Nojiyama Marunaka Kurouchi Hamokiri 270mm

June to August is hamo season in Japan. Pike Conger! In soups, tempura, in a vinegar marinade or lightly fried there's nothing that quite matches this fish's delicate flavour. 

But hooley dooley, dem bones. Is it possible to expend more calories pulling them out of your mouth than you get from the fish? At 144Kcal for every 100 grams of flesh possibly not, but if you need to cope with hamo bones during your meal things can get quite busy. That's why we worship the hamokiri, and they who wield it. Twenty-four cross-slices every three centimetres of fish length, and those bothersome bones virtually dissolve. 

Our friends at Nakamura Hamono are not far from the Seto Inland Sea, where the hamo wait. Their hamokiri is a behind-the-scenes blade, built for utility not for show. The kurouchi finish looks the business and provides a barrier to keep oxidisation at bay. The in-house handle has good grip and feel. The length and weight is just what you need when you want the blade to do the work.