Japanese Knife

Both Aritsugu (有次) and Masamoto (正本) are well-known Japanese manufacturers of high-end kitchen knives. They are popular not only among professionals, but also as kitchen knives for home use among cooking enthusiasts. Both sell a wide variety of excellent quality kitchen knives, and they are not generally considered superior or inferior. In Japan, it is said that “Masamoto in the East and Aritsugu in the West,” with Masamoto being more popular in eastern Japan and Aritsugu being more popular in western Japan, including Kyoto. However, there are some chefs in Tokyo who love Aritsugu, and vice versa. It is important to note that both Aritsugu and Masamoto have multiple brands

Popular outdoor knives in Japan were mainly products from outside Japan. Popular outdoor knives include Sweden’s Mora Knife and France’s Opinel knife. In recent years, however, there is a Japanese-made outdoor knife that has been attracting renewed attention. That is the Higonokami. Higonokami knives were used daily by elderly Japanese people as children for pencil sharpeners, crafts, and other purposes. However, since knives are now considered dangerous, they are rarely seen in modern Japan. In the meantime, the French magazine “PANORAMA” featured Higonokami knives in 2012, which brought Higonokami back into the spotlight worldwide. Not only do people collect these knives with nostalgia, but they are also reputed to be

Shapton whetstones are popular among professionals in Japan. They have several outstanding features that set them apart from other whetstones. I have one of these (not “Ha No Kuromaku” but one for home use) and love using it because I am in love with its features. In this post, I’ll introduce three features that set Shapton whetstones (for example, Ha No Kuromaku) apart from the rest. Sharpen right away In general, whetstones cannot be used immediately. Before sharpening a knife, the whetstone must be soaked in water for about 20 minutes until no air bubbles appear. Shapton whetstones, however, are less porous and can be used immediately, eliminating this time.

The most common all-purpose kitchen knives are either Santoku knives or Chef’s Knives (or Gyuto “牛刀” in Japanese). In Japanese households, it seems that many people use santoku knives. The top image shows the chef’s knife at the top and the santoku knife at the bottom. Which type of knife is superior? In conclusion, it is a matter of preference. However, each has its own characteristics. What is a chef’s knife? Chef’s knife is a western style knife used worldwide. It is suitable for cutting chunks of meat, but can also be used to cut vegetables. What is a Santoku knife? Santoku (三徳) means “three uses,” indicating that it can

I would like to introduce Glestain knives, which, along with Misono, are the favorite among professional chefs in Japan. Overview of Glestain Glestain is a knife brand manufactured and sold by HOMMA SCIENCE CO. LTD in Niigata, Japan. It was founded in 1971, which is a relatively short history for a Japanese knife brand. Glestain is not a major brand of kitchen knives for home use, but it has an established reputation among professional chefs. Today, it is as popular as Misono as a Western-style knife (there are two types of Japanese kitchen knives: Japanese knives used by traditional Japanese cooks and Western-style knives used by Western cooks). Glestain knives

What kind of Japanese knives are selling well on Amazon.com? When I checked Amazon.com with this in mind, I was surprised to find many fake brand-name Japanese kitchen knives for sale. They may have the same or similar names as famous Japanese kitchen knife brands, but their logos are obviously different. When I searched for “Japaese knife” on Amazon.com, of the 72 products listed on the top page, only 6 were authentic Japanese products that I was aware of. Worse, there were no Japanese knives selected in AMAZON’S CHOICE products. Does it matter if it is made in Japan or not? Some of the fake Japanese-style knives sold on Amazon.com

I was browsing Amazon and found an obvious fake brand product. (This item has been removed and no images are available.) This product, which claims to be a Jikko brand premium kitchen knife, looks strange to me, a Japanese person. First of all, there is indeed a Jikko knife store in Osaka, Japan. The following URL is the official website (in English version). https://jikkocutlery.com/ However, jikko knives are not sold on Amazon. Also, “Jikko” is usually written in kanji (i.e. 實光), not hiragana. If it is written in hiragana, it should be “じっこう”, not “じっこ”. And the logo of the official site and the one of the Amazon product are

In Japan, there is a type of knife that is suitable for cutting vegetables. It is called a nakiri knife (“nakiri” 菜切 means cutting vegetables). It has a wide, thin blade and can be used for everything from peeling to shredding vegetables. Although there are many nakiri knives available on Amazon.com, most of them are not Japanese knives, but similar ones made in China. Below is a list of authentic Japanese vegetable cutting knives, in order from highest to lowest (click on each image to go to Amazon.com). Masamoto nakiri KAI Shun nakiri KAI nakiri Tojiro nakiri KAI Seki Magoroku nakiri But in reality, not many people in Japan use

In order to keep your knives sharp, you need to maintain them. The knife sharpeners (like the following item) are useful, but it is the whetstone that keeps them sharper. In this article, I will show you how to choose a whetstone. In Japan, there are many craftsmen called “togi-shi” (blade sharpener), who take care of knives and other cutlery for sharpening. These blade sharpeners use several types of whetstones with different roughness. Rough grit of around #220 is used to correct chips and other problems. Medium grit of around #1000 create a well-cut blade. Fine grit of around #8000-#30000 is used to make razor-sharp edges and mirror-like surfaces. However,

Yoshihiro Cutlery is a popular retailer of Japanese kitchen knives located in Beverly Hills, California. However, Yoshihiro’s knives are not very well known in Japan. In detail, “” (“Goh Umanosuke Yoshihiro”) is the signature brand of YAMAWAKI CUTLERY MFG.,LTD. in Japan. YAMAWAKI CUTLERY MFG.,LTD. official website (in English) Some of the “Goh Umanosuke Yoshihiro” knives are also available at Yoshihiro Cutlery in the United States. “Goh Umanosuke Yoshihiro” is a kitchen knife brand that is known by professional chefs in Japan. Some of the knives of this brand are certified as Sakai Forged Knives, a traditional Japanese craft. However, for the average Japanese, with the exception of some chefs, “”