Hitohira Imojiya OKD VG-1 Honesuki Kaku 150mm Rosewood Handle

The Seki made OKD series feature a mono VG1 steel blade with a very attractive price. They’re fitted with a western style rosewood or wenge handle. These decent performers have a very well balanced classic and sturdy feel to them, they’re very reliable and are pleasantly easy to sharpen.

This is a stainless steel knife. It becomes stainless due to a certain amount (10-13%) of chromium and/or nickel in the alloy, it forms a film layer which acts as a barrier between metal and oxygen. Stainless steel is easy, practical and functional but not completely maintenance free. With very bad maintenance it can rust or show pitting, after all it’s called stainless not stain-free steel. The corrosion resistance varies with each stainless steel. In my opinion the same rules apply here as with carbon steel (non-stainless).

Store your knife dry and clean, never let it air-dry after washing, no dishwasher and avoid extremely hard products like frozen foods or bones ect. But a big difference to carbon steel is that your margin of error is much bigger, the rust resistance is much greater and thus easier and more worry free to maintain.

Please note that there are many different stainless steels, just like carbon steels, each with its own properties and characteristics. Each should be judged individually.

The Honesuki is a Japanese style butchery knife used for breaking down and deboning poultry and lager cuts of meat. The honesuki Kaku in functionality leans more towards (but not only!) poultry filleting while the Maru version works better with other meats and lacks a bit of efficiency for poultry, mainly due to the lack of heel which on the Kaku is used to cut trough cartilage. Please pay close attention to the hand orientation of each individual knife as the Honesuki ofter has an asymmetric geometry. 

This is a stainless steel knife. It becomes stainless due to a certain amount (10-13%) of chromium and/or nickel in the alloy, it forms a film layer which acts as a barrier between metal and oxygen. Stainless steel is easy, practical and functional but not completely maintenance free. With very bad maintenance it can rust or show pitting, after all it’s called stainless not stain-free steel. The corrosion resistance varies with each stainless steel. In my opinion the same rules apply here as with carbon steel (non-stainless).

Store your knife dry and clean, never let it air-dry after washing, no dishwasher and avoid extremely hard products like frozen foods or bones ect. But a big difference to carbon steel is that your margin of error is much bigger, the rust resistance is much greater and thus easier and more worry free to maintain.

Please note that there are many different stainless steels, just like carbon steels, each with its own properties and characteristics. Each should be judged individually.