Kitchen Knives - The 7 Basic Japanese Kitchen Knives

The kitchen knives you use on a daily basis either in a professional culinary environment or in your home kitchen can be one of two basic types, Western European kitchen knives, or Japanese kitchen knives. In a prior post I wrote about the basic European styles of knives and in this post I will cover the seven basic Japanese kitchen knives for use at work or in the home.

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The Deba: This is a thick (and the thickness of each Deba is different from each maker or manufacturer) and it typically used for filleting and cutting fish. Here in the U.S.A, the Deba is typically associated as being used as a cleaver and one of the more common tasks as a cleaver for this knife is for butchering chicken. Many chefs and cooks here in the states use it for cutting bone and really guys this is not a recommended task for this knife. The Deba knife is traditionally made as a single grind or Japanese Chisel Grind although there are V-ground versions on the market today. The double ground version of the Deba is called a Ryodeba and they are being used more and more in today's professional kitchens as the V-ground blade style is more popular and recognized by American culinary pros. In the modern culinary market you can get Deba's with traditionally Japanese handles or Western European style handles as well. Standard blade lengths for this knife are about 7 to 9 inches and tell you the truth everything in between and beyond in the shop I manage.

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The Yanagiba or Sashimi Knife: This knife is also called a "Yanagi" which is just American slang for Yanagiba. many times but the Yanagi is a different knife that I will discuss later in this post. The Yanagiba or sometimes called a "Shobu" is the typical long thin, narrow blade that most people call a "sushi knife." These types of knives come in an array of sized from 8 to 12 inches by many manufacturers and in some cases can be even longer depending on the maker or manufacturer. It is strictly designed for the cutting of fish, but for the most part in the modern sushi house or Western style kitchen the Yanagiba can be used for most slicing and cutting chores for just about any kind of food whether meat or vegetable. For the most part the Yanagiba is a single grind or Japanese Chisel grind, although in a previous post with a video I explained how the Yanagiba is also made today with a western style secondary bevel. If you have not read that post then go here to learn about your standard culinary knife grinds where I explain this aspect of Japanese cutlery today.

 

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The Gyuto Knife: For all intents and purposes the Gyuto Knife is the Japanese equivalent of the standard Western European French knife. It is an all around kitchen chore knife, although some people use there French knife as a cleaver at times when taking a chicken down, I would not do it with one of these. If I am jointing out a chicken then I could and would use one of these, but do not chop up chickens with this type of knife whether it is made of differentially heat treated forged carbon steel or carbon Damascus steel. This kind of knife is too good for that. Standard lengths for this type of knife can range from 5 to 15 inches. The standard Gyuto Knife is made from very hard steels and has a thinner blade than the usually Western European V-ground blades. Many Gyutos come with a double ground or V-ground blade like a Western European blade. They come with either a traditionally Japanese handle or Western handle depending on maker or manufacturer.

 

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The Usuba today is recognized by the rectangular blade and somewhat rounded front edge of the blade. Many manufacturers make the Usuba knife today both European and Japanese companies. Usuba means "square" in Japanese. The blade of the Usuba is thin for fast and accurate cutting and chopping of vegetables. The Usuba is a single or chisel ground blade although the European companies make them with a V-grind. The blade of an Usuba is generally 8.5 to 9.5 inches and once again some companies make Usuba smaller(mostly in Europe) as these are just modernized and modified for the particular user and kitchen. The Usuba is a vegetable knife just as a Santoku is a vegetable knife and in my opinion I find the Usuba to be the more versatile knife.

 

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The Takohiki Knife: This type of Japanese kitchen knife is often called a "Yanagiba" and it is not. Sometimes people confuse the pointy tipped Yanagiba and this square tipped Takohiki knife and call them a "Tokyo" and an "Osaka" style Yanagiba. Both knives have similarities like the grind type, but the Takohiki has a squared tip and this type of Japanese Kitchen is manufactured or handmade for the express purpose of cutting octopus. What do you think octopus is called in Japanese? "Tako!" Standard blade lengths for this type of knife are as low as 8.5 to 15.5, each manufacturer is different so you have to look at a few.

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The Santoku Knife: Perhaps the most popular Japanese kitchen knife in America today. This is probably due to the fact that just about every celebrity chef in the world is using one in one form or another from a Kyocera Ceramic Santoku to the Mac Santoku to one of any of the Japanese cutlery companies and German cutlery companies alike. The Santoku is being used for everything these days.Yes it is a very versatile knife in the kitchen, although I feel that the French knife style is more geared toward versatility. I myself use Mac French knives in the 6, 8 and 10 inch versions, and yes I do have a Mac Santoku and I love it but I don't use it for everything. Today's Santoku knife can have either a traditionally Japanese handle or a Western European handle on it and is traditionally a double or V-ground knife. Many people call a Santoku a "Santuko" and this is incorrect. It is Santoku! Standard blade lengths are from 6.5 to 9.5 inches depending on the manufacturer. I have seen 10+ from some manufacturers trying to make a Santoku the new French knife. I don't think it is going to work!

 

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The Petty Knife: The Japanese Petty knife which is also called "the petit" in French is your everyday run of the mill Japanese version of the Western European Paring Knife. It is traditionally a single ground knife or Japanese Chisel Grind, but many manufacturers today are making The Petty Knife as a V-grind as well. I can think of a couple of the German cutlery manufacturers that are having Petty Knives made in Seki, Japan out of high grade Japanese steels like AUS series or VG series or even Inami Super series of steels and are having them made with a Western European V-grind on them for the American market. That's fine! Some of the more standard blade lengths are 4.5 to 6.0 inches and that again is a matter of design.

There you have it guys! I hope you enjoyed this blog post and learned something more about Japanese Kitchen Knives. In future posts I will cover more information about these types of kitchen knives as the Japanese culture has a rich language and high level of craftsmanship when it comes to these excellent cutting tools. Stay tuned!

 

Richard