A Guide to Japanese Knife Shapes and Types

By Moon Petal

A Guide to Japanese Knife Shapes and Types

Introduction

Japanese kitchen knives are built on a simple idea: the right blade shape makes the work easier, cleaner, and more precise. 

Where many Western cooks get by with one “chef’s knife,” Japanese kitchens (especially traditional ones) tend to use a family of specialized forms — each refined over centuries for a particular task, from breaking down whole fish to turning daikon into paper‑thin ribbons.

Here, we introduce the major Japanese knife shapes and types. From double‑bevel all‑rounders like the gyuto and santoku to single‑bevel specialists such as the deba, yanagiba, and usuba, you’ll see how form follows function at the cutting board. Along the way, you’ll get a better idea of what you might need in your own kitchen, and how to choose blades that match the way you cook. 

Single bevel vs double-bevel blades

Traditional Japanese knives are often specialised for certain tasks, and tend to be single‑bevelled — sharpened on one side with a hollow ground back. This allows for extremely fine, controlled cuts for tasks like slicing sashimi, which requires much more specialised skill. A hollow back side makes for easier sharpening (great, because it will be much more frequent) and also reduces drag on moist ingredients. 

Conversely, Western knives are almost always double‑bevelled, sharpened on both sides in a symmetrical V. This gives it versatility and ease of use for a wide range of ingredients and techniques. 

However, you have probably already anticipated the exceptions to the rule above. Modern Japanese knives like santoku and gyuto are typically double-bevelled, and this is because they are designed to be versatile kitchen workhorses. 

(That being said, single-bevel gyuto and santoku do exist, and are marvellous if you can get the hang of them.)  

Another advantage of double-bevel knives is that both they can be used as is by right- and left-handed people. Single-bevel knives typically have a right- and left-hand version because of the asymmetry of the blade. 

In short: double-bevelled knives are generally more versatile. This is what you’re looking for in your main kitchen helper — the one that will handle about 80% of kitchen tasks. 

Santoku vs. gyuto

For most home cooks, it makes sense to invest in a high-quality core chef’s knife that can handle the majority of your daily kitchen prep — dicing, mincing, slicing, trimming, and more. 

Most Japanese households love santoku knives. This is a general purpose knife popular with many home cooks who have smaller hands and not very much kitchen space to work with. It has a distinctive ‘sheepsfoot’ silhouette where the spine curves down towards a rounded tip. Length-wise, the santoku caps out at 180mm (7 inches) and is overall smaller than the gyuto. It can slice, dice, and mince, making it a solid choice for the beginner and casual cook.

However, the gyuto is unequivocally the superior choice for the person who loves cooking and does it often. 

The gyuto is a true all-rounder that can move comfortably between vegetables, meat, and fish on the board. It has a hard, thin blade with a tapered, pointy tip — great for piercing and precision cutting, in addition to slicing and chopping. Plus, it comes in a variety of lengths from 210mm to 360mm. Whether your hands are tiny or Titan-sized, there’s a gyuto for you out there. 

Since the gyuto is so versatile, having this in your arsenal will allow you to evaluate all future knife purchases more sensibly. You can ask, “what can this new blade do that my gyuto can’t?” It will be the anchor of your collection, and the benchmark against which every other specialist knife will be judged. 

Flirting with fish knives

A fish knife is a fish knife is a fish knife, right? You already know it isn’t. 

While a gyuto can do most simple fish-related slicing, there comes a point where you will want a specific tool for the task.  Depending on how much fish you plan to prepare and how complicated your tasks are, you’ll want one of the following. 

Hon‑deba

  • Designed to break down whole fish with a surprising delicacy — remove heads, split collars, and lift fillets off with minimal damage to the flesh.
  • A thick, heavy, single‑bevel blade with a tall profile and robust spine (often 5–9 mm at the heel), pronounced heel, and relatively short length (about 150–210 mm for most cooks). The edge has a gentle curve toward a stout tip.
  • Not intended for fine sashimi slicing. For that, consider the yanagiba. 
  • Read more about the deba here.

