Hawatari - japanese knife specialist (2026)

28/08/2026

Another set of Germans along with a couple Japan OEM (or rip-offs). Total number 12 pieces, with half of them thinning scissors.

German brand selection was quite wide, with a number of different brand names. Several pieces from German brand Jaguar were among the lot. (Jaguar is marketed as a premium barber scissors brand from Solingen, Germany. They are owned by Zwilling Henkels).

In the end the most fun scissors from this set were - not surprised - a Japanese piece. Joy to sharpen and clearly a good cutter as well (picture 4).
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#美容 #シザー

25/08/2026

🔥 High quality palette knives from Seki 🔥

Authentic Japanese kitchen knives and sharpening equipment directly imported from Japan available from our webshop! Link to the webshop is found in bio!
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Inside "Kitchen Accessories" section of our webshop customers will find a wide selection of palette knives and turners from Seki based brand Toginon Pegasus.

Toginon Pegasus palette knives are made for professional use in restaurants and are well trusted by professional chefs in Japan. A palette knife can be used for spreading cream on sponge cakes, peeling off crepe batter, or it can be used as a turner spatula - the creativity of the use of a palette knife is yours to match!

A turner is also a great helping tool, indispensable for any professional or home baker. Blades of Pegasus turners are very thin and they can easily and smoothly fit under cakes or crapes. The blades are also very wide and can be used for safely lifting even bigger or wider pieces.

Toginon Pegasus palette knives and turners are made in the city of Seki, Japan. They are manufactured from high quality Japanese stainless steel. The handles are either full stainless of high quality plastic. These palette knives and turners can be washed in the dishwasher or sterilized with boiling water, making it them very hygienic and safe to use
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Toginon Pegasus palette knives and turners are available front "Kitchen Accessories" section of our webshop!
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21/08/2026

Made a couple of handles recently, one for a deba and another one for a less common single bevel knife.

Deba handle made from African padauk and walnut. The other handle is handcrafted from padauk (again) and european oak. The oak comes from cutoff parts that were left after our 玉 Tama cutting board project. At the edges oak changes colour from darker to very light, and with these pieces one can make very unique looking handles...
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#万

18/08/2026

🔥 目打ち Meuchi pike in action 🔥

Authentic Japanese kitchen knives and sharpening equipment directly imported from Japan available from our webshop! Link to the webshop is found in bio!
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Each of our 玉 "Tama" handmade oak cutting boards is accompanied by indispensable Japanese tools - "uroko-tori" scaler, "honenuki" bone pinch and "meuchi" pike (all of them are made from stainless steel).

Today we will focus on meuchi pike. Meuchi is a tool that is used for controlling the fish when working with the cutting board.

Meuchi can be used for connecting the fish to the board and thus preventing it from moving around during filleting. This is achieved by driving the pike through the fish and into one of the premade holes, found on both ends of our cutting boards.

This technique is specially useful for those who work with "slippery" fish like trout or salmon. It allows the user to have both hands free, which users of western flexible filleting knives will sure find being beneficial (see pic 2).

Another efficient way to use meuchi is during skin removing procedure, as seen in the video. Again, make use of the premade holes on the board!
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Our 玉 "Tama" handmade oak cutting boards are handcrafted from European natural oak. The branding kanji 玉, which is read as "Tama", can be translated as "gem".

玉 Tama cutting boards are designed primarily for fish filleting tasks and each board is sold as a set, together with honenuki pinch, uroko-tori scaler and meuchi pike.

Our 玉 Tama oak cutting boards can be used for cutting many different ingredients - be that fish, meat, vegetables, fruits - the possibilities are limitless!
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Meuchi pike tools are available as part of our handmade 玉 Tama oak cutting board sets inside of "Kitchen Accessories" section of our webshop!
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Musicscore - Akiko Yokoyama Jazz Trio (c) 2023
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14/08/2026

Big thinning job for a chef crew from a famous restaurant in central Helsinki.

10 knives in total, brands were Aritsugu, Yaxell, Mac, among others.

