Collecting the Best Japanese Knives for Your Kitchen

The Japanese have a legendary swordmaking tradition that spans hundreds of years. To this day, their continuing devotion to craftsmanship, beauty, and efficiency is well-known among knifemakers. The best Japanese knives have their own sense of function and aesthetics, and you may even find these types of knives manufacturedby US and European brands.

There are of course several different types of Japanese knives, just as there are different types of western knives. However, Japanese knives are a little bit different because they are intended for a different set of typical dishes to prepare. 

For the most part, Japanese chefs require knives that are designed for more delicate cutting, and because of the delicacy of the cuts, the knives they use are much lighter. Japanese knives are also designed to be sharper, so they are generally made from tougher steel so that they don’t lose their sharpness over the course of a single day.

So how do you come up with the best Japanese knives for your kitchen? Take a look at our top picks so you can say sayonara to any sort of problems when you make sushi—or any type of gourmet dish at home. 

9 Best Japanese Knives - Comparisons

The Gyutou resembles a western chef’s knife quite a bit, and just like a chef’s knife, this one is also a multi-purpose tool. You can use it slice your meat and fish, as well as your vegetables. It has a long and thin blade, which offers a lot of agility. It’s best suited for precision work such as mincing, rather than cutting through bone and cartilage or through larger pieces of meat.

This knife is available in several different lengths, ranging from 7 and 8.2 inches up to 9.4 and 10.5 inches. The UX10 is the top of the line knife model from Misono, no wonder it’s a favorite among professional chefs all over the world.

The knife’s blade is made from Swedish stain-resistant steel with a hardness rating of 59-60 on the Rockwell scale, and it’s sharper because of its asymmetrical edge. It comes to you sharp right at the get-go and you can make very thin slices with this, with the slices falling easily from the blade. It’s triple-riveted to the handle, which is made of composite wood.

What if you prefer a Japanese “Wa” handle on your Gyuto knife? If that’s the case, then you may want to take a look at this Yoshihiro knife. It has an octagon-shaped handle made from natural magnolia, and it also features a water buffalo horn bolster. 

Of course, the whole knife itself is a marvel. That’s unsurprising when you find out that the Yoshiro Cutlery brand has more than a century of history, and they only started offering their knives to the world outside Japan in 2008. Their artisan craftsmen use techniques originatingfrom 14th-century Japanese sword making.

The blade of this thin knife is made from AUS-8 Inox molybdenum stainless steel and it is incredibly sharp. Just don’t use it on bones and frozen foods, and you’re good. 

The Santoku knife is another great multipurpose Japanese knife. Now you can try out the Misono UX10 Santoku, which it’s excellent, though a bit pricey.But what if you want to get an extremely affordable Japanese knife that’s made by a US-brand? If that’s the case, then this Kershaw Santoku knife is a great option. 

The price may startle you at first—because it’s so low. You may not realize how affordable this knife is, especially when you just take a look at it. It’s distinctive with its black overall look (that includes the blade), and it sure doesn’t look cheap.

The blade is 6.5 inches long, and it’s made of stainless steel with high carbon content for extra toughness. It’s extremely sharp, and the carbon content allows the blade to retain that sharp edge for a longer period of time.

And don’t worry about the resin on the blade—it’s food-grade and approved by the FDA. But not just it’s there for the looks,it also gives the blade a non-stick capability.Its color will remind you about cross-contamination, so you won’t use the knife on meat and then follow it up by using it on your veggies.

The blade design features the typical hollow indentations around the edge of the blade that helps with food release and easier cutting. It’s a very nimble Santoku knife due to the light weight and shorter length of the blade, but be careful, the blade comes with a 16-degree cutting angle on each side, and it’s very sharp indeed. This comes with a nicely ergonomic handle along with a sheath.

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Shun is one of the premier knife brands among Japanese knives, and they combine exquisite designs with ruthless functional efficiency. If you have the budget for it, you can solve your collection problem simply by getting a set of Shun kitchen knives and call it a day. 

This knife is a superb example of Shun craftsmanship. This is a nakiri knife, and its traditional use is for chopping, dicing, and slicing vegetables. Nakiris tend to resemble a short cleaver. The nakiri form measures 11 inches long overall with a 2-inch width, and the blade is 6.5 inches long. 

You will certainly notice the wavy lines on the blade characteristic of the Damascus look. That’s due to the 16 layers of stainless steel around the blade on each side. These layers add to the strength and flexibility of the blade, while they also boost the blade’s resistance to corrosion.