Mioroshi‑deba

  • A hybrid knife that can fillet and slice fish
  • Narrower and thinner than a hon‑deba but still thicker than a yanagiba
  • Its spine is usually around 3–6 mm, with a longer, more tapered blade and a more acute tip. Resembles a cross between a deba and a long slicer.
  • Has enough stiffness and weight for careful deboning, but the slimmer profile lets it pull smoother slices from fillets, so one knife can do both breakdown and portioning. 
  • Cons: This requires more skill to wield overall, and you will still have to avoid very hard bones to avoid damaging the knife. 

Yo-deba

  • As the name suggests, this is a ‘Western’ version of the hon-deba
  • Key differences: double-bevel (sharpened on both sides), with a Western-style handle
  • The overall profile is similar to the hon-deba, but it’s a touch less thick, and sometimes a little longer (165-300mm)
  • Does the same tasks — robust fish butchery, a bit of delicate filleting, light work on softer bones and cartilage, even some meat — but handles more like a Western chef’s knife 
  • Should not be used like a cleaver on hard or frozen bones 
  • Ambidextrous by default. Hurray! 

Yanagiba

  • A dedicated sashimi and sushi slicer. 
  • A long, narrow, single‑bevel “willow‑leaf” blade, typically 240–330 mm or more, with a pointed tip and relatively tall spine at the heel that tapers toward the tip. The edge has a continuous gentle curve.
  • Definitely not used for heavy butchery or cutting through bones 
  • Read more about the yanagiba here. 

Takobiki

  • A regional variant of the yanagiba that’s popular in Eastern Japan
  • Also a sashimi knife. As the name suggests, suited to slicing large, firm ingredients like octopus, squid, and rectangular sashimi blocks 
  • Has a long, relatively narrow blade but a much straighter edge profile and a squared‑off (k-tip–like) end instead of a sharp point
  • The straight edge and squared tip help keep cuts precise and reduce the chance of piercing or tearing, especially in tight spaces at the board 

Fugubiki

  • Designed specifically for slicing fugu (blowfish) into extremely thin, translucent slices (tessa)
  • Even narrower and thinner than the yanagiba, but otherwise with a similar blade profile
  • An ultra-thin blade lets the chef glide through delicate flesh with minimal pressure
  • Almost exclusively for professional use. How often are you seriously prepping blowfish at home? 

Meet the meat knives

Japanese cuisine may have been quite fish-centric a few hundred years ago, but in the 21st century, there’s plenty of meat to contend with in everyday dishes. 

It should come as zero surprise that there are specialist knives for meat. Whether you’re prepping birds or beef, one of the following knives will get you where you need to go. 

Honesuki

  • A stiff, triangular boning knife for poultry and small butchery
  • Great for breaking down whole birds; designed to navigate poultry joints and scrape along bones without flex (so not fish bones, usually) 
  • The triangular blade is usually around 120-150mm. Has a tall heel, and a pointed, reverse‑tanto or sharply angled tip 
  • Has a thick, rigid spine that tapers quickly to a very thin edge; often single‑bevel or heavily asymmetrical 
  • Can also trim fat and bone smaller cuts but it’s not ideal for long slicing passes on large roasts 

Sujihiki 

  • This is a long, slender double-bevel knife designed for clean and effortless slicing of boneless meat, fish, and roasts – a Japanese carving knife
  • Has a long, narrow blade  (typically 240–300 mm, sometimes up to 360 mm) with a low height and a slim profile 
  • Has a slight belly, but is overall very straight compared to gyuto 
  • Its narrow blade reduces drag, so it’s ideal for long pull-cuts through brisket, carpaccio, and the like
  • It’s a finishing tool for portioning, not for breaking down a piece of meat 

Hankotsu

  • A traditional hanging-carcass boning knife
  • Ideal for stripping meat off various carcasses and bones with ease, as well as clean bones without cutting through them. You can scrape and pry, and work into tight spots. Great for heavy duty butchery tasks, like breaking down large cuts of meat.  
  • But it is definitely not for chopping through bone. Don’t do it. 
  • Has a short, stout blade (around 130–150 mm) with a very pointed tip and a nearly straight edge; narrow height, thick spine, very stiff
  • The heel flows almost straight into the handle with little or no choil, so there’s no knuckle clearance on a board. It’s meant to be used off the board, often in a reverse grip.
  • It’s less versatile than a honesuki for poultry, but superior around big red‑meat bones and for work on hanging or vertical cuts

Vegetable virtuosos

Welcome to the knife section for people who really care about getting their fruits and veg intake. (Good on ya!) 

