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This is how Izumida-sensei, master chef at Clipper Sushi in Hokkaido, sharpens his knives
and those for around 30 chefs he works with.
The knives he uses most are the Deba bōchō and the Yanagiba hōchō.
The Deba bōchō is short, heavy and is used for hard work such as cutting fish bones.
The Yanagiba hōchō is longer, has a straighter blade and is used for slicing.
Both are made of hard steel (not stainless steel) that can be made very sharp.
Unlike many western knives, only one side of the blade is angled. The other side is flat.
They are sharpened using sharpening stones called Toishi.
Sharpening starts with a coarse stone and finishes with a fine stone
The coarse stone is called Arato (80-600 grit).
A fine stone includes the Chuto (700-2000 grit).
The finest stone is called Shiageto (