Japanese kitchen knives - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

There are a number of different types of Japanese kitchen knives. The most commonly used types in the Japanese kitchen are the deba bocho
Deba bocho
Deba bocho are Japanese style kitchen carvers used to cut fish, as well as chicken and meat. They come in different sizes, sometimes up to 30 cm in length. The deba bocho first appeared during the Edo period in Sakai. It is designed to behead and fillet fish...

(kitchen cleaver), the santoku
Santoku
The Santoku hōchō or Bunka hōchō is a general-purpose kitchen knife originating in Japan. Its blade is typically between long, and has a flat edge and a sheepsfoot blade that curves in an angle approaching 60 degrees at the point. The top of the santoku's handle is in line with the top of the...

hocho (all-purpose utility knife), the nakiri bocho
Nakiri bocho
Nakiri bōchō and usuba bōchō are Japanese-style vegetable knives. They differ from the deba bōchō in their shape, as they have a straight blade edge suitable for cutting all the way to the cutting board without the need for a horizontal pull or push. These knives are also much thinner...

and usuba hocho (Japanese vegetable knives), and the tako hiki and yanagi ba (sashimi

Sashimi

Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat, most commonly fish, sliced into thin pieces.-Origin:The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e...

slicers).

Types of Japanese kitchen knives

There are two classes of traditional Japanese knife forging methods: honyaki

Honyaki

Honyaki knives are forged from one single material, usually high-carbon steel. The finest honyaki are then differentially-hardened, the same method used for traditional katana. Their sharpness is the longest lasting of all Japanese blades. They are extremely difficult to forge, requiring a high...

and kasumi

Kasumi

Kasumi is a Japanese given name. It literally translates to "Mist".Places:* Kasumi, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan* Kasumigaseki , a district in downtown TokyoPeople:...

. The class is based on the method and material used in forging the knife. Honyaki

Honyaki

are true-forged knives, made entirely of one material: high-carbon steel. Kasumi are made from two materials, like samurai swords: high-carbon steel and soft iron forged together (known as san mai blades), with the steel forming the blade's edge and the iron forming the blade's body and spine. Honyaki

Honyaki

and kasumi knives can be forged out of steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

. Based on their kirenaga (duration of sharpness) and hardness, however they are more difficult to use and maintain. Additionally, there are high-grade quality kasumi knives called hongasumi and layered-steel kasumi called Damascus

Damascus steel

Damascus steel was a term used by several Western cultures from the Medieval period onward to describe a type of steel used in swordmaking from about 300 BCE to 1700 CE. These swords are characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water...

that have longer kirenaga.

Originally, all Japanese kitchen knives were made from the same carbon steel as katana

Katana

A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...

. More expensive san mai knives have a similar quality, containing an inner core of hard and brittle

Brittle

A material is brittle if, when subjected to stress, it breaks without significant deformation . Brittle materials absorb relatively little energy prior to fracture, even those of high strength. Breaking is often accompanied by a snapping sound. Brittle materials include most ceramics and glasses ...

carbon steel, with a thick layer of soft and more ductile

Ductility

In materials science, ductility is a solid material's ability to deform under tensile stress; this is often characterized by the material's ability to be stretched into a wire. Malleability, a similar property, is a material's ability to deform under compressive stress; this is often characterized...

steel sandwiched around the core so that the hard steel is exposed only at the cutting edge. Nowadays stainless steel

Stainless steel

In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....

is often used for Japanese kitchen knives, and san mai laminated blade construction is used in more expensive blades to add corrosion resistance while maintaining strength and durability.

Japanese cutlery production

Much high-quality Japanese cutlery originates from Sakai

Sakai, Osaka

is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the Medieval era.Following the February 2005 annexation of the town of Mihara, from Minamikawachi District, the city has grown further and is now the fourteenth most populous city in...

, the capital of samurai sword manufacturing since the 14th century. After the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, the carrying of swords by the samurai class was banned as part of an attempt to modernise Japan. Though demand for military swords remained and some swordsmiths still produced traditional samurai swords as art, the majority of swordsmiths refocused their skill to cutlery production.

The production of steel knives in Sakai started in the 16th century, when tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

was introduced to Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

by the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, and Sakai craftsmen started to make knives for cutting tobacco. The Sakai knives industry received a major boost from the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

(1603–1868), which granted Sakai a special seal of approval

Trademark

A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

and enhanced its reputation for quality (and according to some references a monopoly

Monopoly

A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...

).

