Would a Japanese honesuki + ike jime "whole fish" set be useful — or do you prefer buying the parts separately?

[yamaaaada]

Quick disclosure up front: I'm exploring whether to import a proper Japanese honesuki (boning knife) paired with a full ike jime kit (spike + nerve wire) as a single "water-to-plate" set for the English-speaking market, with import duties handled up front. Nothing's for sale, no links — I just want honest opinions from people who actually ike jime before I commit.

- Most kits are just a spike + wire. Would a knife-led set (honesuki as the centrepiece) actually appeal, or does it overlap with knives you already own?
- For those who ike jime regularly: what's missing from the gear you can currently get?
- If it came with a proper English ike jime / fish-processing guide, would that add value?
- What price band would feel fair for a hand-forged honesuki + ike jime kit?

Honest "just buy the parts separately" answers are exactly what I need to hear.

 

[rollerGR]

Filleting knives do have an audience in the spearo market but it's a very small audience
Most would just buy the ikejime tool to put the fish out, we already use a knife for that. honestly it would probably be something for bluewater hunters mainly i think, because for reef hunting (eg Med) we don't really have room for something like that. we use the knife because we need to have a knife and it doubles as a tool

You could definitely make a brand and advertise it, possibly diversify with various other stuff, just don't expect a big hit on the market. that's my view
better bet to actually get into the cooking market as your main audience, much more demand there but also more competition

 

[yamaaaada]

Filleting knives do have an audience in the spearo market but it's a very small audience
Most would just buy the ikejime tool to put the fish out, we already use a knife for that. honestly it would probably be something for bluewater hunters mainly i think, because for reef hunting (eg Med) we don't really have room for something like that. we use the knife because we need to have a knife and it doubles as a tool

You could definitely make a brand and advertise it, possibly diversify with various other stuff, just don't expect a big hit on the market. that's my view
better bet to actually get into the cooking market as your main audience, much more demand there but also more competition

This is exactly the kind of honest answer I was hoping for — thank you. It tracks: if you've already got a knife that doubles as a tool, plus a spike to brain the fish, a dedicated honesuki set is solving a problem you don't really have. Small audience, fair enough.

Before I take the hint and look harder at the cooking side — is there any knife-shaped gap left for spearos at all, or are most of you pretty well sorted on blades already? An honest "we're sorted" is genuinely useful to hear.

 

[rollerGR]

This is exactly the kind of honest answer I was hoping for — thank you. It tracks: if you've already got a knife that doubles as a tool, plus a spike to brain the fish, a dedicated honesuki set is solving a problem you don't really have. Small audience, fair enough.

Before I take the hint and look harder at the cooking side — is there any knife-shaped gap left for spearos at all, or are most of you pretty well sorted on blades already? An honest "we're sorted" is genuinely useful to hear.

I think there is always room for innovation but adoption rates are the hardest thing. basically most spearos just go to the nearest diving shop and buy a knife from there, which is something from some big-name brand or something cheaper no-name brand they bought in bulk. i don't think most spearos tend to think of the knife as something that needs sophistication, so they just stick to something cheap and replaceable.

you can also look at filleting knives made by francesco of joints in tahiti

overall, you can definitely make your own premium product but you'll have to do the heavy lifting of promoting it.

 

[yamaaaada]

I think there is always room for innovation but adoption rates are the hardest thing. basically most spearos just go to the nearest diving shop and buy a knife from there, which is something from some big-name brand or something cheaper no-name brand they bought in bulk. i don't think most spearos tend to think of the knife as something that needs sophistication, so they just stick to something cheap and replaceable.

you can also look at filleting knives made by francesco of joints in tahiti

overall, you can definitely make your own premium product but you'll have to do the heavy lifting of promoting it.

That's really useful — thank you. It confirms what I suspected: for spearos a knife is a cheap, replaceable tool, not somewhere they want to pay premium, and the uphill promotion would be real. So I'll take the honest hint and aim this at the kitchen / fish-to-table side rather than the spearo market. Appreciate you taking the time — and I'll look up Francesco's fillet knife out of interest.