How to choose a Japanese knife for your needs
There are a number of Japanese kitchen knives types. The most commonly used types are: deba bocho (fish filleting), santoku (all-purpose utility knife), nakiri bocho and usuba (Japanese vegetable knives), gyuto chef knife and yanagi ba (sashimi slicers). Japanese Damascus knives are considered one of the best in the world.
Besides popular and well-known models, there are also highly specialized Japanese kitchen knives
Takohiki is a knife for processing octopus, which is reflected in its name ("tako" means octopus). The tool is characterized by a long, narrow blade with a rectangular tip. Structurally, Takohiki is close to the Yanagiba knife.
Ajikiri (鯵切), whose name comes from the Japanese word "aji" meaning "horse mackerel", was originally intended for precise filleting of small fish. Its appearance is similar to the larger Deba knife, however Ajikiri is much more compact, with a blade length of 9 to 14 centimeters. In modern kitchens, it is also used for working with meat and vegetables.
Usuba is an analogue of the Nakiri vegetable knife, but with a single-bevel edge.
Kengata is a medium-sized universal kitchen knife with a k-tip (reverse tanto).
You can read more about Japanese kitchen knife types in our guide.
Why Japanese knives are so sharp and how they differ from European ones
Japanese kitchen knives have a very sharp and hard cutting edge, and their sharpening angle differs from European knives and is usually about 15 degrees.
Japanese knives usually have a three-layer construction. The core is made of very hard steel. On both sides it is protected by softer steel cladding. Thanks to this, the blade becomes more flexible and will not break. The cladding can be made of multilayer steel (Damascus), stainless steel or even iron. Most Japanese knives are made of carbon steel, which is prone to corrosion.
Even in factory production, a lot of manual work is used in the manufacture of Japanese kitchen knives. Therefore, the dimensions indicated on the product page may slightly differ from the actual ones. This is not a defect. You can always ask our consultants to additionally measure the knife you are interested in to уточнить the spine thickness or blade height. Note that due to the design and materials, Japanese kitchen knives are lighter than European ones. This is an advantage, as your hand does not get tired when working with such a knife. In addition, due to the low weight, the knife is comfortable to hold with any grip.
How to care for a Japanese knife
Regardless of the materials used, Japanese kitchen knives must not be washed in a dishwasher. Hot water and detergents damage the handle and blade materials. We recommend washing the knife by hand and drying it immediately after use.
For maintenance of Japanese kitchen knives, we recommend using camellia oil, and for sharpening — whetstones or ceramic sharpeners. The sharpening angle is usually about 15 degrees. European knives have a larger angle — about 20 degrees. Therefore, Japanese knives should not be sharpened with standard European pull-through sharpeners.
Despite being very sharp, Japanese knives should not be used for very hard or frozen products. Cutting such products may cause chipping of the cutting edge.
How to properly store Japanese knives
To protect the blade during storage and transport, special sheaths — saya — are used. They can also be purchased separately in our store. The blade is inserted into a wooden saya and secured with a pin if necessary. Before buying a saya for your knife, we recommend consulting our staff to ensure compatibility.
In our store you can buy online Japanese kitchen knives handmade by the best blacksmiths like Yu Kurosaki, Yoshimi Kato, Takeshi Saji as well as famous factories such as Tojiro, Kasumi, Mcusta Zanmai, Sakai Takayuki, Global, Miyabi, Seki Kanetsugu and others.
Every Japanese knife has a piece of the soul of the masters who made it. Today, Japanese kitchen knives are rightfully considered the best in the world.
