Japanese kitchen knife

thumb|Hōchō, Japanese kitchen knives in Tokyo

A Japanese kitchen knife is a type of kitchen knife used for food preparation. These knives come in many different varieties and are often made using traditional Japanese blacksmithing techniques. They can be made from stainless steel, or hagane, which is the same kind of steel used to make Japanese swords. Most knives are referred to as or the variation in compound words (because of ) but can have other names including and . There are four general categories used to distinguish the Japanese knife designs:

handle — Western v. Japanese construction, or a fusion of the two
blade grind — single bevel, v. double bevel, (outside of kitchen knives, these can mean single/double edged)
steel — stainless v. (high) carbon
construction — laminated v. mono-steel

Handle

Western handles have a bolster and a full or partial tang. These handles are often heavier, but are smaller in volume and surface area than most Japanese handles. The scale handle materials are often synthetic or resin-cured engineered wood and are non-porous. Chefs who prefer the feel of a Western handle, enjoy a more handle-heavy balance and grip the handle closer to the blade. This allows for more weight in the cut.

Japanese handles, on the other hand are traditionally made of ho wood which is burned in and friction-fitted to a hidden tang. The wood is porous and fine-grained, which makes it less likely to split and retain its grip. A metal collar or buffalo horn bolster caps the handle-blade junction and further reduces the possibility splitting. This allows easy installation and replacement.

More decorative woods, such as ebony, yew, cherry, or chestnut, may be made into handles, though they are heavier and often charred on the outside to improve grip and water resistance. If they are not cured well or properly cared for, these decorative woods will crack more easily when exposed to moisture.

Pak or Pakka wood is a composite material of laminated wood bound in a synthetic resin matrix. It has the advantages of that is more durable, not porous and so waterproof, and is less likely to split. It is used on less expensive knives commonly replacing either the buffalo horn bolster, or both the bolster and the handle. The most common wood variant is chestnut.

The most common cross-sectional shape is an octagon, which is made with a gradual taper towards the blade. Another common shape is the D-shape, which is an oval handle with a ridge running along the same side as the edge bevel, (right side of handle for a right-handed knife).

A chef who prefers a knife with more weight in the blade, their knife to be lighter overall, to have a larger handle, or one who wants to replace their knife handle more easily, will often turn to a Japanese handle.

Blade

right|thumb|400px|(a) ' edge for right-hand use — (b) double bevel edge — (c) edge for left-hand use <br/>(The sample knife is a )

Single bevel knives

Traditionally, Japanese knives are single-bevel edged — — and this remains the dominant style. These are the knives of the established traditional Japanese cuisine and were originally developed from the Chinese double-beveled knives.

They have an , (an edge on the right for right-handers); a , (where the front bevel meets the flat of the blade face); and an kitchen knife indentation#urasuki|, (a hollow on the unbeveled side that releases food). These knives are usually a little thicker at the spine and body than Japanese double bevels, but are thinner right behind the edge. While they leave a better surface finish, the produce must bend further because of the thickness of the blade. They are sharpened along the single bevel by applying pressure to both the and the edge. Honbazuke is the initial sharpening that forms a flat surface along the perimeter of the strengthening it. This practice also straightens the backside and lays a shape for future sharpening. The is sharpened much more than the in order to maintain the function of the single bevel.

The blade tips vary in style across Japan. Kansai-style knives usually have pointed tip for vertical cuts, which helps in decorative tip work. Edo-style knives are typically shorter with a square tip used for horizontal cuts, rendering a more robust working knife.

The standard Japanese knife set, essential to Japanese cuisine| (和食 — Japanese cuisine), includes the Yanagi ba|, , and .

Single-bevelled knives include:

— — three main sashimi knives:
— — (literally: "willow blade"). The most popular knife for cutting fish, also known as shobu-bōchō (sashimi knife). It is used to highlight different textures of fish in their techniques: hirazukuri to pull cut vertically, usuzukuri to pull cut thin vertically, and sogizukuri to pull cut at an angle. It is used to skin and sometimes scale and de-bone certain fish (for instance salmon). Yanagi-ba have angled tips and are generally heavier and have less sloping. The general blade size is from .
— (lit: "octopus cutter") A regional variant of the yanagi-ba from Tokyo, that is lighter, thinner, flatter, and shallower in blade height with a square tip than yanagi-ba to allow easier cutting through dense flesh such as that of an octopus.
— (lit: "pufferfish cutter") Another regional variant of the yanagi-ba, with a thinner blade and a round tip, that is for the very careful preparation of poisonous fugu.

— — (lit: 'pointed carver'). Thick knives with a broad slightly rounded arrow shape blade, to cut through resilient fish flesh for fillet and to cut through rib bones, behind the head, and through the head. Typically, they are between thick depending on size. They include hon-deba (lit: "true deba"); ko-deba ("small deba"); (for aji); (a smaller, more pointed form for use on boats); mioroshi deba (a hybrid between deba and yanagi-ba that are intermediate in thickness, weight, and length); and yo-deba (lit: "Western-styled deba"). The smaller sizes are less thick, allowing the knife to move through flesh easily, and are much more nimble. They are still much thinner behind the edge and more fragile than a Western butchering knife. The general blade size is from .

