Tojiro DP VG10 F-803 Honesuki 150mm

A honesuki (骨スキ) strips meat from the bone, the job a boning knife does elsewhere.

One Japanese knife maker describes the traditional honesuki as a shape unique to Japan, made with Japanese knife techniques and ground single-bevel (片刃), so it can also be used to prepare fish.

A standard single bevel knife is ground for right-handed use, and a left-handed one is made with the bevel reversed. Some makers offer left-handed versions.

Contact us and we will check what we can order or have in stock.

A garasuki is the bigger, heavier brother of the Japanese poultry boning knife (honesuki), made for larger birds and heavier cuts.

To picture one, start with the honesuki. It is short, stiff and triangular, with a thick spine and a straight edge running to a pointed tip, typically 145mm to 165mm long with 150mm the standard. It works by rigidity where a Western boning knife works by flex: the tip finds the gap in a joint, the heel pops through cartilage, and the stiff blade scrapes meat off the bone.

What you break down decides which one you need. For jointing whole chickens and ducks the honesuki is the knife. A garasuki earns its place only if you regularly work on larger birds. For large cuts of red meat, look at a butcher knife, which is heavier and rounder at the front and made for primals more than joints.

Our honesuki guide covers the shape and how it is used, and the butcher knife guide covers the heavier meat knife.

Yes, it can. Takefu, which makes VG10 (V金10), lists it among its stainless steels, and the JSSA notes that stainless strictly means rust-resistant, not rust-proof.

Takefu lists VG10's chromium content as 15% and describes its corrosion resistance as excellent. We recommend drying the knife after washing.

Takefu, the steelmaker behind VG10, gives HRC 60 or more as its hardening hardness, measured straight after quenching. The hardness of a finished knife depends on its maker.

Takefu says the steel's 15% chromium, 1% molybdenum and 1.55% cobalt give it high hardness and a long-lasting edge, and that it is easy to sharpen.

Both are Takefu blade steels, and they differ in class and in what Takefu publishes about each. Takefu lists VG10 as a stainless steel with 1.00% carbon, 15.00% chromium, 1.00% molybdenum, 0.25% vanadium and 1.55% cobalt, at a hardening hardness of HRC 60 or more.

Takefu describes SG2, its Super Gold 2, as a blade steel created by powder metallurgy, lists its composition as not disclosed, and SG2 runs 61 to 65 HRC depending on the maker. Takefu also calls SG2 a powdered stainless high-speed steel.

Yes. VG-10 is our default suggestion for a first Japanese knife, because it is stainless and easy to sharpen, and it holds a good working edge through everyday home cooking.

VG-10 is made by Takefu Special Steel, with about 1% carbon, 15% chromium and 1.55% cobalt, and is usually hardened to around 60 HRC. Takefu describes it as corrosion resistant and easy to sharpen. Day to day you rinse it and wipe it dry, with none of the rust watching carbon steel asks for.

It is also a kind steel to learn sharpening on. It takes an edge readily on a basic waterstone, so you can feel when your technique is working. A harder steel such as SG2 holds its edge longer but is less forgiving on the stone, as our VG-10 vs SG2 comparison explains.

Stainless steel can still stain: VG-10 will spot if it is left wet with acidic food on the edge, and it should never go in the dishwasher. Like any hard, thin Japanese edge, it should also stay away from bones, frozen food and glass boards. If your household is rough on knives, the slightly softer AUS-10 is the safer choice.

Steel is only part of the decision. Heat treatment and grind change how the same VG-10 cuts from one maker to the next, so choose the shape and size first. Our first Japanese knife guide walks through that.

Tojiro's own site lists model numbers such as F-808 and F-503 in its CLASSIC series, and describes those blades as VG10 (V金10号) at the core with 13-chrome stainless steel on the sides.

The honesuki we list in this line is titled Tojiro DP VG10 F-803 Honesuki 150mm.