Hankotsu Boning Knife Japanese Butchery

Sakai, Osaka Prefecture — Japanese professional butchery tradition

The hankotsu (半骨, half-bone) is a stiff, thick-spined Japanese boning knife with a wide belly for leverage against joints and bones, distinct from the flexible Western boning knife. Used primarily in Japanese butchery for breaking down chicken, pork, and beef. The thick spine and rigid blade allow controlled force against joints; the wide belly enables scooping flesh from curved bone surfaces. Japanese butchers use hankotsu for deboning chicken (tori deba alternative), trimming tendons from yakitori cuts, and processing entire primal cuts. The Sakai tradition produces the finest hankotsu with tamahagane or VG-10 steel.

Technique tool — enables clean butchery reducing waste and preserving muscle integrity