In most situations, a santoku or gyuto will take care of the majority of veggie prep work. But for cooks going plant-based or simply looking to level up their plant preparation, the following knives are strong contenders. 

Nakiri

  • Double-bevel, and ambidextrous by default 
  • Kind of like a lighter, thinner cleaver
  • Has a straight, sharp edge that’s perfect for thin, clean, even slices 
  • Fantastic for large-volume vegetable preparation. Slice, dice, chiffonade… it does it all.  
  • A nice, user-friendly knife suited for both home cooks and professionals — almost any kitchen would benefit from having one 

Usuba

  • A traditional Japanese vegetable knife for experts and professionals
  • Single-bevel with an exceptionally fine, precise edge, ideal for ultra-delicate, razor-thin slices 
  • Used for katsuramuki (rotary peeling into long, translucent sheets), decorative cuts, and garnishes, and therefore a favourite with high-end chefs where texture and presentation matter. Did we mention this is for professionals?
  • Has a steep learning curve in terms of knife skills and sharpening techniques
  • Skip in the home kitchen unless you have nothing better to do with your time

For a full comparision on the differences between a nakiri and usuba, check out this article.

Everything else

These are the other knives you’re likely to encounter in your Japanese knife journey. We won’t go into ultra-specialist knives like soba noodle knives — are you going to open a soba noodle shop? We thought not. Stocking your home kitchen will keep you busy enough. 

Petty/paring knife

  • Think of it as a mini chef’s knife — gyuto junior, if you will 
  • This is the knife you’ll reach for when you only need to deal with a small ingredient that doesn’t warrant a whole-ass gyuto 
  • Around 90-150mm in blade length 
  • Almost always double-bevel, making it mostly ambidextrous 
  • Has a slim, relatively straight edge with a slight curve towards the tip
  • Larger than most paring knives, but smaller than a gyuto 
  • This compact knife excels at small but important tasks like peeling, coring, trimming, and prepping garnishes  
  • Its compact size makes it easy to move nimbly and seamlessly from board-focused to hand-focused tasks 
  • Use for: peeling fruit and veg, slicing small items (e.g. garlic, strawberries), mincing herbs, fine vegetable cuts, removing seeds, working on small chopping boards or minimal prep space 

Pan-kiri 

  • It’s a bread knife, Stella (but pretty light compared to Western bread knives)
  • Has a long, narrow, serrated blade usually around 210-270mm in length
  • Has continuous serrations or scallops along most of the edge—either pointed “teeth” or rounded (scalloped) gullets—specifically ground for a sawing motion
  • Designed to handle all types of bread without shredding the crust or crushing the soft crumb
  • Also good for cakes and other baked goods 
  • Bonus: also works well on foods with tough skins and soft interiors, like tomatoes, citrus, even roast meats that have crackly skin 

Kiritsuke 

  • One of the most prestigious Japanese knives to exist, traditionally reserved for head chiefs. If ever there was a knife that deserved the #chefgoalz hashtag…
  • Single-bevel, with a sword-like profile – think a cross between a yanagi and usuba —and an acute, sharply pointed K-tip that gives it an almost rakish profile  
  • At around 240-330mm, longer than most gyuto or santoku knives 
  • It’s a versatile, multi-purpose ‘master’ knife with a steep learning curve 
  • The classic kiritsuke is best for experienced chefs 
  • Modern double-bevel ‘kiritsuke gyuto’ are a more user-friendly variant