Japanese Knife Shapes

Deba | Fish Knife – Single-Sided Sharpened

The Deba is the traditional Japanese filleting knife for fish and shellfish. Compared to other knife shapes, this knife is relatively robust as it is used for gutting, disassembling, and filleting whole fish. It can also cut through bones. However, bones are not chopped with the Deba, but rather broken with force. It is also common to use the second hand to apply pressure on the back of the blade.

Your question now is: "Okay, but when do I ever completely gut and disassemble fish?" The Deba knife is also used for other tasks in your kitchen. Due to its handy shape and thicker blade, it can also be used to carve poultry as the sharp Deba cuts through cartilage and tendons with ease.

Nakiri | Vegetable Knife

The Nakiri is perfect for cutting vegetables extremely finely. However, despite its shape, this type of knife is not used for chopping, but rather the wide blade is controlled by the fingers holding the food being cut, and guided downwards. The very thin blade allows even hard vegetables to be cut without much effort. The wide blade enables precise cutting. Especially with large vegetables, it makes it easier to achieve exact and straight cuts. Our recommendation: If you enjoy eating fresh vegetables often, it is definitely worth investing in a high-quality Nakiri knife :-)

The large, hatchet-shaped, almost rectangular blade is also perfect for picking up the cut vegetables and transporting them to the pot or bowl. Nakiri knives are double-sided. The single-sided version of this knife is called the Usuba knife (see below).

Santoku | Chef's Knife

“Santoku” translates to “three virtues”. According to some traditions, this refers to the knife's versatility in handling meat, fish, and vegetables. The Santoku is therefore the all-rounder among Japanese knife shapes. It combines Western and Far Eastern requirements for a kitchen knife. If you are just starting to equip your kitchen with Japanese knives, we recommend a Santoku as an entry-level model. This multifunctional knife is always a good choice.

Usuba | Vegetable Knife – Single Bevel

The single bevel blade of the Usuba knife allows for even finer cuts when slicing vegetables compared to the Nakiri knife. Another advantage of the single bevel is the hollow grind on the back of the blade. It prevents or reduces the sticking of vegetable slices to the blade while cutting.

A note from Butch: Working with a single bevel Usuba takes a little getting used to. Practice makes perfect here. But don't worry – you'll quickly learn how to handle it. If you need any additional tips, just give us a call! We're happy to help you out.

Yanagiba | Sashimi & Filleting Knife – Single-Sided Sharpened

The Yanagiba knife is THE knife in Japan when it comes to preparing sushi and sashimi. Sashimi is mostly raw fish, sliced into thin slices and often arranged artistically. The important thing here is: The fish is not cut in a sawing back-and-forth motion. This would result in a frayed surface of the fish slices, which should be avoided at all costs with sashimi. With the long, thin, extremely sharp blade, cutting and filleting can be done in one stroke – assuming some skill.

A note at this point: “Sashimi knife” is not a term for a specific Japanese knife. Sashimi knife refers to all types of knives suitable for filleting, such as Yanagibas and Takos (a variant of the filleting knife with a rectangular-shaped blade tip).

Even if raw fish is not on your daily menu, a Yanagiba is also useful in European cuisine. It is wonderful for thinly slicing raw beef for carpaccio, for Parma and Serrano ham, and also for salami.

Single-Sided Sharpened vs. Double-Sided Sharpened