Honyaki Knives

Honyaki Knife Special Coverage

Feature on HONYAKI Japanese kitchen knives

Honyaki knives are forged solely from one material: high-carbon steel (called “Hagane”). Generally the Hagane is White steel(Shirogami) or Blue steel(Aogami). The structure method used to make Honyaki knives is similar to that used to make traditional Japanese swords, which is a very difficult and long process.

After being heat treated, the blade is hammered repeatedly to form the shape of a blade and evenly distribute the carbon and chromium molecules. It requires the precise techniques of skilled and experienced craftsmen.

 


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Why Were Honyaki Knives Developed?

Let’s illustrate the differences between Western knives and Japanese knives with a cross-sectional diagram. Figure 1 shows the cross-section of a standard knife. The left shows a Western (Gyuto) knife that is made entirely with carbon steel or martentistic stainless steel. The four on the left are Japanese knives, of which 3 are composite.

Only Western-style kitchen knives generally made in Western countries and Honyaki knives in Japan are made of entirely of a single material like a carbon steel or a high carbon stainless steel (which we call all-steel, or all stainless), while most of Japanese kitchen knives (other than Honyaki) are often composite knives. This composite structure is ideal for knives that will be sharpened on a whetstone.

Even if a knife has a composite structure, there is a specific problem which does not occur with a Warikomi and San-Mai Awase both of which are double-edged knives. This problem occurs with only thin & long sashimi knives, Yanagiba and Takohiki, and thin & wide Usuba knives, all of which have single-edged thin blade.

fig1-why-thin-bladed-composite-usuba-knives-warp.png

Figure 1. Why Thin-Bladed Composite Usuba Knives Warp

Figure (a) is a concept drawing of a Usuba knife that has been coated with steel, the upper white portion is Jigane, while the black portion on the bottom is steel. By heat treating this, the steel becomes martensitized, increasing in length as it cures. The white portion, composed of Ferrite, remains soft. Thus, as in Figure (b), it’s typical for the knives to warp upwards when viewed horizontally. In order to correct this, the knife is placed on an anvil as in Figure (c), where the steel is placed downwards and the Jigane is struck with a hammer, extending it and straightening the knife.

Only Western-style kitchen knives generally made in Western countries and Honyaki knives in Japan are made of entirely of a single material like a carbon steel or a high carbon stainless steel (which we call all-steel, or all stainless), while most of Japanese kitchen knives (other than Honyaki) are often composite knives. This composite structure is ideal for knives that will be sharpened on a whetstone.

Even if a knife has a composite structure, there is a specific problem which does not occur with a Warikomi and San-Mai Awase both of which are double-edged knives. This problem occurs with only thin & long sashimi knives, Yanagiba and Takohiki, and thin & wide Usuba knives, all of which have single-edged thin blade.

Figure (a) is a concept drawing of a Usuba knife that has been coated with steel, the upper white portion is Jigane, while the black portion on the bottom is steel. By heat treating this, the steel becomes martensitized, increasing in length as it cures. The white portion, composed of Ferrite, remains soft. Thus, as in Figure (b), it’s typical for the knives to warp upwards when viewed horizontally. In order to correct this, the knife is placed on an anvil as in Figure (c), where the steel is placed downwards and the Jigane is struck with a hammer, extending it and straightening the knife.

[Referenced from Hamonoarekore by Kato and Asakura(2013)]

 

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