What is Japanese Knife?The Characteristics of Japanese Knives The Origin of Japanese Knives Japanese chef knife, called Wa-Bocho in Japanese traces their origins to the days of the samurai warriors in the Feudal era. The same hand-forging methods used to make swords still continue to be used today to create one of the finest cutlery pieces in the culinary field. In traditional Japanese cuisine, special care is taken to highlight a chef's skill by arranging foods to display his intricate Wa-Bocho handling techniques. A number of Wa-Bocho styles are used for different purposes in preparing vegetables, fish, and meat. , has one distinct feature different from many other chef's knives: The , or beveled blade, has the outer side sharpened with a beveled edge while the inner side remains flat. Japanese professional chefs prefer this flat surface feature, which facilitates food separation from the knife during cutting. Different from western knives, Japanese knives are often sharpened in a way that only one side holds the cutting edge;

the bevel is only on one side. With the flat side, a Japanese knife can cut into a fillet of fish with perfect 90 degree angles for sashimi. With a western knife, the blade will pull slightly leftward with the downward motion, resulting in scalloped sashimi pieces. The Kataba is used exclusively when filleting whole fish. The flat-edged blade cuts in straight, flat lines across and very close to the bones. A western knife would waver and leave rough-edged fillets. In addition, food cut with clean edges eases the absorption of flavorings during cooking. While western knives are more practical on tougher foods such as meat, controlling the blade for finer cuts and sculpting is easier with a Kataba blade. The Kataba is ideal for cutting with speed and control, and maintains its sharp edge longer than a western knife. There are two basic styles of a Japanese knives: and . The begins as a solid piece of raw steel. After being heated into a burning red rod, the steel is hammered repeatedly to harden the metal and to form the shape of a knife.

This forging process, called , eliminates impurities from the metal to create pure steel. The metal is tempered () using water for or oil for ., a process which tempers the brittle steel to produce a durable and sturdy piece. Creating a Honyaki-Bocho blade is a long and arduous process. Due to its characteristically, sharp hard edges, the blade retains its sharpness for a long time, but by the same token, these knives take longer to sharpen, and in general, are more difficult to maintain. The Honyaki-Bocho blade is preferred by most skilled professional chefs. On the other hand, Kasumi-Bocho is made with two layers of iron and carbon steel forged together. Sharpening Kasumi-Bocho is easier. To Buy Japanese Cutlery, Learn About Japanese Cutlery,Visit Our Online Store, MTC Kitchen! About Our Japanese Chef's Knife Brands Kiyotsuna & Ikkaku Donryu Others (Sakai Takayuki, Kaneshige, Kyocera Ceramic Knives and more) Knife styles (What is Yanagi/yanagi-ba, Deba, Usuba, etc.?)

How to Sharpen Your Knife Quick Tips for Sharpening How to Care for Your Knife FAQ for Japanese Cutlery Japanese Knife Demonstration VideosWith so many shapes, sizes, steels and finishes it can be overwhelming knowing what to look for in a Japanese knife - don't worry, here's our helpful guide.where can i buy soy paper for sushi Choosing a kitchen knife is not as hard you might think, it just seems like it because of all the choices available.sushi new york city yelp The cost and the fear of getting it wrong can be stressful but don't worry, we're here to help you figure it all out and get you a knife so sharp your onions will cry in fear.where to buy sushi knife online

Let's cover one the biggest fears first - a good knife can cost a lot of money and it's sometimes scary hovering over that "buy now" button. When you buy a Japanese knife, you're buying something you should be able to use for the rest of your life if you look after it.bamboo mat for sushi making When we decide what to sell on the site, we look at knives we'd only be happy using ourselves and would personally recommend. online fish market in delhiIt's why we don't have hundreds of ranges.how to make sushi rice 4 cups Everything on the site is of a quality we love and stand by so you can be assured that any of the knives you like the look of are of a high standard and if for any reason you're not happy after your purchase, we also offer a 30 day money back promise.where can i buy sushi quality salmon

It's not the most efficient way to prepare a tomato but it's a great demonstration of the sharpness of Japanese knives. If your current knife can't manage this, it might be time for you to think about upgrading to something more awesome ... This is one of our Moonlit Waves range but all our knives are capable of this slightly unorthodox food prep technique. We often get asked for a recommendation and we nearly always give the same answer if a customer doesn't have a specific style in mind or they're after a general use chef knife and that's to buy something from the Masakage Yuki range. They have it all - beauty, sharpness, a quality edge and hard wearing carbon steel and an excellent price tag. The Masakage Yuki Gyuto 210mm - One of our favourites, if you're not sure what to go for the Yuki range is a great starting place. If you're after a little more then we recommend heading to the homepage and browsing all our ranges where we've written about and reviewed each knife and and there's a good selection to choose from to cater to all tastes and budgets.

