JAPANESE DESIGNS

Unlike European kitchen knives, which are mostly "all-rounders" and can  be used for many different purposes in the kitchen, Japanese kitchen  knives are specialized for specific tasks and accordingly designed.  There are special knives for processing vegetables, such as the Nakiri,  or for raw fish, such as the Yanagi-ba or Sashimi. A good Japanese  all-round knife is, for example, the Deba.

Japanese chef's knives are renowned for their size and straight blade. The tip is usually highly pointed and features a kink towards the spine of the blade. This unique design enables the cook to use the knife for more delicate work such as filleting or getting under sinews or bones. Japanese knives are used in a slightly different, more pulling manner for cutting motions.

The handles of Japanese chef's knives are usually straight, although I make some handles as a crossover with a more European, curved handle. All handles are full tang, meaning that the blade and handle are made from the same piece of hardened steel, resulting in an unbreakable tool. Although the full tang steel cannot be seen, it is hidden under a liner, but it still extends from the tip to the butt.

A classic Japanese chef's knife typically ranges in length from 8 to 10 inches (approximately 20 to 25 cm), although shorter versions and paring knives are also available in the same design style.

All Japanese chef's knife blades are hardened, oil-quenched, tempered, etched, and polished to ensure optimal performance. The blades feature a 17° cutting edge, which is typical for this type of knife.

Japanese knives sometimes have a one-sided cutting edge (different for left-handed and right-handed people), which can be problematic for chefs used to the classical double-sided cutting edge. However, when not otherwise stated, Elven Blades Japanese knives have a classical double-sided edge for ambidextrous use.

Design "Santoku"