Every single knife was very thick behind the edge and was in desperate need of geometry improvements.

The procedure included lots of heavy lifting with the wet grinder, followed by more work done on whetstones. Most of knives were polished hairline style, laminated blades were finished with natural abrasives for discoloration of softer steel as opposed to keeping the core nicely shining.

Because of time constraints didn't have time for a serious photo, so only a few before/after pics are included in this post.
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11/08/2026

🔥 骨抜き Honenuki pinch in action 🔥

Authentic Japanese kitchen knives and sharpening equipment directly imported from Japan available from our webshop! Link to the webshop is found in bio!
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Each of our 玉 "Tama" handmade oak cutting boards is accompanied by 3 Japanese tools that are indispensable during fish filleting tasks - "uroko-tori" scaler, "honenuki" bone pinch and "meuchi" pike (all of them are made from stainless steel).

Today we will focus on honenuki pinch. Honenuki is used for pulling out dorsal ribs from file, after it has been separated from the spine.

The process of working with honenuki pinch is very straightforward. Place the file with the skin side down and use honenuki to grab on the bones and carefully pull them out from the file. You can use tips of your fingers to feel where the bones are sticking out from the meat.

TIP: for pulling bones cleanly, first jerk the bone a couple of times upwards - this move will release the bone from the surrounding meat. After that take the bone out by pulling at around 40-50 degree angle.
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Our 玉 "Tama" handmade oak cutting boards are handcrafted from European natural oak. The branding kanji 玉, which is read as "Tama", can be translated as "gem".

玉 Tama cutting boards are designed primarily for fish filleting tasks and each board is sold as a set, together with several filleting tools. Honenuki pinch was presented in this post. Other tools include uroko-tori scaler (used for removing scales from the fish) and meuchi pike (can be used for "controlling" the fish during filleting or as an extended "helping hand" during skin removing tasks).

Our 玉 Tama oak cutting boards can be used for cutting many different ingredients - be that fish, meat, vegetables, fruits - the possibilities are limitless!
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Honenuki pinch tools are available as part of our handmade 玉 Tama oak cutting board sets inside of "Kitchen Accessories" section of our webshop!
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Musicscore - Akiko Yokoyama Jazz Trio (c) 2023
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07/08/2026

Quick re-handle order that also included re-sharpening of the blade.

Customer's chef knife from Wasabi line by Kai has lost its handle. Customer enquired with us about a handle replacement and has settled on one of our premade 万 Ichiman handles (we have a certain stock of these handles and offer them at lower prices).

The knife was also re-sharpened before returning it to the customer.
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04/08/2026

🔥 うろこ取り Uroko-tori scaler in action 🔥

Authentic Japanese kitchen knives and sharpening equipment directly imported from Japan available from our webshop! Link to the webshop is found in bio!
____________________________________
Each of our 玉 "Tama" handmade oak cutting boards is accompanied by 3 Japanese tools that are indispensable during fish filleting tasks - "uroko-tori" scaler, "honenuki" bone pinch and "meuchi" pike (all of them are made from stainless steel).

Today we will focus on uroko-tori scaler. Uroko-tori is used for removing scales from fish, prior to filleting. Japanese uroko-tori scaler differs from the western scaler - it has "teeth" not only at the edges but also in the middle as well.

The process of working with uroko-tori scaler is very straightforward. Place the fish on the board and scrub it with uroko-tori, in the direction from tail towards the head. Apply only little pressure, to avoid damaging the meat.
___________________________
Our 玉 "Tama" handmade oak cutting boards are handcrafted from European natural oak. The branding kanji 玉, which is read as "Tama", can be translated as "gem".

玉 Tama cutting boards are designed primarily for fish filleting tasks and each board is sold as a set, together with several filleting tools. Uroko-tori scaler was presented in this post. Other tools include honenuki pinch, that is used for pulling out dorsal ribs from filé. Meuchi pike can be used in a variety of ways - for "controlling" the fish during filleting work or as an extended "helping hand" during later stages, for example skin removing tasks.

