Sushi knives?

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Eight Trigrams

Joined
Sep 10, 2006
Messages
226
So I just got offered a job at an upscale restaurant training in as a sushi chef. I'm pleased as punch about it. However, one of the stipulations of the job is that I provide my own knives. Seeing as how I've never bought a piece of kitchen cutlery in my life (much less something to professionally use in a sushi kitchen), I could use some advice. So could you fine folks point me in the direction of some good, AFFORDABLE knives for the beginning sushi preparer? And also appreciated would be a good method of transporting them, since I'll be riding public transportation to and from work. Thanks in advance!
 
Forschner (Victorinox) kitchen cutlery is always a good bet when asked for inexpensive and quality kitchen knives. For transportation, a cheap hard briefcase and some foam should do you.
 
What's affordable to you? I spent $175 on an 8" Chef's Knife with ZDP-189. I found it to be a much better investment than any folder I've bought thus far. I found a nice Tojiro Zen Deba Knife 4.5" for about $50(not including shipping). Steel should be VG-10 laminated at Rc 60. For just sushi I think 4.5" is plenty, and it has a wooden handle so it won't weigh down on you after 8 hours of use.

As for transportation, I can only suggest carrying the knife in a bag(your choice between a plastic bag and a schoolbag as I assume you'll need one to carry your uniform) in its original box.
 
Shun knives classic series [ www.kershawknives.com] are a good start . They are VG-10 core with 'damascus ' on the outside. That's a very good steel and thin blades which you do need. You can use a butcher's steel to sharpen or a ceramic rod. Once you get beyond the beginner stage you might try a blade with chisel grind .
 
Try having a look at the japanesechefsknife site, they have a wide range of kitchen cutlery for just the sort of stuff you will be doing.
 
The best value WILL be a hand forged Japanese laminated blade. I can't remember many names, but Wantanabe and Yoshikane come to mind. Similar prices to production VG-10 blades, but harder steel, superior geometry and soul.
 
Henckles/Miyabi has some great sushi knives; http://www.miyabi.eu/miyabi_fx.html I have a Yanagiba for slicing duties and it preforms very well. The 5000s series is the cheaper i think... If these are too expensive and you have a China town where you are there are several Japanese made laminate steel sushi knives that are around 40-60$ each: http://www.jlifeinternational.com/Tableware/TA063.html I have a couple of these too and to be honest, they seem to work just as well as the name brand knives they just have a cheap build quality that may not hold up in a professional kitchen. They don't hold an edge as well either but I seem to have to sharpen all my sushi knives regularly anyway. (a good Japanese water stone is a must)
 
Go to a knife store or a Restaurant supply store, either should sell a folding bag or case for knives. If you want to look like a pro, get a knife case that you can afford, and grow into.
The first knife you buy, won't be your last, so get something decent. Wait a little while, keep learning, and you'll know what to get down the road.
 
Look at the Shun Wasabi line of knives. Very sharp, comfortable handles, and a good price point. Only think I would do it take some wet/dry sandpaper and get rid of the beadblast they put on the blade. I bought my father in law one for Christmas, and it has become his favorite knife for the kitchen.
 
Ask your boss exactly what knives (style) he wants you to get. They're are dozens of options, so giving you a price or maker is pointless untill you know what you need to buy.

BTW, 99.9% of them are machine forged, so don't let the idea of being "hand forged" ( some old guy with a hammer in his hand pounding on hot steel) get you all excited.

if you will be buying single bevel blades ( yanagi, deba, usuba ) you sill need to learn how to maintain them with a stone- a traditional "steel" will ruin them.
 
SShepherd said:
Ask your boss exactly what knives (style) he wants you to get. They're are dozens of options, so giving you a price or maker is pointless untill you know what you need to buy.

BTW, 99.9% of them are machine forged, so don't let the idea of being "hand forged" ( some old guy with a hammer in his hand pounding on hot steel) get you all excited.

if you will be buying single bevel blades ( yanagi, deba, usuba ) you sill need to learn how to maintain them with a stone- a traditional "steel" will ruin them.
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Best advice so far in this thread. Your boss will know what some good starter knives are, and he'll be able to show you how to take good care of them. This is sort of like asking " what sword should I get for iaido? " The answer is the same--your sensei knows best. :D

Congrats on the job. :cool:
 
SShepherd said:
Ask your boss exactly what knives (style) he wants you to get. They're are dozens of options, so giving you a price or maker is pointless untill you know what you need to buy.