— — (lit: 'thin blade') It is the thinnest of the three general knife shapes, which utilizes a flat edge profile. A vegetable cleaver similar in shape profile to the double-bevel as well as usage. It is used for push cutting, (rotary cutting of thin sheets) and (cutting thin strips from those sheets). There are regional edo-usuba (square tip) and (sheep's foot tip) variants. The general blade size range is from .

— Used along with usuba for vegetables and it has an angled tip for decorative vegetable cutting. The general blade size range is from .

— A large hybrid with the length of yanagi-ba and the blade height and profile of usuba with an angled tip as a compromise. It requires great knife control because of the height, length, and flatness. The general blade size range is from to .

— A small triangular knife used to debone chicken. Most have an angled tip to slip between tendons and cut them. The general blade size range is from

— A thicker version of the hone-suki, capable of cutting through chicken bones.

— (lit: pike conger cutter). It is a knife intermediate in thickness and length between deba and yanagi-ba to cut the thin bones and flesh of pike conger. The general blade size range is from to .
— — (lit: "eel cutting knife") This knife comes in style variants from Kanto, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Kyushu.
— (lit: soba cutter). A large oblong knife for cutting noodles, with a (udon noodles cutter) variant. The general blade size range is from to .
— (lit: mochi cutter). Used in preparation of mochi (Japanese rice cake) and comes in double-handle or single-handle variants.
— (lit: tuna cutter). It is used to cut perpendicular (shorter) or parallel (longer and more flexible) to the very large Pacific blue-fin tuna and is sized accordingly. The general blade size range is from , so these are not normally found in domestic kitchens.

Double bevel knives

Japan adopted French and German cutlery ideas during the Meiji period in the late 19th century, integrating them into Japanese cutting techniques and culture. Japanese knives are often flatter and lighter than their European counterparts.

Traditional Western knives are made with a double bevel — — which tapers symmetrically to the cutting edge on each side. Single bevel knives, kataba, which only taper to one side (typically the right), can require more care and expertise when both using and in sharpening.

Double-bevelled knives include:

thumb|A handforged Gyūtō by Moritaka Hamono in Yatsushiro

— — (lit: "beef-knife"). This is the Japanese word, for a regular Western chef's knife, used outside of Japan, for the Japanese versions of the knife type. Used for professional Western cuisine. When preparing vegetables, it is used in the form of chopping or thrust-cutting near the heel of the knife. The gyuto is used to rock-chop stiffer produce and to make fine cuts at the tip of the knife. It is used for many different cuts of meat. For larger cuts it is used to saw back and forth. It is used to pull-cut softer meats and push-cut more muscular cuts of meat. There is usually a slope from the heel of the knife to the tip, causing the wrist to point down and the shoulder to raise when cutting. The blade size ranges from to , with a shorter blade being more nimble, a longer blade giving more slicing power, and an intermediate length as a compromise for general use.

— — (lit: "3 virtues"). This is often translated as "three" (san) "virtues", or often (and probably more relevant for English speakers): "three-uses/purposes" derived in the 1940s from the best traits of three other Japanese knives: the deba, nakiri, and gyūtō. As a general multi-purpose utility kitchen knife, the santoku can be used for cutting meat, fish, and/or vegetables, against the more specialized knives such as the hankotsu, usuba, yaniga-ba etc. being designed for just one task. These knives are generally flatter than gyuto knives and have a less pointy tip, instead having a rounded down-turned tip, (i.e. a sheep's foot). Since they are flatter, the wrist is in a more natural position and the shoulder does not need to be raised as high. These knives do not require as much room to cut. These are the most popular knives in most Japanese homes. The general size ranges from .

Design and use

thumb|Hōchō is an important element which determines the taste of Japanese cuisine.

Since the end of World War II, western-style, double-beveled knives have gained popularity in Japan. One example of this transition is the , an adaptation of . Other knives that have become widely used in Japan are the French chef's knife and the , roughly analogous to a western carving knife. While these knives are usually sharpened symmetrically on both sides, their blades are still given Japanese-style acute-angle cutting edges of 8-10 degrees per side with a very hard temper to increase cutting ability.

Generally, a typical Japanese kitchen will have at least a basic range of:

a traditional set of three single-bevelled knives:
deba (fish preparation knife)
usuba (or else a double-bevelled nakiri — vegetable chopper)
yanagi-ba (or else a double-bevelled suji-hiki — slicer)
a petty knife (kitchen utility / parer)
a generalist multi-purpose santoku
a larger generalist gyuto bocho (chef’s knife)
a single-bevelled hone-suki or a double-bevelled hankotsu (boning knife)

Most professional Japanese cooks own their personal set of knives. After sharpening a carbon-steel knife in the evening after use, the user may let the knife "rest" for a day to restore its patina and remove any metallic odor or taste that might otherwise be passed on to the food. Some cooks choose to own two sets of knives for this reason.

Japanese knives feature subtle variations on the chisel grind. Usually, the back side of the blade (i.e. the left side, for a right-handed user) is concave to reduce drag and adhesion so the food separates more cleanly (this concave feature is known as ). The , used for cutting crab and other shellfish, has the grind on the opposite side (left side angled for right-handed use), so that the meat is not cut when chopping the shell.