Great tools often become an extension of your hands, fitting naturally in your fingertips.
Knives are no exception. Here, we introduce the basic types of knives that will support your cooking, starting with the versatile Santoku knife, which is perfect for beginners. Please use this as a reference to find your perfect knife.
▸Santoku (All-Purpose Knife)
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The Santoku knife, perfect for beginners, is an all-purpose knife for cutting meat, fish, and vegetables.
The name "Santoku" derives from these three uses: meat, fish, and vegetables.
The blade is relatively wide with a centered balance point, making it easy to handle.
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However, due to its thin and delicate blade tip, for cutting large fish with thick bones, a Deba knife would be more suitable.
The Santoku knife is very popular for everyday home use, combining versatility and adaptability for various cooking tasks. Once you master the Santoku knife, you'll have a better idea of which knife to acquire next.
▸Gyuto (Chef's Knife)
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The Gyuto, Japan's most familiar Western-style knife, is specialized for cutting meat.
Most have an integrated handle and blade, with a sharp tip and long blade, making it strong against impact and ideal for cutting large pieces of meat.
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It can cut large pieces of meat straight, slice sashimi, and is also suitable for chopping large amounts of vegetables or small fish. It's often a favorite among professionals.
▸Nakiri Knife
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The Nakiri knife is specialized for cutting vegetables.
Its flat blade edge is characteristic, making it easy to cut vegetables straight.
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It's perfect for large cuts of cabbage and Chinese cabbage, as well as peeling and julienning. The Nakiri knife is available in both single and double-bevel versions. Tsurugi-kensin's Nakiri knives are double-beveled, perfect for everyday use.
▸Petty Knife
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The Petty knife is a small knife suitable for fruits and detailed work.
Its name comes from the French word "petit" meaning "small".
True to its name, it's highly maneuverable and perfect for precise tasks.
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Commonly used as a support knife, it's especially suitable for peeling fruits and vegetables and decorative cutting. While perfect for cutting small ingredients like ham, bacon, and chicken tenderloin, it's not suitable for large meats, hard fish, or shellfish.
▸Yanagiba (Sashimi Knife)
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The Yanagiba knife is for cutting boneless fish fillets and sashimi.
Characterized by its long, thin blade like a willow leaf, it can create delicate cuts. Also known as a sashimi knife.
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Using the blade's length, it can pull-cut fish in one motion, creating beautiful cross-sections perfect for sashimi. The reason for its single-bevel design is that the non-blade side (called "hi" or groove) creates an air layer between the knife and the ingredient, preventing the sliced fish from sticking to the blade.
▸Deba (Fish Filleting Knife)
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The Deba knife is a traditional Japanese knife that has been used since the Edo period for preparing fish. Generally, knives called fish preparation knives belong to the Deba category.
With a thin edge but thick spine, it uses blade weight to easily cut through bones, making it perfect for preparing fish, as well as processing crab and chicken bones.
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It can be placed against fish backbone, making it ideal for filleting and sashimi preparation. Typically single-beveled, the non-blade side (called "hi" or groove) creates an air layer between the knife and the ingredient, preventing the sliced fish from sticking to the blade, allowing for careful handling of ingredients.
▸Chinese Chef's Knife
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The Chinese Chef's knife is characterized by its wide blade and is used for cutting vegetables and meat.
It can cut through hard ingredients using the blade's weight.
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It's an essential knife for Chinese cuisine.
▸Outdoor Knife
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Outdoor knives are multi-purpose knives used for camping, mountaineering, fishing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. For use in various environments, they feature excellent portability, durability, sturdiness, and sharp cutting ability.
Therefore, they often come with a protective case, and the handle grip is frequently designed for optimal comfort and handling.
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Additionally, some models have a spine that can be used as a fire starter or include functional elements like bottle openers. Tsurugi-kensin's outdoor knife is worth checking out as a premium camping knife crafted by skilled Japanese knife makers.
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