Unknowndivide may earn a commission from purchases made through links in this post.
Walk into any kitchen shop and the knife wall can look like a puzzle. There are long blades and short ones, pointed tips and square ones, smooth edges and serrated ones, plus Japanese names like santoku, nakiri and yanagiba that rarely come with an explanation. The good news is that every shape exists for a reason. Once you know what each type of kitchen knife is built to do, it gets much easier to pick the two or three you will actually use.
This guide draws on the blade shape notes published by Shun, the Japanese knife brand made in Seki, Japan, along with the knife making history of Tojiro in Tsubame-Sanjo.
The three essentials
Most cooks can handle nearly every job with three knives. Shun calls these the core of a kitchen lineup.
- Chef's knife. If there is one knife no cook can be without, this is it. It is an all purpose blade for slicing and dicing small to medium sized fruits, vegetables and other foods. Its curved belly lets you gently rock the blade through fresh herbs or spices for a very fine mince.
- Utility knife. In size it sits between a chef's knife and a paring knife, which makes it ideal for the in between tasks, like slicing a sandwich tomato or trimming a single chicken breast.
- Paring knife. The name comes from its main function: removing, or paring away, things like peels from fruits and vegetables. It is also the knife for coring, trimming, decorating and other detail work.
If you buy only one good knife, make it a chef's knife. The Japanese version is called a gyuto, and it does the same all purpose job. Our post on the Tojiro Classic DP gyuto is a good place to start.
Santoku
The santoku is the knife most often compared with the chef's knife. Shun describes it as an Asian inspired knife of many talents that easily handles all the basic cutting tasks. It is slightly shorter than a standard chef's knife, which makes it light, agile and very easy to maneuver.
The practical choice comes down to feel. The chef's knife has that curved belly for rocking cuts and a little more length for larger produce. The santoku gives up a bit of length in exchange for lightness and agility, which can make it feel easier to control on a small board or for quick weeknight prep. Neither is better. They are two answers to the same question, so pick the one that feels natural in your hand.
Nakiri
The nakiri is the Japanese vegetable knife. It has a straight blade, a straight edge and a straight spine, which gives it a rectangular look. Because the edge is flat, Shun notes that the nakiri is not rocked like a chef's knife. Instead you use a simple push cut, down and forward. That full length contact with the board means each slice goes all the way through, so you are not left with a chain of half cut scallions. If you cook a lot of vegetables, it is one of the most satisfying knives to own.
Kiritsuke
The kiritsuke is known as the Japanese master's knife. It is recognizable by its angled, downturned tip, and it is used for a wide variety of tasks, much like a chef's knife. Shun says it works extremely well with vegetables and slices proteins with grace and ease. It makes a handsome second knife once you have a chef's knife or santoku you trust.
Yanagiba
The yanagiba is the classic sushi and sashimi knife. It is long and slender and most often used for slicing raw fish for sashimi and for slicing sushi rolls, though it also works for a variety of proteins. It is a single bevel blade, which means the edge is ground on one side only. That gives it remarkable sharpness and clean cuts that reduce the loss of natural juices. The technique is different too: Shun advises gently pulling the blade through the food and letting the weight of the knife do the cutting.
Honesuki
The honesuki is a small, triangular Japanese blade for boning poultry and trimming meat, which Shun sells as its Asian Multi-Prep knife. The narrow tip maneuvers around bones and between joints, while the wider end makes quick work of slicing shallots or trimming green beans. It offers a high level of control for small to medium sized foods, so it can stand in for a paring or utility knife on many jobs.
Bread and slicing knives
- Bread knife. If you bake or buy whole loaves, this will be one of your most used tools. Shun uses wide serrations that let the knife cut through a loaf without crushing it and with fewer crumbs.
- Slicing knife. Long and narrow, it makes even slices of roasts and other proteins without sawing. A clean cut keeps more of the juices inside the meat.
- Boning and fillet knives. A narrow, sharp, curved blade gets in close to separate meat from bone, while a flexible fillet blade conforms to the ribs of a fish.
Single bevel and double bevel
Bevel describes how the edge is ground. A double bevel knife is sharpened on both sides of the edge. Tojiro, for example, describes its DP gyuto as double beveled and sharpened by hand. A single bevel blade like the yanagiba is ground on one side only, and Shun credits that design with its incredible sharpness and clean cuts. Single bevel knives also call for their own care and sharpening routines, so if you are new to Japanese knives, a double bevel chef's knife or santoku is the easier place to start.
How to choose
Start with a chef's knife or a santoku, depending on whether you prefer rocking or push cutting. Add a paring knife for detail work and a bread knife if you buy crusty loaves. After that, add specialty shapes like a nakiri or honesuki only when you notice a job your current knives do poorly. A small set of good knives that you keep sharp will always beat a big block of dull ones.
If the santoku sounds like your style, the Tojiro santoku is a well made, easy care option from the same Tsubame-Sanjo maker behind the DP gyuto.
Keep reading with our guide to Japanese chef's knives, the all steel Global G-2 and the German Wusthof Classic 8 inch chef's knife. For more, browse our buying guides.