BTW, 99.9% of them are machine forged, so don't let the idea of being "hand forged" ( some old guy with a hammer in his hand pounding on hot steel) get you all excited.

if you will be buying single bevel blades ( yanagi, deba, usuba ) you sill need to learn how to maintain them with a stone- a traditional "steel" will ruin them.
Click to expand...

Agree best suggestion so far. Also ask the chefs if they have old knives that they want to sell.

Folks: a Yanagi sashimi knife is far from being simply a "Japanese" kitchen knife. It is specialized for preparation of raw fish and is very long & slender so you can cut the tender fish in one stroke without damaging the flesh. "Kitchen" knives aren't the same thing at all, even if they are "Japanese".
 
Wow. Usually when I post a question on here I get 2-3 responses max. The amount of advice I'm recieving is neat. Keep it up. :D

As for asking the boss... I tried. Twice. He was very vague both times. His response pretty much boiled down to "personal preference". I even asked about the single-bevel chisel grind popular on a lot of Japanese kitchen knives, and he said that some sashimi chefs prefer them, but again, personal preference. Having only worked with cheap, plastic-handled, restaurant-owned, "professionally sharpened" (barf) chef's knives, I'm kinda at a loss for what will best suit me. I was initially thinking Shun just because I've really liked the Kershaws that I've owned, but looking at that Japanese Chef's Knives website has got me thinking of getting something more traditional. Argh! Life is tough.
 
Are you sure that this is a guy you want to study under?

Traditional sushi chef skills comes from a apprentice-like relationship between the chef and the novice. He is supposed to impart his knowledge to you by having you perform techniques repeatedly. He is supposed to show you the right way to do things, including how to buy the fish.

You have any other options for jobs?
 
Eight Trigrams said:
Wow. Usually when I post a question on here I get 2-3 responses max. The amount of advice I'm recieving is neat. Keep it up. :D

As for asking the boss... I tried. Twice. He was very vague both times. His response pretty much boiled down to "personal preference". I even asked about the single-bevel chisel grind popular on a lot of Japanese kitchen knives, and he said that some sashimi chefs prefer them, but again, personal preference. Having only worked with cheap, plastic-handled, restaurant-owned, "professionally sharpened" (barf) chef's knives, I'm kinda at a loss for what will best suit me. I was initially thinking Shun just because I've really liked the Kershaws that I've owned, but looking at that Japanese Chef's Knives website has got me thinking of getting something more traditional. Argh! Life is tough.
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if you have no experience with non-stainless (carbon steel) knives, don't buy any. wait until you fully learn your craft to even consider them.

something important to think about is how are you going to keep your knives sharp? the chef's you work with could probably help you with that.

as a sushi chef your two main knives are going to be a long slicer and a heavier knife to break fish down.

for a long slicer, the Tojiro DP Sujihiki (270mm) should be a good choice.

for breaking down fish, something as simple as a forschner 8" chefs knife should work pretty well. you can always add 7" fillet knife.
 
Okay... after reading a lot of Japanese cutlery-related stuff I'm narrowing my choices down a lot. I know I want to get a yanagiba of some type. To anyone whose used one to make a lot of sashimi here, what length should I go with? 270mm or 300?
 
Eight Trigrams said:
Okay... after reading a lot of Japanese cutlery-related stuff I'm narrowing my choices down a lot. I know I want to get a yanagiba of some type. To anyone whose used one to make a lot of sashimi here, what length should I go with? 270mm or 300?
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IMO, for a slicer you shouldn't go smaller than 270mm and that size will work well. 300mm is usually better, but that will also depend on if 300mm feels better in your hand.

Most yanagiba's are carbon steel and you'll have to get use to having a non-stainless knife. If you want stainless, take a look at the shun 10.5" Yanagiba. If you want to go traditional (non-stainless) I can make some recommendations.

a sujihiki will also do a very good job slicing, so that's also something to consider.
 
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