Sharpening and Usage Instructions for Japanese Knives

January 10, 2025 Instructions - how to use our Tools

Sharpening and Usage Instructions for Japanese Knives

A Hocho (Japanese kitchen knife) is an extremely sharp but also a sensitive tool. The following instructions for its use should be observed:

The sharper and harder a blade, the more sensitive it is. For this reason, "HOCHO" should not be placed in the dishwasher. The mechanical washing process causes utensils to hit each other, which can damage the blade. Therefore, you should not store the knife in the cutlery drawer together with other items, but separately, for example, in a knife block or wrapped in a dish towel.
The shape and properties of the "Hocho" have developed along the wishes of Japanese chefs to virtuously cut even the most delicate foods. Therefore, the "Hocho" is particularly unsuitable for cutting very hard foods such as frozen goods and bones not suitable.
Traditional Japanese knives are not stainless. Another reason to keep them away from the dishwasher. As it was many years ago, it still holds true today: the best knife steels are made of carbon steel (=carbon steel), and this is not stainless. Dry the knives immediately after use! If not used for a long time, the blade should be coated or rubbed with a drop of oil (camellia oil is best).
With strongly acidic cutting materials, discoloration and a slight metallic taste may occur with carbon steel knives, which some people perceive more strongly and others not at all, and it is health-safe. With increasing patina formation (not to be confused with rust!), the blade becomes largely or completely tasteless.
If the knife has become rusty, it is not a disaster. The rust disappears when sharpening. Additionally, we recommend our rust eraser.
Sharpening should be done regularly. "Hocho" are best sharpened on Japanese water stones. Dry-running sharpening machines are absolutely unsuitable, and honing steels are also not recommended. Household sharpening devices that are often offered should also be avoided. A dry-running sharpening machine leads to the softening of the carbon steel, and the knife blade is then not worth much! Honing steels and household sharpening devices are too hard and insensitive to reliably prevent the breaking out of individual cutting particles during their use! Japanese water stones have the suitable consistency for "Hocho" to sharpen them gently and effectively. They are soft, and the bonding of the grain is relatively loose.
Take a sharpening stone with a grain size between 800 and 1200 and soak it in water for about 5 minutes. Position the stone so that it does not slip, and guide the blade of the knife at an angle of 10 to 15° with light pressure in lateral or circular movements over the stone, ensuring that the entire blade length is covered. Make sure to maintain the angle chosen once. The lower the degree, the sharper the edge, but also the more sensitive!
With three-layer knives with a double bevel, both sides are worked on in this way. With two-layer knives with a single bevel, only the slanted bevel side is worked on, which should rest flat on the stone with the entire bevel.
Pulling refers to the removal of the fine burr created during sharpening and the polishing of the edge. For this, a honing stone with a grain size of 3000 to 8000 is prepared in the same way as the sharpening stone. At a slightly duller angle (the knife is held a bit steeper), the knife is guided over the stone in the same way as previously described. In this process, you switch sides several times with the three-layer knives, but try to maintain the chosen angle as accurately as possible. For the two-layer knives that are ground on one side, you proceed in principle the same way with the small difference that the flat mirror side is also guided completely over the stone and not lifted. In this case, the stone must be completely flat.
After sharpening and honing, oil the knife.

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