During the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

(1603–1867) (or more precisely the Genroku

Genroku

was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. This period spanned the years from September 1688 through March 1704. The reigning emperor was .The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo Period. The previous hundred years of peace and seclusion in Japan had created relative...

era (1688–1704)) the first deba bocho

Deba bocho

Deba bocho are Japanese style kitchen carvers used to cut fish, as well as chicken and meat. They come in different sizes, sometimes up to 30 cm in length. The deba bocho first appeared during the Edo period in Sakai. It is designed to behead and fillet fish...

were manufactured, soon followed by a wide range of other styles. Making kitchen knives and related products is still a major industry in Sakai, using a combination of modern machinery and traditional hand tools to make stain-resistant carbon steel blades.

Seki, Gifu

Seki, Gifu

is a city located in Gifu, Japan.The city was founded on October 15, 1950.On February 7, 2005, the municipalities of Horado, Itadori, Kaminoho, Mugegawa and Mugi, all part of Mugi District, were merged into the present-day city...

is today considered the home of modern Japanese kitchen cutlery, where state-of-the-art manufacturing and technology has updated ancient forging skills to produce a world-class series of stainless and laminated steel kitchen knives famed throughout the world. The major cutlery making companies are based in Seki, and they produce the highest quality kitchen knives in the traditional Japanese style and the western style, like the gyuto and the santoku

Santoku

The Santoku hōchō or Bunka hōchō is a general-purpose kitchen knife originating in Japan. Its blade is typically between long, and has a flat edge and a sheepsfoot blade that curves in an angle approaching 60 degrees at the point. The top of the santoku's handle is in line with the top of the...

. Knives and swords are so much a part of the city that it is home of the Seki Cutlery Association, the Seki Swordsmith Museum, the Seki Outdoor Knife Show, the October Cutlery Festival, and the Cutlery Hall where tourists can purchase knives.

Another famous center for traditional blacksmiths and knifesmiths is Miki City. Miki is well known to all of Japan for its knifemaking traditions, and its knives and tools recall the pride of Japanese steelmaking. Most Miki manufacturers are small family businesses where craftsmanship is more important than volume and typically produce fewer than a dozen knives a day.

Japanese cutlery design and philosophy

Unlike western knives, Japanese knives are often single ground

Grind

The grind of a blade refers to the shape of the cross-section of the blade. It is distinct from the type of blade , though different tools and blades may have lent their name to a particular grind.Grinding involves removing significant portions of metal from the blade and is thus distinct from...

, i.e., sharpened so that only one side holds the cutting edge. As shown in the image, some Japanese knives are angled from both sides, and others are angled only from one side, with the other side of the blade being flat. It was originally believed that a blade angled only on one side cuts better and makes cleaner cuts, though requiring more skill in its use than a blade with a double-beveled edge. Usually, the right hand side of the blade is angled, as most people use the knife with their right hand, with ratios ranging from 70–30 for the average chef's knife, to 90–10 for professional sushi

Sushi

is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...

chef knives; left-handed

Left-handed

Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...

models are rare and must be specially ordered and custom made.

Since the end of World War II, western-style double-beveled edged knives have become much more popular in Japan, the best example being that of the santoku

Santoku

, an adaptation of the , the French chef's knife

Chef's knife

In cooking, a chef's knife, also known as a French knife or a cook's knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation. The chef's knife was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef...

. While these knives are usually honed and sharpened on both sides, their blades are still given Japanese-style acute-angle cutting edges with a very hard temper to increase cutting ability.

Professional Japanese cooks usually own their personal set of knives, which are not used by other cooks. Some cooks even own two sets of knives, which they alternate every other day. After sharpening

Sharpening

Sharpening is the process of creating or refining a sharp edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. Sharpening is done by grinding away material on the implement with an abrasive substance harder than the material of the implement, followed sometimes by processes to...

a carbon-steel knife in the evening after use, the user normally lets the knife "rest" for a day to restore its patina

Patina

Patina is a tarnish that forms on the surface of bronze and similar metals ; a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure...

and remove any metallic odour or taste that might otherwise be passed on to the food.

Japanese knives feature subtle variations on the chisel grind: firstly, the back side of the blade is often concave, to reduce drag and adhesion so the food separates more cleanly; this feature is known as urasuki. Secondly, the kanisaki deba, used for cutting crab and other shellfish, has the grind on the opposite side (left side angled for right-handed use), so that the meat is not cut when chopping the shell.

External links

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Types of Japanese kitchen knives

Japanese cutlery production

Japanese cutlery design and philosophy

See also

Further reading

External links