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High-quality Japanese knives and other cutlery originated in the 1300s in Sakai, considered to be the capital of Samurai sword. In the 16th century when the Portuguese introduced tobacco to Japan, Sakai craftsmen started to make steel knives for cutting tobacco. A combination of modern machinery and traditional hand tools are used to make stain-resistant carbon steel blades.
More often than not, Japanese knives, unlike European knives, are single ground. ‘Single ground’ means that they are sharpened in such a way that only one side holds the cutting edge while the other side of the blade is blunted.
Though using such knives requires greater skill, it was originally believed that a single-bevelled edge knife cuts better and cleaner than a double-beveled edge knife. Usually, the right hand side of the blade is angled, as most people use the knife with their right hand.
In the Japanese kitchen, the deba bocho (kitchen cleaver), the santoku hocho (all-purpose utility knife), the nakiri bocho, usuba hocho (Japanese vegetable knives), tako hiki and yanagi ba (sashimi slicers) are used most frequently. These traditional knives might not fit into your everyday needs, but consider the following designs is you like to sharpen your culinary skills.
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Japanese Cook Knife Funayuki This knife has an ergonomic handle. |
James Martin Japanese Santoku Knife It has anti-slip handles that are user-friendly. |
Seki Magoroku Yanagida Japanese Knife This knife has a sharp and precise 24cm blade. |
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This 18cm blade handle has a unique angled handle. |
Clearspring Mitoku Japanese Vegetable Chopping Knife Chop your veggies precisely with this knife! |
This is an extremely versatile kitchen knife. |
