HOCHO Japanese Kitchen Knives
Traditional HOCHO knives have been used by generations of Japanese cooks to effortlessly slice and prepare even the most delicate ingredients in a visually pleasing manner. The blades are made of finely crafted carbon steel, which makes them incredibly sharp and highly sensitive. Extreme care must be taken in their use and upkeep. Please take note of the following recommendations to maintain the quality of your HOCHO knife.

• The blades are forged from several layers of carbon steel. The cutting edges are extremely hard but also relatively brittle. Under no circumstances should any bending or shearing forces be applied to the blade. The knife is not suitable for cutting hard food Items, such as frozen foods, bones etc. Semi-hard foods such as hard salami, hard cheeses, and bread crust should also be avoided. HOCHO knives are designed to be pulled for more accuracy and control. Rough handling can lead to chipping of the blade and other damage.

• Hocho knives should not be stored alongside other metal utensils. To preserve the sharpness of the edge, always cut a wood or plastic surface.

• The leading edge cutting steel used in the majority of our knives is unalloyed in order to maximise sharpness. As a result, the leading edge steel is not stainless and must be washed and stored with care, Hocho knives should be washed by hand and wiped immediately after every use. Never put in the dishwasher. They should be stored in a dry environment, either in a knife block, sheath or protective cloth.

• The traditional wooden handles of Hocho knives absorb water, causing the handles to expand. Never leave your knife in contact with water for extended periods of time

• Japanese knives should be regularly sharpened and finished. The frequency with which you will need to do this depends on how often you use your knife. Only use Japanese waterstones to sharpen HOCHO knives. A combination stone with two grits ( see here for recommended #1000 and #6000 combination stone), one for sharpening and one for finishing is most suitable. A useful aid prior to using the honing stone is to blacken the cutting bevels edges of the knife using a broad felt tip pen.  This will immediately indicate whether the presentation angle of the knife on the stone is correct.  After sharpening I then wipe the remaining ink off with some alcohol (methylated spirits). 

• First soak the stone in water for about 2-5 minutes. Place the stone on a non-slip base - I use a grip mat - with the coarser side facing upwards. Hold the knife at an angle which corresponds neatly to the set bevel angle of the blade (approx. 10 deg.). Position the knife diagonally to the length of the stone and then move it back and forth along the length of the stone. It is important to sharpen the blade with an even stroke while applying constant pressure, both on the away and the return stroke.

• Finishing: Use a fine grit stone for finishing (between #4000 and #10,000 grit). Finish your knife using the same stroke as described in sharpening process above, but slightly steepen the angle at which you are holding the blade so that only the front of the edge touches the stone (20-30 deg.). Continue until the burr which was formed during the sharpening process in no longer visible. A few strokes usually suffice. Double bevel edges must be sharpened and finished equally on both sides.

• To maintain your blades between sharpening a useful aid is keshigomu rust and taint eraser blocks.  To mothball your blades in storage consider either ferropak wrapping paper, renaissance wax or VCI bags.