A honesuki is the small, stiff, triangular Japanese boning knife used to take chicken and other meat off the bone. I went through every honesuki listed at Hocho-Knife on 21 October 2026 and noted the edge, the weight, the steel and the price. The edge narrows the choice faster than the steel does, because most honesuki are sharpened on one side only, for a right hand.
If you only want my pick: the Sakai Takayuki INOX PRO honesuki 150mm was $113.99 and in stock when I checked on 21 October 2026. It is double-edged, so it works in either hand, it is stainless, and at 133g it is the lightest double-edged honesuki in the listings that give a weight.
What I counted
Tojiro, a knife maker in Niigata, describes the honesuki in its Japanese guide to Western knife shapes as a knife for taking meat off the bone, called a boning knife abroad. It adds that the honesuki and the longer garasuki are a shape of their own from Japan, and that they are single-edged because they carry over the techniques of Japanese knives. That is why, Tojiro says, they can also be used on fish. For home use the guide gives 120 to 150mm, single-edged. I compared the honesuki with its longer relative in honesuki vs garasuki.
At Hocho-Knife I found 48 honesuki listings, not counting knife sets, sheaths and one brand that pays me nothing on its knives. Of those 48:
- 36 are single-edged for a right hand, and 34 of them were in stock.
- 10 are double-edged, and 8 were in stock.
- 2 are single-edged for a left hand. Both are the same white steel knife with two handle choices, at $431.99 and $523.99, and neither was in stock.
- 17 of the in-stock knives are carbon steel, and the rest are stainless.
- 10 in-stock knives cost less than 100 dollars.
If you are left-handed
A single-edged knife has its edge ground on one face, and a right-handed honesuki has it on the side that suits a right hand. I went into how that changes the way a knife cuts in single bevel vs double bevel.
On the day I checked, a left-handed cook had no in-stock single-edged honesuki to choose from at this shop. So for a left hand the real list is the eight double-edged knives:
| Knife | Steel | Length, weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brieto M11PRO | stainless | 150mm, no weight given | $67.99 |
| Sabun All-Steel | carbon | 131mm, 180g | $73.99 |
| Fujiwara Kanefusa SOUMA | stainless | 145mm, no weight given | $104.99 |
| Kanetsune KC-170 | AUS10 stainless | 150mm, no weight given | $106.99 |
| Sakai Takayuki INOX PRO | AUS-8A stainless | 150mm, 133g | $113.99 |
| Sakai Takayuki Aoniko | blue steel No. 2 | 150mm, 185g | $187.99 |
| Masamoto HC | carbon | 145mm, 170g | $188.99 |
| Masamoto CT | carbon | 145mm, 170g | $190.99 |
The Brieto is filed under double-edged in the shop filter, but its own product page does not state the edge, so check before you buy it. Sabun also makes a 137mm honesuki at the same price, and that one is single-edged. The two are easy to mix up.
Right-handed cooks can use the double-edged ones too. Tojiro describes the honesuki as single-edged, but it does not say anything against a double-edged one.
Single-edged, for a right hand
If you cut with your right hand and you want the knife Tojiro describes, the choice is wide. 34 were in stock, from $73.99 to almost two thousand dollars.
Of the ten in-stock honesuki under 100 dollars, seven are carbon steel, from Sabun, Sakai Kikumori, Sakai Takayuki and Sakai Jikko. The cheapest single-edged one is the Sabun 137mm at $73.99, and the next is the Sakai Kikumori Japanese steel honesuki 150mm at $76.99. The shop says both need 5 to 10 extra business days, because the edge is finished by hand after you buy.
For stainless, the Sakai Takayuki INOX honesuki 150mm is $120.99 and weighs 180g. That is the same steel as the INOX PRO above, with the edge on one side and a heavier blade.
Pointed tip or rounded tip
Eight of the listings are a sakimaru honesuki, which has a rounded tip instead of the usual point. In most of the series that offer both, the two cost the same. The Sakai Takayuki INOX pair is $120.99 each, and the sakimaru is the lighter one, 160g against 180g. The Grand Chef pair goes the same way, 190g against 200g. The shop pages give the weights but do not explain what the round tip is for, and I have not found a maker that does, so I will not guess at it here.
Carbon or stainless
A honesuki spends its time in raw chicken, fat and meat juice, and gets washed often. Sabun puts it plainly on its carbon steel pages: the blade will oxidize over time and will rust if left wet, so dry it after each use. That is manageable, but it is one more step with a knife you wash this often. I wrote about what that darkening is in Japanese knife patina or rust.
If you want the knife to forgive a wet sink, buy stainless. If you already look after a carbon knife and like it, a carbon honesuki will not ask anything new of you.
Three honesuki, checked on 21 October 2026
For either hand, stainless: the Sakai Takayuki INOX PRO honesuki 150mm at $113.99. 133g, AUS-8A stainless, double-edged, stainless handle, in stock.
For a right hand, stainless and single-edged: the Sakai Takayuki INOX honesuki 150mm at $120.99. 180g, AUS-8A stainless, in stock. The sakimaru version is the same price.
For either hand, carbon: the Masamoto HC honesuki 145mm at $188.99. 170g, carbon steel, double-edged, black pakka wood handle, in stock. It will darken and can rust if left wet.
If you are still deciding between a honesuki and a Western boning knife, or a honesuki and a deba, I compared those in honesuki vs boning knife and honesuki vs deba. If you are not sure you need a honesuki at all rather than a small all-purpose knife, I compared it with the petty in honesuki vs petty.
Disclosure
I have four approved affiliate partnerships: two with knife retailers, Hocho-Knife and SharpEdge, and two with Japanese language-learning companies unrelated to knives. This page carries five tracked links, all to Hocho-Knife: three knives, a second link to the INOX PRO near the top, and a second link to the INOX in the section on single-edged knives. At about 10 percent, that is roughly 11 dollars for the INOX PRO, 12 dollars for the INOX and 19 dollars for the Masamoto. The other knives named here are not linked. Tojiro is quoted as a source, and this page does not link to any Tojiro product. My full affiliate disclosure is here.
Sources: the Tojiro Japanese guide to Western knife shapes, read on 20 October 2026, and the Hocho-Knife product pages and search results for honesuki, checked on 21 October 2026.