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How To Choose A Japanese Kitchen Knife 

 

Despite the popularity of kitchen knife sets we have at home, the majority of tasks are usually performed using only one, or a maximum of two knives. When purchasing your first quality Japanese kitchen knife you should concentrate on only buying one knife – one that fits your hand comfortably and is easy to use. 

 

If a different blade is necessary in your kitchen, you can buy an additional, more purpose-specific kitchen knife later and create your set of knives.

 

Before purchasing a kitchen knife consider the following:

• The type of knife you want to have. Take into consideration the dishes you prepare.
• Size of the kitchen knife, in order to be able to use it in a relaxed manner.
• Does the blade have to be made completely of stainless steel? Or can you tolerate some patina?
• Do you want to learn how to sharpen a knife yourself?
• How much money you are prepared to pay for a good knife?

 

Design and Material

 

The basic design of a kitchen knife remains relatively unchanged over the past 10,000 years. A knife remains a blade with a handle. In the field of materials (especially steel) and their treatment, there has been great progress.

 

The quality and the price of a kitchen knife is nowadays determined by these points: 

• The quality of the steel used.
• The method used for transforming and hardening the steel into a blade.
• How sharp the blade is and how long it maintains its sharpness if correctly handled (which primarily depends on the first two points).
• The frequency necessary to sharpen the blade and how demanding it is.
• The balance between the blade and the handle and how the knife feels in your hand
• The quality of the handle.
• The manufacturing.

 

A kitchen knife is an indispensable kitchen tool, with two main features: functionality and ergonomics. In everyday kitchen tasks, it has to “cut the mustard”. 

 

Besides functionality, the aesthetic aspect is another feature to take into account.

 

General Rules in Choosing The Blade Design 

 

The wider the blade, the more it is designed for cutting vegetables and fruit, and the less suitable it is for general tasks, such as paring. 

 

Narrow blades are more suitable for cutting raw meat or fish and are not suitable for rapid chopping.

 

If you want a multi-purpose knife for cutting large quantities of meat, fish, and vegetables, Gyuto and Bunka are excellent choices. 

 

If you prefer shorter blade types, Santoku knives are the way to go. 

 

Even more vegetable-oriented models are Nakiri and Usuba. 

 

Kitchen knives suitable for large pieces of meat and fish are Yanagiba, Sujihiki, and the wider Gyuto.

 

For simple cutting without using force, sharpness is of key importance. These blades are usually thinner and more sensitive for more difficult tasks, such as cutting bones, fish slicing (filleting), or opening a coconut. 

 

For more difficult kitchen tasks we need a suitably thicker kitchen knife, such as Deba or a heavier Cleaver.

 

Basic Differences Between Types of Steel

 

The majority of present-day stainless kitchen knives do not maintain their sharpness for a long period, because the blades have not been tempered or treated using techniques of steel hardening. 

 

HRC, or the Rockwell scale, is currently the most common way to determine the hardness of steel. 56 HRC is the lowest hardness level of steel in a decent kitchen knife. A stainless knife under the level of 56 HRC will not only lose its sharpness fast, but it will also be more difficult to resharpen.

 

Kitchen knives marked as “stainless” have a very high content of chromium (Cr) and a low content of carbon (C), and are therefore not a good choice. If you want a completely stainless kitchen knife, choose a blade made of steel with a lower level of chromium (Cr) with the addition of vanadium (V) or molybdenum (Mo), that has been tempered to at least 56 HRC. 

 

If you cannot find data on the type, quality, and hardness of steel when buying a knife, it is usually stainless steel with a high content of chromium and a too-low content of carbon (C < 0.5%).

 

Steel with a high content of carbon (C > 0.8%) remains sharp for a longer period and sharpens more easily. However, the blade develops a patina because there is no addition of chromium.

 

Stainless steel with a high content of carbon (C > 0.8%) and chromium (Cr > 10%) stays sharp for a long period, but is slightly harder to resharpen.

 

The best knives modern technology can offer use technologically perfected tool steel, which can contain an extremely high content of carbon (C<3%) and at the same time a sufficient content of chromium so that it does not rust. Kitchen knives made of this kind of steel remain sharp for the longest period but are harder to resharpen.

 

Advantages of Laminated Steel Blades

 

The blades of Japanese kitchen knives are made of two or more different kinds of steel. Usually, the core is made of very hard, quality steel covered with an external layer of softer, stainless steel. 

 

The advantage of laminated steel kitchen knives is that their hard core maintains their sharpness for a very long period. The soft external layer makes it easier to resharpen. The softer external layers protect the core steel from external factors as well. 

 

In the case of the formation of rust, it usually appears on the tip of the blade where the core comes out. It can be easily removed by light sharpening. 

 

Kitchen knives that are covered or laminated in different kinds of steel have a special look – the layers bend, creating a look of growth rings. This pattern is called Damascus. Damascus patterns make every knife unique and will attract attention, but it will not add to the strength or characteristics of the blade.

 

 

Chisel Ground or Double-Bevel Blade 

 

A classic German or French main kitchen knife is ground on both sides of the blade, usually under the same angle of approximately 20 to 30 degrees. This kind of kitchen knife has a satisfactory, not too sensitive edge and is suitable both for left-handed and right-handed users.

 

Japanese kitchen knives (Gyuto, Santoku, etc.) are ground under a smaller angle, between 12 and 18 degrees, and very frequently, the center of the edge is moved slightly to the left or the right (e.g. in proportion 70/30). This kind of kitchen knife is much sharper, but at the same time much more sensitive to strikes, chipping, or rough use. Moving the center of the edge to one side makes the knife suitable for both left-handed and right-handed users.

 

Traditional Japanese knives are ground exclusively on one side; long flat bevel of approximately 12 degrees on one side, and a slightly concave surface on the other side. This kind of geometrics enables a half-size, much sharper angle, and consequently higher sharpness of the knife. The knife is easier to resharpen, and at the same time, it is suitable for use by either left-handed or right-handed users.