A renowned smith from Sakai-city, Kikuchiyo (a pseudonym) apprenticed for over two decades before taking over the master’s forge upon his retirement a few years ago. One of the most impressive traits of his working style is that he is not only fast in production but he is also one of the few remaining smiths in Sakai that can forge Honyaki blades, a technique of forging that yields knives with beautiful Hamon lines and exquisite hardness.

Manzo is the pseudonym for a sharpener hailing from Sakai, a city known for its prestigious sharpeners of single bevel knives. He was trained under the sole sharpener for a legendary bladesmith who produced some of the rarest and most illustrious Honyaki blades. Manzo’s consistent ura sharpening embodies the hallmark of what constitutes a great single bevel knife. His blades feel more heavy on the balance than, say, our Togashi Tachi line. 

This blade is ideal for both initiates and seasoned single bevel knife users who want to experience the performance of carbon steel without the full burden of rust management. Initiates of single bevel knives will enjoy the more forgiving nature of the stainless construction of Silver #3 steel compared to a blade with a reactive iron cladding. Seasoned single bevel knife owners will also find it to be a worthy addition to their arsenal, particularly if they work in a busy kitchen with high volumes of fish to process where breaks to clean your knife are limited.

A Deba is a traditional Japanese fish fileting/butchery knife that is single-sided/beveled. Despite its Santoku-like profile, it does not perform well on dense produce; however, it excels in deboning various fish, thanks to its weight and bevel shape. The technique of using a deba is quite different from using a flexible fileting knife (Western style fish deboning), but in practiced hands, both styles can yield very good results. We recommend a deba for any cook looking to get better at fileting fish and sharpening a single bevel knife in Japanese fashion.