Honesuki means "bone lover". This knife is mainly used for boning chicken. Traditionally, the Honesuki has only one bevel, with a concave on the back side of the blade. This helps to work around the joints when boning. The upper part of the cutting edge and the thin tip are used to cut through ligaments and remove skin, while the stronger heel is used to get between bones. The Honesuki can be used for deboning all poultry and smaller pieces of red meat and for butchering small fish.
The Yoshikane forge was founded in 1919 in Sanjo/Niigata and is now run by 4th generation Kazuomi Yamamoto-san. He was trained by his uncle Tsuneo Yoshida (3rd generation) and is now established as one of the best blacksmiths in Japan, in addition to being recognized for his skills in blade sharpening. He would rival or surpass the best Sakai sharpeners. This explains why so many talented blacksmiths in Sanjo have been trained at Yoshikane's forge. Yoshikane is famous for its work of Shirogami #2 steel, SKD-11 steel and SLD steel.
Here is a famous quote from Kazuomi Yamamoto-san: "While many things change rapidly these days, there are ideas and beliefs that never change. Every day, I make sure that the meaning of these words is forged in the making of knives".
SKD-12 steel is the Japanese equivalent of A2 steel and is a "high speed tool steel", this type of steel was popularized in the early 1900s. To obtain a high-speed tool steel, alloying elements such as chromium, tungsten, vanadium and molybdenum are combined with a high carbon steel. It can achieve very high hardness and outstanding wear resistance and is mainly used in factory tools for metal working. Yoshikane Forge was one of the first forges to incorporate this type of steel into the construction of Japanese knives and is now known for its SKD-12 and SLD (made from SKD-11 steel) blades. With a chromium content of about 5%, this steel is semi-oxidizable and requires minimal maintenance to avoid rusting.
