the Japanese single bevel knife.
 

I tend to research a topic to death before I buy something I am new to.

hell, I think that is how I end up on forums. (true to this one)

I have been eating lots of fish. my fish monger is a pretty cool dude. he fillets everything for the domestic palate. everything is packaged neatly in zipper top bags and covered with tiny pebbles of ice.

the guys over at the knife forum (:D) think I need a Deba. that is how a Japanese fish monger breaks down a fish. no thin steel fillet knives over there. why? its because they eat the entire fish. the bones and head are broken down and turned into soups and stuff. taking fish head apart is no joke. my current knives are not perfect for the job.

back to my fish monger. the guy got down right excited when I asked him. "hey, what do you do with all the fish carcasses?" he gave me two salmon carcases for free. put them into my ice chest and covered it all with pebbles of perfect ice.

the YEN seem perpetually in our favor. I just ordered my Deba!!! now to buy $2137 worth of Japanese natural sharpening stones. rabbit hole city!!! I see Miso soups in my future. and now to google the hell out of HOW TO SHARPEN A JAPANESE SINGLE BEVEL. I didnt spend big money. I could absolutely suck at this. turn the knife into a big thick, butter knife.
similar knife. thick, stout, thick. really thick.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742223840.jpg

Whatever you do, don't end up buying the cheap King stones like the one in the bottom row of this screenshot. But these Shaptons are a great way to get started. Shapton makes some more expensive, nicer stuff too. I think it's hard to go wrong with any of the Shapton stones/plates.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742225182.jpg

Here you go, this is what you're shooting for. LOL!

I'll let you know when I get there...

<iframe width="694" height="1235" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dH8Q9PbAFlE" title="I can't cut the paper tube, so I sharpen the knife.@jikkoshacho" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ha!! ONE DAY


back to stone. yea, I have that King stone. and I do have some Sharpton's. oddly, the guys at the forum said that King would get it done, but take more effort.

I will proceed slowly before I eff up some money. I think I just need a 800 and maybe a 4000 or something. I dont need a mirror edge. or even do a mirror edge.

With my atrocious sharpening skills most of my knives end up as single bevel.

Let me help you spend your money :-)

https://www.yanagiknife.com/sushi-knife

https://www.yanagiknife.com/48

https://www.korin.com/japanese-knives/styles/deba?page=1

https://www.korin.com/knife-accessories?page=1

I've accumulated a few single bevel knives.. steep slope

Yeah, I've got that King stone too. I bought it years ago, and rarely use it. There's a place up in Wash state that teaches woodworking with Japanese hand tools (chisels, planes, etc...) and I can't remember if it's their website or their book, but one of them says something like "whatever you do don't get those cheap King stones". I don't remember why, but I think it had to do with how soft they were and that it would make trying to learn to sharpen on them harder.

I've got the Shapton 1000 and 5000, and I do OK with them. I recently got some better stopping compound than the cheap green crayon that come with most cheap strops, but I have yet to try it. I need to sharpen the kitchen knives, maybe I'll run do that now.

Single bevel style marking knives are often used in woodworking when precision is required. I've not heard of any advantages for use in the kitchen.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742247615.jpg

Most Japanese kitchen knives (but not all) are single bevel. It's just how they do it. Although they do have some that are usually double bevel.

@masraum hit it on the head. Single bevels consider your hand dominance. I ordered one for a right hander. The one bevel is supposedly a huge benefit in controlling the cut to have it go where it’s supppsed to go. The Deba is made to ride on top of the bones.

I’ll know more later.

We have some Shun knives. it was the compromise with the missus for knives that weren't too maintenance intensive (like carbon knives) and attractive, but better than average steel and profiles that I like.

I sharpened the santoku this afternoon and was able to slice a rolled up tube of paper like they did in the video that I posted above. Well, not exactly like in the video. I don't get knives as sharp as that kid can, but I was able to slice the tube while it stood up. I have a feeling that different paper might be even easier (obviously a sharper knife would be even easier).

The guy that really impresses me on getting knives sharp is this guy. I haven't managed to get a knife "hair whittling sharp" yet. Basically just lay a hair over the blade and pull, and the knife cuts into the hair.

<iframe width="550" height="1000" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RaR7xqb2ir8" title="The TRUE Sharpness Test You CAN'T FAKE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think this is the place in Washington:

https://www.ptwoodschool.org/japanese-woodworking

Their next sharpening course:

https://www.ptwoodschool.org/course-map/sharpening-2025

Yep, that's the one.

I did it. I got one of our Shuns ^^ hair whittling ^^ sharp. The problem is that I haven't been putting an acute enough angle on the blade.

I've got these 2 stones
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742621636.jpg

And some of this stropping compound
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742621802.jpg

I've also got a digital level. I've been sharpening at probably 20-25º. I dropped it down to somewhere in the 15-20º range using the technique of the guy that made the video above, and that did the trick.

The 2 curls are hair that was "whittled" off of the hair by laying the hair over the blade and pushing the blade. My knives aren't quite as sharp as his. I need more practice, but that's a step in the sharp direction.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742621951.JPG

Finally, getting knives SHARP!

Our kitchen would look like a slaughterhouse the first time my wife used a knife that sharp. Like her mother, my mother, and grandmothers going back generations, she uses her thumb as a cutting board. Sometimes she’ll cut against our stone countertop. The only knife I can keep sharp is my chef’s knife which is too big for her hand.
We are complete opposites in our kitchen habits. I always use cutting boards and food thermometers. She has no use for either one.

We have a makita water stone in our shop. It is powered, so it turns every slowly. We sharpen our small portable planer blades with it. Super easy to sharpen knives. not exactly cheap bit I don't think I can live without one now

Just wow. I sharpened it. I thought it was scary before. Now it would disconnect a finger.

A fish skeleton has zero chance.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1752951654.jpg

Wow, outstanding! And that was on the stones in the background? Well done. There's not much as satisfying as getting a knife really sharp.

That looks like a very nice knife!

As a lefty, I have always drooled over single bevels. But my Right handed family would goof it up. Guaranteed. Or am I wrong???