Discover how to choose the right Japanese knife for your kitchen

You've heard about them. They are beautiful, exotic, and most of all, they are very sharp. Japanese knives are now a big part of the worldwide cutlery industry as Western cooks start to equip their kitchens with them. However, despite their growing popularity, there is still confusion about which type of Japanese knife is the right one for each cutting task. With so many different types of Japanese knives with Japanese names that are unknown for most people in the Western world, it can sometimes be quite difficult to know which knife is the one that you should get.

Do not panic! The team of MyChefKnives has written this article to help you pick the adequate Japanese knife that will best adapt to your needs in the kitchen. Within the large variety of Japanese kitchen knives available out there, you can find several differences in their weight, design, and size, but perhaps the most significant and important difference to take into consideration is the shape of the blade, which is what will determine for what purpose you can use each knife. Below you can find a brief explanation of the function of each different type of Japanese knife.

Gyuto knife

Basically a "Japanese chef knife", this type of knife has a long and narrow blade that is great for mincing and slicing all types of food ingredients. It is an all-purpose knife that can be very helpful in the preparation of all your meals.

In average, its blade is 20 centimeters long. Even though this type of knife can be used with all types of food, it is particularly well adapated for working with meats as its blade is bigger than the other famous Japanese all-purpose knife: the santoku knife.

Santoku knife

This is the tradional Japanese knife par excellence. The term santoku means "three advantages", which refers to the three different types of cuts that you can make with this type of knife: slicing, dicing, and mincing.

Usually, the blade of a santoku knife is between 17 and 18 centimeters long, and its shape is slightly curved. Some of them have "dimples" on their surface, which is known as a hollowed or Granton edge. The advantage of those "dimples" is that it creates small air pockets that prevent your food to remain stuck to the blade whils you make your cuts.

 Deba knife

For deboning, slicing, or beheading fish, this is the type of Japanese knife that you need. Its blade is heavy, and it can be up to 30 centimeters long. 

It is important to mention that deba knives have blades with asymmetrical edges. This means that they are sharp only on one side. This allows the blade to make more precise cuts, but it also means that it can only be used on one side. 

Yanagiba knife

This is the ideal knife for preparing sushi and sashimi. When it comes to making ultra thin slices of fish, this is the right knife to go.

Its blade is slender and narrow, and its length is usually between 21 and 30 centimeters. Same as the deba knife, the blade of a yanagiba knife usually also has an asymmetrical edge.

Nakiri knife

Even though it might look as a meat cleaver, this type of knife is actually the perfect knife for cutting herbs and vegetables (thus it is not meant to be used with meat!). 

The blade of a nakiri knife is usually between 14 and 18 centimeters long. Thanks to its flat, rectangular surface, the blade can also be quite useful for crushing garlic.

So now that you know for what you can use each of the Japanese knives mentioned above, you should not be able to determine which is the right knife for your kitchen. Now is time to go choose it from the vast collection of Japanese knives available on our website from some of the most famous brands in the market such as Kai and Yaxell. However, if Japanese knives are not your thing, you'll probably prefer to see all the kitchen knives from Western brands, which you can find here.

If you have any other doubt or question about Japanese kitchen knives or any other product on our website, you can get in contact with one of our Customer Service agents. You can do so either by using our Contact page or by giving us a call on +44 20 3445 5205.

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