kyle corn
is one Smokin' Farker
I special ordered this boning from Ashi Hamono, a knife maker in Japan. Three months later it finally arrived. Today I gave it a test run by breaking down a couple cooked chickens and by trimming down a rack of spares into St. Louis. It performed admirably and I couldn't be more pleased.
For those that don't know about Japanese knives, this knife is called a wa-honesuki. The term "wa" indicates that it has a Japanese-style handle, "yo" would refer to a Western handle. "Honesuki" is the name given to Japanese boning knives. As you can see, the profile is very different from a Western boning knife; I prefer this style blade for breaking down chickens and other tasks.
The main reason why I had to special order this knife was I selected the steel. A honesuki from Ashi Hamono is typically made out of a special type of stainless steel called AEB-L, but I custom ordered this knife in white #2 carbon steel. It will rust if not properly cared for, but over time it will develop a natural patina which protects against rust. I went for the carbon steel for the edge it takes and the ease of sharpening. This knife also has a much better fit and finish over a standard Ashi Hamono blade, as the choil and spine have both been rounded and polished.
The handle is pretty typical of Japanese knives--magnolia wood with buffalo horn ferrule. However, the ferrule is usually made out of black buffalo horn as it is much more common, so it was a very pleasant surprise when I found the ferrule was made of blonde buffalo horn.
I custom ordered this knife through Jon and Sarah Broida at www.japaneseknifeimports.com The products on their site are mostly high end, so that may scare a few interested people away, but they are wonderful people to deal and are more interested in pairing you with the right knife than trying to make a sale. If you have any interest in Japanese cutlery I really recommend you email or call Jon and he will point you in the right direction.
I know some of you think it's crazy to get anything more expensive than a Forschner/Victorinox, but once you've used these knives you notice the difference immediately. YES you can tell a difference between a hand crafted Japanese knife over a Forschner or Wusthof. Is it actually worth it? Depends on your use. I personally find it very rewarding to work with something made by a craftsman in his prime, the quality just shines through. I blame my knife addiction on my grandfather, he got me hooked nearly 15 years ago by getting me my first pocket knife, a carbon steel Case. When Case switched to stainless steel he bought a few of them to save for his grandsons when they got older (2 of which weren't even born when he bought the knives). He taught me the benefits of carbon steel and how to care for it. I've been fascinated ever since and once I started cooking I started exploring options outside of those available at your local big box store and that lead me to the world of Japanese kitchen knives.
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For those that don't know about Japanese knives, this knife is called a wa-honesuki. The term "wa" indicates that it has a Japanese-style handle, "yo" would refer to a Western handle. "Honesuki" is the name given to Japanese boning knives. As you can see, the profile is very different from a Western boning knife; I prefer this style blade for breaking down chickens and other tasks.
The main reason why I had to special order this knife was I selected the steel. A honesuki from Ashi Hamono is typically made out of a special type of stainless steel called AEB-L, but I custom ordered this knife in white #2 carbon steel. It will rust if not properly cared for, but over time it will develop a natural patina which protects against rust. I went for the carbon steel for the edge it takes and the ease of sharpening. This knife also has a much better fit and finish over a standard Ashi Hamono blade, as the choil and spine have both been rounded and polished.
The handle is pretty typical of Japanese knives--magnolia wood with buffalo horn ferrule. However, the ferrule is usually made out of black buffalo horn as it is much more common, so it was a very pleasant surprise when I found the ferrule was made of blonde buffalo horn.
I custom ordered this knife through Jon and Sarah Broida at www.japaneseknifeimports.com The products on their site are mostly high end, so that may scare a few interested people away, but they are wonderful people to deal and are more interested in pairing you with the right knife than trying to make a sale. If you have any interest in Japanese cutlery I really recommend you email or call Jon and he will point you in the right direction.
I know some of you think it's crazy to get anything more expensive than a Forschner/Victorinox, but once you've used these knives you notice the difference immediately. YES you can tell a difference between a hand crafted Japanese knife over a Forschner or Wusthof. Is it actually worth it? Depends on your use. I personally find it very rewarding to work with something made by a craftsman in his prime, the quality just shines through. I blame my knife addiction on my grandfather, he got me hooked nearly 15 years ago by getting me my first pocket knife, a carbon steel Case. When Case switched to stainless steel he bought a few of them to save for his grandsons when they got older (2 of which weren't even born when he bought the knives). He taught me the benefits of carbon steel and how to care for it. I've been fascinated ever since and once I started cooking I started exploring options outside of those available at your local big box store and that lead me to the world of Japanese kitchen knives.
