Knife guide

Choosing by the work

Each section states the work, the knife specified for it, and the alternatives worth considering. Most kitchens require only the first.

General kitchen preparation

Vegetables, proteins and herbs on the board. The requirement in almost every kitchen, and the one to specify first.

Detail and in-hand work

Peeling, trimming, shallots and herbs. Work carried out in the hand as often as on the board, where a full-size blade is an obstruction.

Vegetable preparation at volume

A flat edge contacts the board along its full length, so each push stroke completes cleanly with no material left joined.

Carving and portioning cooked meat

Length allows a slice to be drawn off in a single pass rather than sawn, which preserves the cut surface.

Slicing raw fish

A single drawing stroke leaves one clean face on the fish. This is the work single-bevel blades are ground for.

Breaking down whole fish

Separating the head and collar at the joint, then taking fillets off the frame. Weight at the spine for the first, thinness for the second.

Jointing poultry

Locating joints and following the rib cage. The blade is worked around bone; no knife in this range is driven through it.

Steel

Each of the four families in the range, and what it is good at.

Single bevel or double bevel

The bevel is the ground edge of the blade. Whether it is ground on one side or both changes how the knife cuts, who can use it, and how it is sharpened. It is the first thing to settle before steel or shape.

Double bevel

Ground on both sides, typically 50/50, at roughly 6 to 8 degrees per side — considerably finer than a Western knife. Nearly every shape in the range is available this way.

  • Works in either hand
  • More forgiving, and easier to sharpen
  • Suited to general preparation

New to Japanese knives, or after one blade that does most things: double bevel.

Single bevel

Ground on one side only, at roughly 15 to 17 degrees, with the back left flat or slightly hollow. That hollow is the urasuki; it reduces drag and is part of what produces the cut.

  • Right-handed as standard; left-handed by request
  • Wants a different sharpening technique
  • Ground for sushi, sashimi and katsuramuki

Working in a sushi kitchen, or after that precision specifically: single bevel.

Handling and care

These blades are harder and thinner than a Western knife. That is what produces the cut, and it is what determines how they must be handled.

Push cutting

Drive the blade forward, or draw it back. Lift clear between strokes.

Not bone, not frozen

Nothing in this range cuts bone. Let frozen product thaw first.

Hand wash, dry straight away

No dishwasher. A soft board — Hi-Soft or Hinoki — keeps the edge longer.

Whetstone, never a rod

Grit depends on the edge's condition. Learn more about sharpening here or send it to us.

Specified alongside

  • Cutting surface A soft, forgiving surface — Hi-Soft or Hinoki cypress. Hard surfaces accelerate edge wear.
  • Whetstones Grit is chosen by the edge's condition, not a fixed number. Learn more about sharpening here or send it to us. Pull-through sharpeners and honing rods are not suitable.
  • Saya covers A wooden sheath protects the edge in storage and in transit. Specified to the blade length.
  • Camellia oil Applied before storage to inhibit corrosion on carbon and clad steels.