Unagisaki

Unagisaki are a Japanese kitchen knife used to fillet eels and they are useful as utility knives in Western kitchens. Specifically, these designs are Kanto Unagisaki hocho.

Chefs of the Kanto region are traditionally reluctant to fillet eels via the belly due to the association of slicing the belly with seppuku and the honour of the Samurai warriors.

Thus, Kanto eel knives feature a particularly strong tip and heavy secondary bevel to make filleting cuts through the spine of the eel. This is substantially different to eel knives from other parts of Japan where slicing through the belly of an eel is the norm.