Topics: (click on the topics)

- Japanese-Style vs. Western-Style

- Structure of Knives

- General Knives Materials

- Knives Making

- Knives Maintenance Tips

Japanese-Style vs. Western-Style

Japanese-Style

There are many different types of Japanese knives, and they are made for different purposes, require different cutting techniques, originate in different regions of Japan, and have their own background and history. Also, different materials and methods are being used to make knives in Japan.  

Belows are 12 most common types of Japanese knives being used by professional chefs and casual home cooks in today's world.

1. Sashimi - Yanagi Style

Sashimi knife is originally from Osaka-Japan region and it is a single-beveled knife designed for straight and biased-cut sushi and sashimi.  Yanagi means "willow-leaf" in Japanese, it reflects the shape of the blade.

2. Tako-Sashimi

Tako-Sashimi also called Takobiki.  Takobik means octopus cutter in Japanese. It has a square tip and razor sharp edge. You will find Takobiki relatively long, thin and easy to balance. Takobiki is a traditional Japanese Sashimi knives that has its origin in Tokyo; however, users of Takobiki has been decreasing because of the popularity of Yanagi style Sashimi knives.

3. Fugu-Sashimi

This knife is designed for cutting Fugu Fish (blowfish).  Fugu-Sashimi has a thicker but narrower blade than the Yanagi-Sashim does.  It is also called "Tessa Knife".

4. Deba

Deba Knife is a single-beveled, thick and heavy sashimi knife that is ideal for boning poultry, fish and meats. This heavy knife helps the chef to apply less pressure when cutting through fish skin or bones. Deba knife can also be used as a light duty cleaver. Your Japanese knife collection should not be called complete without a good Deba Knife.

5. Kamagata-Usuba

Kamagata-Usuba is designed for cutting vegetables and has its origin in Osaka-Japan.

6. Usuba

Usuba is a vegetable knife, and originates in Kanto-Japan.  They are mostly single-beveled, but sometimes they are made to be double-beveled.

7. Hamo Kiri

Hamo Kiri is used for cutting bony fish.

8. Unagi-Saki

Unagi means eel in Japanese.  Unagi-Saki is designed for cutting eel.  It is from Kanto district.

9. Sushi-Kiri

Kiri means "to cut" in Japanese, Sushi Kiri is used to cut sushi in Japan.

10. Kurouchi Nakiri

Kurouchi Nakiri is a traditional home-use vegetable knife.  It is double-beveled and is ideal for cutting fruits and vegetables.  It works as a vegetable cleaver.

11. Santoku

Santoku is an ideal knife when you need one knife to do all the cutting on fish, vegetables and meats. Its design is excellence in slicing, mincing, and chopping, so Santoku means "knife of three virtues" in Japanese.

12. Gyuto

Gyuto is also called cow sword because it was used to slaugher cows in Japan many years ago.  Gyuto takes the shape of Chef's knife and a little bit less belly than a Chef's knife.

Western-Style

As with Japanese knives, Western style knives are designed for different purposes, functions and techniques.  There are nine major types of Western style knives in the world's market.

1. Chef's

The most common type of knives in the western countries that most kitchens will have at least one of them. It is used for 90% of the food preparing work, such as slicing, stripping, dicing and mincing.  8 inches and 10 inches are the most popular blade length in Chef's knife.

2. Utility

Utility knife is similar to Chef's knife, it is for slicing, dicing and mincing.  It is more likely for those in-between jobs that are too small for using chef's knife and too large for a paring knife.

3. Paring

Paring knife should be between 3 inches to 4 inches long.  It is ideal for trimming, peeling, and removing potato eyes.

4. Carving

A carving knife is a large knife between 20 cm and 38 cm.  It is used to slice thin cuts of meat.  A carving knife is much thinner than a chef's knife (particularly at the spine), enabling it to carve thinner, more precise slices. They are generally shorter and wider than slicing knives.

5. Scalloped-Edge

Scalloped-edge knife is for slicing food with skin and soft inside, such as tomatoes, eggplants or bread.  Scalloped-edge knife can not honed nor sharpened, when the scalloped-edge knife is dull, the only way to renew is to buy a new one.

6. Boning

Boning knife is for separating the meat from the bone and cutting through joints.  Its blade is semi-flexible.

7. Filleting

Filleting knives are made to be very flexible and thin, such that they excel in filleting and carving fish or butterflying chicken breast.

8. Cheese

Cheese knife is for cutting cheese.  It is usually offset and hallow-ground side to help preventing the cheese sticking on the blade.

9. Offset

Offset knife is for slicing thick sandwiches or pies.  Most of them are scalloped-edge.

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