Masamoto Sohonten White #2 Hongasumi Unagi Ell Osaka-saki

The Masamoto Shiro-ko Hongasumi knives are forged in Japan from a combination of white carbon steel #2 and soft iron steel, and handled with magnolia wood and a water buffalo bolster. White steel’s pure carbon content allows for the sharpest cutting edge. The main difference between the kasumi and hongasumi line is found in the crafting process. More steps, higher level craftsman, and greater attention to detail are involved when crafting hongasumi knives, and they therefore are more refined than kasumi knives.

About Masamoto
Minosuke Matsuzawa, the founder of the Masamoto Sohonten Company started making knives in 1866. It was his dream that his family would come to be remembered as knife craftsmen throughout the generations. Now, five generations later, Matsuzawa’s vision has been realized and professionally crafted Masamoto knives have become widely regarded as the finest knives made for professional use.

Purpose of Osaka-saki
Unagisaki knives are special traditional Japanese knives used for cutting and filleting eel. What makes the unagisaki knives especially interesting in comparison to other traditional Japanese knives is the number of styles that exist. If you were to divide unagisaki knives into two categories, they would be Kansai and Kanto style unagi knives. If one were to be more specific it would be Edo-style, Kyoto-style, Nagoya-style, Osaka-style and Kyushuu-style. The reason for the number of styles is not because there are different needs or types of eel depending on region. It is due to the variations in preparing the eel. Chefs in the Kanto region slice and open eel from the spine, because of the region's samurai background. Although slicing eel from the stomach would make filleting such a long and slippery fish easier, the idea is strongly associated with seppuku, which is a form of suicide by disembowelment used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor. Therefore the image of cutting the stomach is thought to be taboo and brings bad fortune. However, in the Kansai region where nobility and merchants heavily influenced the culture, there was no disapproval or hesitation to cutting from the stomach. Another theory to the difference is because of a popular saying in the Kansai region by the merchants. "hara o watte hanasou", which literally means lets split our stomach and speak frankly. Osakasaki knives have the most unique and distinct look. These knives are rectangular, have a pointed tip like the Edo-saki knives, and do not have a handle. They look similar to a carpenter's tool and are used to filet the eel from the stomach.