Japanese kitchen knives have many different shapes and styles. To cook efficiently and diligently with Japanese knives, you have to choose the suitable type of knives for your cooking purpose.
There are most recognizable Japanese kitchen knives:
BUNKA (MULTI-PURPOSE)
Multi-purpose knife used for cutting vegetable, fish and meat. Bunka knife has a flexible profile that is wide enough at the handle, a gently designed belly of the blade suitable for making either long or short cuts.
Blade length: 165mm ÷ 195mm
Thickness of the blade: 1.5mm and up to 9.0mm
DEBA
Deba knife mostly used for filleting fish and trimming meat. A heavy, classic Japanese knife for rougher tasks.
Blade length: 165mm ÷ 210mm
GYUTOU (CHEF'S KNIFE)
Multi-purpose knife used for cutting vegetable, fish and meat. Gyutou knives were originally designed for cutting larger pieces of beef, which is where their name came from - it literally means 'a cow sword'.
Blade length: 150mm ÷ 390mm. Mostly used dimensions: 210mm ÷ 270mm
Thickness of the blade: 1.5mm and up to 5.0mm
NAKIRI
Nakiri knife used for cutting and chopping vegetable. Nakiri has a rectangular thin blade designed for cutting vegetables (similar to Usuba) only much thinner and mostly intended for home use.
Blade length: 165mm ÷ 180mm
PETTY KNIFE (UTILITY KNIFE)
Petty knife used for paring fruit and vegetable. Petty knife, sometimes also referred as paring or utility, is a smaller version of the Gyutou (Chef's knife).
Blade length: 120mm ÷ 150mm
SANTOKU (ALL-PURPOSE)
This is all-purpose knife used for cutting vegetable, fish and meat.
Blade length: 160mm ÷ 180mm
SASHIMI (YANAGIBA)
Sashimi knife used for slicing raw fish. Yanagiba a specific purpose, traditional Japanese knife with a long and thin blade, which was originally used for cutting thin slices of raw fish. Sashimi knife similar to Yanagiba, but its blade narrower and thinner than that of Yanagiba.
Blade length: 240mm ÷ 360mm
USUBA
Usuba knife has a rectangular thin blade designed for cutting vegetables.
Usage & Care
Every time, before using a knife, you have to wash it with dishwashing liquid. Always dry blade throughly after washing. Do not use scrub brushes or abrasive cleaners. To sharpen your knives use whetstone on flat hard surface. Dampen whetstone before use.