Japanese Kitchen Knives

There are four primary knives used by the in home food preparation in Japan that differ from cutlery normally found in Western kitchens. Similar to what we are familiar with in the west, each has purposes that it performs better than others.  In most  Let’s examine the varieties of Japanese kitchen knives.

Deba

This is similar to the familiar chef’s knife, except heavier. It used to break down and fillet fish (and other meat items). Even though the knife is heavier than a normal chef knife, it should not be used to break thick bones. The deba comes in multiple sizes from 4 inches to 12 inches.

Sankotu

Probably the most familiar of the Japanese blades as it has hit the the mainstream collections of the big knife manufactures like Wusthof and Henkels. The are several slight indentations (this is called a granton edge) along the blade that helps keep food from sticking to the blade as you slice. This knife works great as an all around knife and should be included in everyone’s collection of knives.

Sashimi

Long narrow knife with a blade that is only beveled on one side. This knife actually comes in right and left-hand versions (finding a left-hand version was purported to be very difficult) and is usually either 10 or 12 inches long. This knife is used to slice raw fish very thinly and cleanly for sashimi, sushi and the like.  If you only can purchase a single Japanese kitchen knife, then this is the one.

Nakiri

This resembles a small Chinese cleaver. It has a very wide blade that is essentially flat from end to end. Its primary use is cutting vegetables.  The blade is very thin so as to not damage thin slices of vegetables. Due to its more delicate nature, a nakiri should not be used to cut meat.