Sushi / Sashimi knife recommendations

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ubuwalker31

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Jun 16, 2008
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I finally found a frozen tuna and salmon provider near me to make sushi and sashimi 🍣. I’ve been using my 25 year old Rapala fillet knife to cut the fish, but it’s a bit too whippy. I’ve also used a longer saber style kitchen knife with some success, but it isn’t quite right.

So I decided to make the plunge and bought a cheap-o yabagiba from Amazon, which was a mistake because the tang was loose in the pakkawood handle.

So, what type of knife should I use? I’m open to buying another yabagiba from a trusted knife maker or even getting something a bit untraditional or perhaps a thicker fillet knife? Help me out here!
 
Hello, personally I use the 8in Shun Classic flexible fillet knife for chunks of fish. If it's really frozen, I use something with a bit of heft (like a nakiri). But for making sushi/sashimi, this guy does great. It's not too flexible, but just enough for me.

Edit: oops 7in...

I've seen these as low as 90$ in places.
20230513_094537.jpg
 
I've a Yanagiba made by Shinichi Watanabe in White paper steel, lovely blade and an excellent fish knife. Shinichis prices are very good imo for the craftsmanship, polished edges on his professional range with a nice hamon and the sharpness they come with puts any of our knives here to shame.
 
Yanagi =Willow. Ba-blade. Basically a "willow leaf knife" from the shape,
I use Masamoto Yanagibas in White and Blue, and there are literally countless better ones.
But for a beginner and low cost I would suggest Tojiro 240mm Yanagiba. They are avail on Amazon and CKTG, made in Japan (not China)
and to my knowledge not counterfeited. At around $100 or under, they won't offer a horn bolster, it is resin. But the handle is Ho wood
(magnolia) and the steel is White #2.

TOJIRO JAPAN » Blog Archive » TOJIRO Shirogami Steel Yanagi-Sashimi 240mm

www.tojiro-japan.com www.tojiro-japan.com
 
For someone not familiar with sharpening a yanagiba I would recommend a sujihiki.

Less expensive than a yanagi and much easier to use and sharpen due to the traditional grind.

For the same money one can usually find a higher quality sujihiki than yanagi.

One of my favorites by Konosuke (in the kiritsuke shape), and another by Anryu. Awesome slicing machines used on pounds & pounds (& pounds) of fish!

View attachment 2185659

View attachment 2185661
 
I just bought a Tojiro Shirogami Yanagiba 270mm - a longer pull cutting action is exactly what I need. I have a DMT diamond guided sharpening system…will I be able to use that to sharpen the knife?
 
Yes, but as a general rule of thumb; sharpen the chisel side about 5 strokes for every 1 stroke on the flat side.

Good length for slicing! Both the knives above are 270mm
 
That knife is a single-bevel knife. The back of the blade is flat (or longitudinally concave). You have to sharpen that side flat against the stone. The other side is where you have the bevel.

I personally would not use diamonds on white steel. You are also going to want to go up to a fairly fine grit on your finishing stone - 4000 or higher, to get a nice polished edge.

It's a different technique than a typical symmetric double bevel blade.

You might want to look at a few videos and read up a bit on it.

Here is one with your specific knife:
 
Last edited:
Follow-up: the knife arrived this week and holy cow, it is absolutely perfect. Thanks for the recommendation KenHash! It arrived wicked sharp. Very well balanced. Cut thin slices of cucumber and fish unbelievably well. *drools*
 
ubuwalker31 said:
Follow-up: the knife arrived this week and holy cow, it is absolutely perfect. Thanks for the recommendation KenHash! It arrived wicked sharp. Very well balanced. Cut thin slices of cucumber and fish unbelievably well. *drools*
Click to expand...

Great!. One word of advice, White Steel rusts very quickly. I mean like if you hand wash it and leave on a dishrack for 30 minutes wet, it will develop rust spots.
I wash my White steel knives with hot water (to expedite evaporation) and wipe dry right after washing.
If storing, I would recommend a bottle of Tsubaki Abura (Camelia oil) which food safe and used by all Japanese chefs.
If unavailable, food-safe grade Mineral Oil will also do the trick.
Despite it's low corrosion resistance, White steel knives remain the preferred tool for many professional traditional Japanese cuisine chefs for their
hardness, edge retention and abilty to take a very sharp edge. Enjoy!
 
He named it earlier: Tojiro Shirogami Yanagiba 270mm.

Google that and the top link returned has it in stock for $126. CKTG. Good company, I have done business with them quite a bit in the past.
 
I love yoshihiro, konosuke, Fujiwara. There's a lot of good brands though.

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Dergyll said:
Hello, personally I use the 8in Shun Classic flexible fillet knife for chunks of fish. If it's really frozen, I use something with a bit of heft (like a nakiri). But for making sushi/sashimi, this guy does great. It's not too flexible, but just enough for me.

Edit: oops 7in...

I've seen these as low as 90$ in places.
View attachment 2184126
Click to expand...
i am using exactly the same
 
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