It's worth bearing in mind that because nearly all of the knives on the site are handmade in small forges by one or two blacksmiths and as such supply is not guaranteed and when a knife has sold out it can sometimes take months to restock. If you're keen on a particular knife don't leave it too long to buy it because it might be gone and in the case of some ranges for several months or more. Start with one good kitchen knife and build your knife set/collection from that. We typically recommend a "Santoku" or "Gyuto" knife as a first purchase if you're looking for an all rounder with a blade usually around 6-7 inches long, it's not too big or small and so is usually the one knife type you'll use daily. A santoku knife is the perfect all rounder if you're not sure what you need - this one is from our VG-10 damascus range. We have a whole page devoted to which knives you really need but in short the order you should be buying are Chef, Paring and optionally a Santoku (that's pronounced "san-too-koo", it's a Japanese style of knife and pretty handy at chopping veg and meat), carving and bread knife.

Learn more about the various styles of knives. How a knife looks should be the last thing you buy a knife for, but that being said, a good looking knife is a real treat. As we've picked only awesome knives feel free to pick a pretty one and buy it safe in the knowledge it will be a great performer. A traditional Japanese style Masakage Koishi "Gyuto 180mm" combines a stunning handcrafted blade and shape with a high quality handle. If you want some inspiration, take a look at the beautiful cloud patterns on the Kumo range, or the gorgeous Koishi blades. If you want a knife that is the perfect blend of East meets West then check out our Moonlit Waves range which feature a Western handle with a Japanese blade. One of our introductory ranges these are great value for money whilst still maintaining our insistence on only selling quality knives. Our Moonlit Waves range are the perfect blend of East and West. We've all owned a "supermarket special" kitchen knife in our life, the one that stays sharp for about two meals.

Don't judge all knives by these, real kitchen knives are in a completely different league. Knife steel has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, the new steels are simply amazing for making knives and we really mean it, they really will make you say "holy sh*t" when you first use them. Ones to look out for are VG-10, Powder Steel and High Carbon steels. Why are they so good? They take and hold an edge better and simply put, we are all lazy at heart, we don't want to keep sharpening knives every time we use them. The newer steels are made from super hard steel that simply does not blunt as fast, you can go months between sharpening your knives. Perfect for us lazy home cooks who already have too much on our plates. These steels simply stay really sharp for much longer, that's why we sell them. Learn more about the types of steel Let us make this easy. No kitchen knife should be put in the dish washer. Wipe them clean, dry and store them after each use. When it comes to storing and protecting your knife, we suggest a magnetic wooden knife rack.

We're exclusive suppliers in the UK of Magblok knife racks which are handmade in the US and come in a range of sizes and woods to compliment your kitchen. If you're travelling or want to store your knife in a draw - we'd recommend a wooden saya to protect not only the blade but your fingers when you reach for it. Learn more about ease of care If you use a knife all day every day then you want a light knife to reduce fatigue. Light knives are a joy to use and so nimble. If you are not a professional though then knife weight really is not an issue, you simply won't be using them long enough to get fatigued in the first place. If in doubt pick one you like the look of and that will do. Remember we only sell great knives so the choice is easy. This relates mostly to Chef's knives. This topic is the one that probably gets the most discussion and the most disagreement. As a result we can't really give you a definitive answer. At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference.

How often do you get to try out a selection of the same knife in different sizes to make your mind up? If you're in doubt for your first knife or just a good all rounder, we recommend a middle ground of a 6.5" to 8" inch chef's knife (a "Santoku" or a "Gyuto" typically) which will cover 95% of kitchen jobs. If in doubt follow this route. However if you are a bit more adventurous we would say it is worth trying a longer knife especially if you hold it the right way using a pinch grip. There are two main styles to choose from. The traditional Western style we typically know or the Japanese "wa" handle. Western are the style most of us will be familiar with, full tang (where the blade goes all the way through the handle), often riveted and pretty damn sturdy. You feel like you could fell a tree with one. The beautiful rosewood handle on Masakage's Kumo range of knives The Japanese "wa" handle is light weight and as a result feels like it is barely there. This is a centuries old design and typically when combined with a half tang makes the knife feel significantly lighter and more nimble in your hand.