understand what you meant. I think, however you learn as what you're good at and used to. I need to apologize for taking so long. I've had a surgery on my knee and some other things going on. We've had the court case for my car accident. We had to deal with that as well. We've also had some other major things happening personally. Deaths in the family and lots of arrangements to be made. Also, I'll let you know that I will be having another major surgery in June and will not be making it to the Blade show. I will be out of work for two weeks because I'm having all the extra skin cut off of my body. We do apologize for an interruption of videos if it were to happen. Will try to shoot some head for you guys so we can fill the space. That being said, thank you for checking out the show. Thank you for your support and your comment.
Meaty episode :)
Greg, you absolutely need to share the results after cooking. For example by posting a picture on Facebook or something like this;)
I don't like sharpening these flexible knives: / probably because I have no experience.
Otherwise great episode as always;)
God bless you and your whole family;)
I’m at work but I have those pictures actually so let me have your Facebook name and I’ll send them to you
Would you say the Takeda honesuki is worth the price in your use?
Absolutely! Everyone that has one will tell you it's a treasure in their collection. It's just very unique. It's very thick and it's very heavy. It was the sharpest knife I ever received out of the box. I have an unboxing on the channel somewhere
The moment a medium knife is 2 mm thick, there is not much flex. I do chickens with an old carbon steel table knife with a spine going from 2mm to 1mm and flex is negligible.
Absolutely no flex at all!
Wrstern boning knives are definitely better for meat. Have a look at what a butcher uses.
*reviews boning knives*
*doesn't debone anything*
Boning knives are used in many ways and not just two debone. I do use this skill in different videos and on social media to remove the bones from the chicken. In this instance it was not necessary to compare the knives
@@nadm I mean... I guess. I came here trying to figure out which style of knife to buy for deboning, so I was a little salty that you didn't even mention it. Seems like if you're comparing them it would be worthwhile to test them in that application as well, no?
@@PlatonicVoyeur I would also say it has something to do with my ability at the time of this particular video shoot. I have since shot some videos on social media in which I take apart an entire chicken and all of the bones. I actually bought more than 10 chickens and spent an entire day doing it for several weeks in a row so I would be able to do it in less than three minutes. My ability now is not what my ability was at the time. When I was doing the comparison at that moment, I did not believe it was necessary. I would still tell you that I had the most success with the Japanese version. I would also tell you that it comes down to a personal preference. I believe that if you trained on a western knife then you are definitely going to be better on that knife. When I was deboning the chicken, I was cracking the leg bone with the Japanese version which is much thicker. I did not have to switch knives. I did not want to include the connective tissue. So I have a preference for using the Japanese version over the western version.
@@nadm well, sounds like I'm going to have to buy both to try them out after all. Thanks for the help!
@@PlatonicVoyeur I'm sorry my friend! Good luck in your endeavor. Please message us back and let us know which one you found favorable.
Spine thickness has nothing to do with sharpness.
you actually parted the thigh from the leg with the western knife ... just sayin ... it's on tape
ummmmm... ok!
My victorinox boning knife blazes through deer, and pork.
I would love to see that technique. I have a skinning knife and I don't know when I'll get to use it. Happy new year
That was definitely the major difference in the knives. 😂😂😂 not you being warmed up.
Japanese 's swords, japanese 's knives are better than ...