Kitchen & Knives

Japanese kitchen knives are made for a particular cut. A deba is thick at the spine and takes the weight of breaking down fish; a yanagiba is long and thin for slicing sashimi in one pull; a nakiri is straight-edged for vegetables. Most traditional knives are single-bevel, ground on one side, which is why we note whether a knife is for right- or left-handed use. The steel matters too: carbon steels such as Shirogami and Aogami take a very sharp edge and need drying after use, while stainless steels forgive a busy kitchen. Many of our knives carry a maker's name or a brand stamp, such as Sakai Genkichi or Seki Magoroku, and some come with their original box or model number. Sizes are given in millimetres of blade length. Every knife here is sourced in Japan and described as we found it, with the condition of the edge, handle and blade noted in the listing. Sharpening on a whetstone keeps a good knife working for decades, and we list natural stones separately.