# Sharpening a Hankotsu?



## mdale13 (Feb 8, 2012)

I recently purchased a Misono Moly Hankotsu from Korin for work (butcher). Not only is this the first single bevel knife I have ever owned, the edge depth(?) and angle change as it progresses up the blade toward the tip. There also appears to be a very slight bevel on the back side of the knife. The edge is also sharpened to a mirror finish which I liked the feel of the first day I used it. I currently own a crappy 400/1000 combo stone that is rather awful. I am going to be using it on a daily basis to breakdown lamb/hog/steer from whole animals into retail cuts.

I am pretty much clueless on how to go about sharpening this knife. I could make some educated guesses I suppose, but I really dont want to mess up the edge angles. Would anyone like to share some tips for sharpening Hankotsus?

I am also in the market for a few new stones, I was thinking a Bester 1200 and 5000. 

Also, doing so much cutting everyday, my edge is bound to need some touching up while at work. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to touch up a single bevel edge while at work? I am guessing a steel is out of the question. Would a glass or ceramic hone work? Should I keep a little strop setup at work?


I included a quick photo of the knife, highlighting the shape of the edge to better illustrate what I am referring to. 





Thanks!


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## JohnnyChance (Feb 8, 2012)

Nice photo.

It isn't a true single bevel knife with a hollow back, it is simply an asymmetric grind with a 99/1 edge. Basically all of the time on the stones is spent on the right side, with just deburring done on the back side. You can use a ceramic or glass rod or strops to maintain the edge. I use a Mac black ceramic rod, which is around 2k grit, so it is a pretty good touch up grit for butcher knives. While sharpening just use a Sharpie to color in the bevel to help you find the angles and see where you are removing metal until you get the hang of it. Your bevel gets smaller towards the handle until there is no edge in front of the bolster, just in case your fingers move up the blade a bit while working.

The Bester 1200/Rika 5k combo is a very popular affordable combo that will handle most basic sharpening jobs very well. An Atoma plate for flattening and 400-600 stone would make nice additions in the future (the Atoma sooner than later).


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## mdale13 (Feb 8, 2012)

Thanks for the info! Yeah I like the unsharpened portion, no worries when choking-up on the knife. Depending on how exact I am trying to be, I will sometimes have 3 fingers below the bolster while working in a dagger grip. I am loving this knife. I would say only the top 1/3 of the knife is a useable edge, which honestly works rather well when 90% of my cutting is done with the tip. This thing also takes silverskin off insanely well. 

This is my first dip into J-Knives and I am already seeing the appeal. I am eyeing a Konosuke 180 petty for various prep at work. We are a pretty old school shop, making a lot of charcuterie and sausage products, which ends up involving a fair amount of veggie/herb prep.


So is there any special motion I need to use on the stones to counteract the thinning of the bevel? Or will the bevel take care of that itself? I am already fairly confident sharpening double bevel knifes on my stone, but this is a totally different animal, and is by far my most expensive knife at the moment.


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## JohnnyChance (Feb 8, 2012)

mdale13 said:


> So is there any special motion I need to use on the stones to counteract the thinning of the bevel? Or will the bevel take care of that itself? I am already fairly confident sharpening double bevel knifes on my stone, but this is a totally different animal, and is by far my most expensive knife at the moment.



No special motion required. Just use the Sharpie to make sure you have the angle right and are hitting the bevel from shoulder to edge. And you are going to spend pretty much all of your time on the right side of the knife, and then just deburr a bit on the back side. 

Jon Broida of JKI has a bunch of great sharpening videos that are worth a watch if you just want to make sure you are going about things the proper way. You can find them here.


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## ThEoRy (Feb 8, 2012)

I actually just filmed myself sharpening a hankotsu. I'll have to edit it but I can upload it later.


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## TB_London (Feb 8, 2012)

I have tha same knife and thought sharpening would be more complicated than it was. Sharpie on the bevel really helps, but it's not as bad as it looks. Not sure what would be best for touch ups, I'd be tempted to go with a strop, but others have more experience than me on this


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## mdale13 (Feb 8, 2012)

Thanks guys!

Theory, that would be awesome!


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## ThEoRy (Feb 9, 2012)

Vid's up http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/4995-Sharpening-Hankotsu?p=79602#post79602


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