Recommendation? Japanese Knife for Slicing Fish/Meat

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Kirk_Ferentz

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Feb 16, 2010
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I've started my research but I know there are some of you out there who are just waiting to answer a question like this, so here goes ...

I want to give a nice Japanese knife to someone as a gift. It will be used for slicing up sashimi (from pieces of fish from the store, not cutting up a tuna), but I'd also like it to be able to slice up meat like, say, a pork belly. But I want it to cut like a dream.

Budget is probably in the $50 to $150 range, although I could be persuaded to consider upwards of $300. I think it will be diminishing returns for the recipient after a certain level (they aren't a knife nut and aren't going to care about that extra 2% of quality that costs another few hundred bucks to obtain ... if it is of high quality and performs the function, they will love it ... but I do want it to look special).

I will likely be doing the sharpening on Japanese water stones, so I'd prefer something that works with that set up. Something that can take a fine polish would be nice.

Last thing is that it would be nice to be able to add some sort of personalization like initials or a name since this is a gift. I don't know if any of the vendors offer that or if there is someone on the forum who can provide that service (I just buy knives to beat on in the field; this fancy stuff is foreign to me). If you have any idea please let me know.
 
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Thanks! Just curious ... is the idea of a deba over a yanagiba that the deba would be more versatile for slicing up meat? For clarity, I don't think processing a whole fish is in the cards -- just slicing up, say, a boneless block of hamachi that the user picked up at a Japanese supermarket.
 
Also, on yanagis, I'm seeing a lot of endorsements of yoshihiro. If anyone cares to comment on them, please feel free.
 
Is it going to be used only for one purpose? Or will it also be used like a chef's knife? A sujihiki can be used like a yanagiba but is double bevel and is better suited for multiple tasks versus single bevel knives like a yanagi or deba.

If the gift recipient isn't a knife nut, consider stainless steel rather than a carbon steel like the Aogami Super deba posted above. Many people don't want to deal with the extra care required of carbon steel to keep it from rusting. Similar to cast iron pots and pans, they are great, but many people are too lazy to take proper care.

Korin in NYC is a long standing Japanese knife retailer and offers a laser engraving service for personalizing knives. Not sure if Japanese Knife Imports in LA offers personalization but they are another good retailer. Either one should be able to point you in a good direction towards knives that fit the bill.
 
milkbaby said:
Is it going to be used only for one purpose? Or will it also be used like a chef's knife? A sujihiki can be used like a yanagiba but is double bevel and is better suited for multiple tasks versus single bevel knives like a yanagi or deba.

If the gift recipient isn't a knife nut, consider stainless steel rather than a carbon steel like the Aogami Super deba posted above. Many people don't want to deal with the extra care required of carbon steel to keep it from rusting. Similar to cast iron pots and pans, they are great, but many people are too lazy to take proper care.

Korin in NYC is a long standing Japanese knife retailer and offers a laser engraving service for personalizing knives. Not sure if Japanese Knife Imports in LA offers personalization but they are another good retailer. Either one should be able to point you in a good direction towards knives that fit the bill.
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I think this is going to be a very limited purpose knife, as the recipient complained about not being able to do fine cutting of sashimi and I want to give something that will address that issue. I can get a more multi-use knife for a future gift if needed.

I should probably choose a stainless steel just because I think the thought of rust might be somewhat offputting to the recipient. She can and does meticulously maintain cast iron cookware, however, so I trust that she would be able to properly maintain it.

In this context, what is the main drawback of the stainless? I have worked with VG-10; not so much on the other stainless steels you see in these knives. I would guess these carbon steels would hold an edge better and be easier to sharpen, but probably not a ton of difference since I'm thinking they are using quality stainless steels as well. One thing I can say is that I don't want to have to work with a hard-to-sharpen steel like ZDP-189. If it's a choice between that and a carbon steel, I'll choose the carbon.

The knife will be delivered to LA so I'll look into Japanese Knife Imports.
 
JKI is a good place to work with, I have the 270 mm version of that knife & it is wicked sharp.
Perfect for slicing protein.
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A Deba is designed to break down the whole fish, not to slice. There are variants like Aideba and Funayuki which can be used for slicing as well but they do not match a true slicer.
If slicing sashimi well is the main goal with ease of maintenance, get a stainless Yanagiba. As sashimi is sliced with one full draw of the blade, I would recommend 240mm or 270mm.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tainya24.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tasa24yaho.html
 
I prefer carbon steel for ease of sharpening, but stainless ones mentioned above may work better depending on the user.

One other issue is what the baseline quality of knife the recipient is currently using to cut sashimi. If it's like $10 big box store knives, then even a quality gyuto or sujihiki will be a huge step upwards in performance. Even a very nice Henckels or Wusthof that hasn't been sharpened in years will seem like a blunt axe in comparison to a new Japanese knife. The advantage of the yanagiba is ease in making a very precise cut of the sashimi in just one stroke. The suji will be easier to use for different items because as a double bevel, it will steer less than the single bevel yanagi, but for just sashimi and the occassional other meat, yanagi will be nice. I wouldn't use a yanagi on crusty cooked meats though because the single bevel edge is less suited for that.
 