Even though the design of our 玉 Tama natural oak cutting boards is focusing mainly on prioritising fish filleting tasks, the boards can be used for cutting many different ingredients - be that meat, vegetables, fruits - the possibilities are limitless!
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Uroko-tori scaler tools are available as part of our handmade 玉 Tama oak cutting board sets inside of "Kitchen Accessories" section of our webshop!
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Musicscore - Akiko Yokoyama Jazz Trio (c) 2023
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31/07/2026

A quick repair on a couple of barber scissors - the smaller piece belongs to a customer and the longer piece comes from one of our loaner scissor sets. Both have survived dropping accidents (our loaner piece was dropped by another customer while on loan).

After a relatively quick repair both scissors are in perfect condition.
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P.S: Our loaner scissor sets have seen continuous use and this service has been greatly appreciated by our customers. We've received a lot of very positive feedback, and that puts a happy smile on my face. 😀 My intention with our loaner scissor sets was to provide an even better quality of service to our barber customers. Barber business is a very tricky one, directly affected by high level of competition and intense timeframe. Taking an extended break from work is not possible for everyone and many barbers own only a handful of scissors, and can't send the entire set for sharpening. Our barber scissors loaning service is filling the gap between the need of tool maintenance and the demands of the working schedule.

Personally, I am not familiar with any sharpening service anywhere that would provide customers with replacement cutters for the duration of sharpening jobs. So, in that regard, we have been able to set ourselves apart and offer a very unique service.

To be entirely honest, there is a personal interest connected to both our knife and scissor loaning service. I tend to accept only a reasonable amount of sharpening jobs at a time, to avoid time related pressure and unnecessary stress. The kind of stress that eventually leads to "it's ok like this" & "nobody would notice anyway" mentality creeping in. That kind mentality leads to cutting corners and a general drop in the standards. With my work I always tend to follow the lead of my teachers from Japan and provide the best possible sharpening service I can. Our loaner service allows me to focus entirely on the quality, not the speed of work...
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#ハサミ

28/07/2026

🔥 玉 "Tama" handmade oak cutting board set 🔥

Authentic Japanese kitchen knives and sharpening equipment directly imported from Japan available from our webshop! Link in bio / "View shop" button!
___________________________________
Inside "Kitchen Accessories" section of our webshop we offer unique cutting boards handcrafted from European natural oak. Our cutting boards are branded with Japanese kanji 玉, which is read as "Tama". Japanese kanji 玉 "Tama" can be translated as "gem".

As 玉 Tama cutting boards are designed primarily for fish filleting tasks, each board is sold as a set, accompanied by several useful Japanese tools that are indispensable during filleting fish - "uroko-tori" scaler, "honenuki" bone pinch and "meuchi" pike (all of them are made from stainless steel).

Uroko-tori scaler is used for removing scales from fish, prior to filleting. Honenuki pinch is used for pulling out dorsal ribs from filé. Meuchi pike can be used in a variety of ways - for "controlling" the fish during filleting work or as an extended "helping hand" during later stages, for example skin removing tasks.

Our uroko-tori scaler and honenuki pinch are manufactured in Tsubamesanjo, Japan. Meuchi pike is handcrafted in our Helsinki workshop.

玉 Tama natural oak cutting boards suit very well for fish filleting work - our cutting boards are long and wide enough. Even though the design of our cutting boards was prioritising fish filleting tasks, you can use the boards with any cutting task: be that meat, vegetables, fruits - the possibilities are limitless!

In the coming weeks we will do several video presentations where we will show how to work with every tool from 玉 Tama oak cutting board set.
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Handmade 玉 Tama oak cutting board sets are available in the "Kitchen Accessories" section of our webshop!
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#魚

Hawatari - japanese knife specialist

28/08/2026

25/08/2026

21/08/2026

18/08/2026

14/08/2026

11/08/2026

07/08/2026

04/08/2026

31/07/2026

28/07/2026

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