The blade core itself is made from premium VG-10 stainless steel with high amounts of carbon to make sure that the blade retains its sharp edge for a long time. It sure is sharp, and that’s also due to the 16-degree cutting angle. Slicing with this knife is much easier thanks to the microscopic air pockets that minimize the friction when you slice.

The wooden handle is just as beautiful, as it’s made from resin-impregnated pakkawood. It’s NSF-certified for use in commercial establishments, so it’s certainly suitable for home use. It’s available in the standard D-shaped handle, but you can get it in reverse if you’re left-handed. 

This one is also available at 9.4 inches, but you may want to go with the 10.5-inch version instead. The Sujihiki is expressly suited for slicing boneless protein such as meat, fish, and poultry. The blade is long and narrow, and its short height reduces the friction you encounter so can make really thin slices. You can even use this knife for some fruits such as watermelons.

The blade of this Tojiro model is made fromVG-10 stain-resistant steel. It is double-edged so it can be used by both left and right-handed chefs. They come to you sharp right out of the box, and with its60 Rockwell hardness rating it will stay sharp for a long time. The handle is made from composite wood, and it’s shaped to fit your fingers better.

A Japanese petty knife can range from 3.5 to 8 inches in length, though you may want to go for something in the middle. In terms of function, it’s basically used like western utility or paring knives. The Yoshihiro version looks gorgeous, but its main selling point is its undeniable effectiveness.

The blade core is made from high carbon Blue Steel #2 that has a Rockwell rating of 62 to 63. The edge can get really sharp, and with its hardness you can be sure that it stays sharp for a very long time.

The core is then sandwiched between 2 layers of softer stainless steel. This cladding process gives the knife its distinctively elegant look, but there’s more to it than just aesthetics. The cladding layers increase the blade’s resistance to corrosion, plus they reduce the friction you feel when you make your cuts. These layers also prevent the food bits from sticking to the blade.

The handle is made from classy pakkawood and it extends to the full tang of the blade. It’s been shaped ergonomically so that it fits your hand nicely for effortless and comfortable use. 

This sashimi knife has long been available in Japan exclusively, and before chefs had to make a pilgrimage to the country of they wanted to buy it. And those who did have it, babied this particular knife for many years because it’s outstanding at what it does. Now it’s available for international buyers online.

The blade of this knife is made from an extremely hard type steel with a high carbon content that pushes its Rockwell rating all the way to 62 to 63. This shiro-ko (white iron) material is not stainless steel, which explains the need for coddling for the knife. The knife also comes with a wooden handle, a water buffalo horn bolster, and a wooden knife cover too. 

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Many premium Japanese knives also have premium prices, and sometimes the price of an entire set is hefty enough to give you a heart attack. But that doesn’t mean that those with a limited budget can’t have their own Japanese kitchen knives. This set from Ginsu is a prime example, as the price of the whole thing is only half the price of a single premium Japanese knife.

This set doesn’t look cheap, however. All of the knives look great, and you get 8 different knives at one go. There’s the 8-inch chef’s knife, a 7-inch Santoku, a 5-inch utility knife and another 5-inch utility knife with a serrated edge, a 3.5-inch paring knife, and even kitchen shears. The set comes with a honing rod to maintain the sharp edges of the knives, and they’re all contained in an elegant bamboo-finish block.

These are all forged knives, with their blades made from 420J2 Japanese stainless-steel. The blade, bolster, and tang are all made from a single piece of steel, which makes these knives strong and well-balanced. They have traditional Japanese handles that are resistant to heat and water. 

Japanese knives aren’t just about food preparation. They also have exceptional steak knives that can rival their western counterparts in effectiveness and beauty. The Enso knives are a good example of that. Available in sets of 2 to 6, these Enso steak knives can really mark a special occasion and impress your dinner guests.

The blade is 5.5 inches long, and the edge is plain and isn’t serrated. This results in very clean cuts, and it also makes resharpening the blade easier. Not that you’ll need to sharpen these any time soon—with their VG-10 blade core you will have a sharp edge that stays that way for a long while. Their hardness rating comes in at 61 on the Rockwell scale.

That blade core has been clad with 37 layers of stainless steel, and this gives you that hammered finish Damascus look that will enchant you and your guests. The double-bevel edge also allows both left and right-handed people to use these knives. The black handle is made from Micarta, which resembles the look and feel of wood—only with Micarta, you won’t need to worry about cracking.

Final Verdict

There are very good reasons why Japanese knives are becoming much more popular these days. They deliver amazing results, and they can offer an aesthetic that’s quite entrancing. Yet the price range can vary so that even those with limited budgets can avail them. Try out some of the best Japanese knives listed here, and don’t be surprised when they become your favorite go-to knives instead of western ones. Buy one, and you may end up with a bunch them in the end!

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