Hi guys looking for some help with a slicing knife and thought I’d jump in with a few questions.
I am looking for a knife to slice flank steak with. Currently I am using a 7” Shun Santoku, which I know is not the correct knife. Is the yanagiba the correct knife? And is the $65 dollar recommended knife above the proper choice. I like carbon steel an would consider spending more, but if this will be razor sharp and cut better than the current knife it seems an easy decision. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
JordonC2 said:
Hi guys looking for some help with a slicing knife and thought I’d jump in with a few questions.
I am looking for a knife to slice flank steak with. Currently I am using a 7” Shun Santoku, which I know is not the correct knife. Is the yanagiba the correct knife? And is the $65 dollar recommended knife above the proper choice. I like carbon steel an would consider spending more, but if this will be razor sharp and cut better than the current knife it seems an easy decision. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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I always recommend the double bevel Sujihiki over the single bevel Yanagiba when slicing meat is as important if not moreso than fish. Most Sujihiki knives are stainless or semi-stainless. But there re some carbon steel ones, like this Masamoto in SK4:
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Let me ask the question a little differently. I currently have a Shun cooks knife that I love.
I need a slicer. Before I invest in a Shun slicer is there another brand that I should look at that is either better quality at a similar price or same quality at a lower price?
 
JordonC2 said:
Let me ask the question a little differently. I currently have a Shun cooks knife that I love.
I need a slicer. Before I invest in a Shun slicer is there another brand that I should look at that is either better quality at a similar price or same quality at a lower price?
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Take a look at Tojiro DP. Specifically, a Tojiro DP F-806 270mm Sujihiki. They're about $120. VG-10 core with stainless cladding, so similar to the Shun knives minus the decorative Damascus cladding.

I don't have any Tojiros but from the various kitchen knife forums I have frequented over the years, they are considered a good value brand.
 
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JordonC2 said:
Let me ask the question a little differently. I currently have a Shun cooks knife that I love.
I need a slicer. Before I invest in a Shun slicer is there another brand that I should look at that is either better quality at a similar price or same quality at a lower price?
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What for?

My neighbor has Shun Premier's. I have Yaxell Gou's, wusthof culinars, a few dalstrong's, some dexter russels, forschner victorinox fillet knives and cimitar, and a few others. I like my Yaxell's the best at this point.

Beef
The Yaxell Dragon's are a great value for good steel and nice build if focused on a meat slicer. Not advertising cutlery and more but it's a good price. Note: Dragon's are more western style so the slicer is going to have a wider back.
https://www.cutleryandmore.com/yaxell-dragon/hollow-edge-slicing-knife-p137462

The Nexus BD1N Stainless Steel 12" Hollow Edge Brisket Slicing Knife also seems interesting but I'm not sure what kind of factory edge it comes with.

I personally use a Dexter 13463 12" Sani-safe slicer for my brisket and beef roasts. I recently got a Dalstrong shogun cimitar. It's a decent knife and will probably take over for my beef roasts other than smoked brisket.

Fish slicing for sushi
Stick with a filet knife or Japanese blade. White #2 or blue 1/2/super would be preferred but it takes more care. I have a Tojiro Shirogami Yanagiba 270mm for sushi slicing. I haven't used it yet as it's new to me but the blade is sharp and the steel quality looks goods (will see how it holds up). The build isn't perfect and I don't like the sandblasted face on the kireha. I'm certain it will outperform all other knives in my collection for Sushi/sashimi. I will be doing a direct comparison with my 10" Yaxell Gou slicer, Wusthof Salmon slicer, Tojiro Yanagiba, and hopefully a Dalstrong Shogun S Yanagiba. The later is only because I want a stainless steel slicer and few options are out there < $200 with harder steels that take a fine edge.
 
I can only add to what has already been said : the Deba is for breaking down a whole fish and raising the fillets, it's not conceived for sushi (it could do, sure, but then any thin slicer can certainly do better. The Deba has a very thick blade !). The dedicated sushi knife is definitely the yanagiba. The "chisel" grind seems weird at first glance and needs to getting used to. However, eventually, it can be used for other slicing, dicing and filleting tasks. I would definitely recommend a sujihiki pattern : it's an awesome slicer and being a symetric grind it's very versatile and feels familiar rightaway in the hand. I use both yanagiba and sujihiki for slicing all sorts of meat and fish and while they both perform brilliantly, I have a preference for the sujihiki (I'm a symetric guy...). As for steel, I can just say the Japanese have amazing stainless steel : well known is Kai Shun Classic's layered VG10 (core at 62 HRC !). Very long lasting cutting edge and not a bear to sharpen, not at all. They have also the Ginsanko (a San Mai steel, surnamed "silver steel"), an equally amazing performer which also combines razor sharpness, lasting edge and ease of sharpening. No need to go carbon for an amazing cutter (but I admit Hitachi white (shirogami) and Hitachi blue (aogami) make for incredible cutters). And to round it up, I think the Kai Shun Classic offer is a great and very solid value. Pricy, for sure, but the two I have look like new after two years of daily use. Interestingly, for the Kai price, you might find a handcrafted or even custom knife. If you value something more rootsy, less industrial, than Kai, I'd say : go for it !
 
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