The Great Stainless vs Non-Stainless Debate: A Guide to Japanese Kitchen Knives
April 29, 2024
Carbon steel reaches extreme hardness and sharpness but rusts easily, while stainless trades a little edge for low upkeep. How to choose between them.
Stories from Sakai, Seki and the kitchen
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Notes on knives, cooking and the people who make things slowly.
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Beginning Your Journey With Japanese Kitchen Knives: Individual Knives vs. Sets
April 6, 2024
One gyuto or a full set? Where the santoku, bunka and kiritsuke each earn their place before you commit to a matching set.
How The World’s Most Expensive Japanese Swords Are Made
March 22, 2024
Forged from low-impurity iron sand and folded again and again, a nihonto is closer to ritual than manufacturing. Inside the making of Japan’s costliest blades.
Why Are Japanese Knive Worth Their Price?
January 16, 2024
What makes Japanese knives worth the price: high-carbon VG10 and layered Damascus steel, task-specific designs, and matching kitchen accessories.
Where Is Damascus Steel Really From?
January 16, 2024
Damascus steel traces back to the Near East around 300 AD, prized for its wavy pattern and strength. Here is the history behind the legendary blade.
Japanese knives: how to spot the real deal vs. a knock-off?
November 27, 2023
How do you tell a real Japanese knife from a fake? Read the steel, the grind and the edge geometry, plus the marketing tells that dress up a cheap blade.
Choosing the Perfect Knife for Women Who Love to Cook
July 8, 2023
Choosing a knife for women who love to cook: comfort, ergonomic handles, versatility and a sharp, well-balanced blade for everyday kitchen tasks.
Effortless Maintenance, Lasting Performance: The Promise of Rust-Resistant Cooking Knives
June 5, 2023
Chromium in the steel is what stops a blade rusting, staining and pitting. What rust-resistant knives ask of you day to day, and what they give back.
Why Japanese Knives Are Perfect for Women Cooks
May 18, 2023
Japanese knives trace back to samurai swordsmiths, including blades for the Onna Bugeisha, and their light, precise build suits women cooks well.
How to Properly Maintain Japanese Knives
May 18, 2023
Never leave them wet. How to wash, dry and sharpen a Japanese knife, with a rundown of the Gyuto, Santoku, Nakiri, Deba and Sujihiki.
Western Vs. Japanese Knives With Chef Olivia Burt
January 26, 2022
Chef Olivia Burt on why Japanese blades stay sharper and food sticks less, plus the three she’d own: a Gyuto or Santoku, a Nakiri and a Petty.
What Is Oak Bog Wood?
October 5, 2021
The wood on every Sakai Kyuba handle sat in a peat bog for 2,500 years, darkening and hardening since before Rome. Here’s how bog oak forms.
Kitchen Knife Set Or Individual Knives – What’s Better To Start With?
April 19, 2021
Why own a meat-carving knife if you’re vegetarian? Weighing a tidy knife set against buying only the two or three blades you’ll actually use.
Wooden Handles: Maple Burl
January 12, 2021
What turns soft maple into a handle that shrugs off water? Resin forced deep under pressure, leaving the burl dense, tough and waterproof.
What Makes Japanese Kitchen Knives So Good?
November 12, 2020
Rockwell 58-65 steel against Europe’s 52-56, a 15-degree bevel instead of 20, and a blade hammered light enough to draw toward you.
What Japanese Knife To Buy?
August 25, 2019
First proper knife? Buy a gyuto. Add a nakiri and a petty later, and those three handle most of what a kitchen throws at you.
Knife History – Forging Methods
May 9, 2019
Sakai’s blacksmiths turned samurai sword craft into tobacco-cutting knives after the Portuguese brought tobacco to Japan in the 16th century.
Four Knives Your Kitchen Just Can’t Live Without
March 16, 2019
Skip the fifteen-slot block. A Gyuto, a Nakiri, a Petty and one serrated blade handle nearly everything you’ll cut at home.
Santoku Vs. Gyuto – What’s The Difference?
January 17, 2019
The santoku’s flat blade wants a straight up-and-down chop; the gyuto’s curve lets you rock. That belly, or lack of it, decides which suits your hands.
Is It Bad Luck to Gift a Knife? How to Give Kitchen Knives Without Breaking Tradition
October 22, 2018
Will a knife ‘cut’ a friendship? The old superstition says yes, but hand over a coin (we include a 5 yen piece) and the gift is safe.
Guide: Best Kitchen Knives At Any Price Range
October 8, 2018
You’ll reach for the chef’s knife 99% of the time, so spend there first. Why a £30 blade can beat a £500 one, and why the sharpest is the safest.
Ceramic Knives Vs. Steel Knives – Pros And Cons
May 21, 2018
Ceramic is the second-hardest material after diamond, so it keeps an edge for years and won’t pass odours between foods. Its weakness against steel? Chipping.
Getting Your First Japanese Kitchen Knife? Read This.
February 7, 2018
A pro runs a knife 40 hours a week; you use one for twenty minutes a night. That gap, not edge retention, should pick your first Japanese blade.
Guide: How To Choose Your First Japanese Kitchen Knife
February 7, 2018
Buying your first Japanese knife feels like a gamble. Here’s how to read shape, steel and handle so it isn’t, plus the 100-day guarantee that softens the risk.
Are Japanese Carving Knives As Good As The Western Ones?
August 17, 2017
The Sujihiki packs 240-300mm of thin, double-bevel blade, and some sushi chefs reach for it over the yanagiba when slicing sashimi.
Guide: Kitchen Knife Handle Types And Materials
August 12, 2017
Most buyers obsess over the steel, but the handle carries the knife: cocobolo, ebony and rosewood compared, plus why soft woods fail in a wet kitchen.
Tobacco, Portuguese & The Japanese Knives: The History Of Sakai Knives
June 20, 2017
Portuguese traders brought tobacco to Sakai in 1543, and the knives farmers needed to cut the leaves became the cooking blades the town is famous for.
The Difference Between Aogami #2 And Aogami Super Blue
May 25, 2017
Both come from Hitachi, but Aogami Super adds vanadium for a harder, longer-lasting edge, while #2 stays easier to sharpen. Which fits how you cook?
Steel Qualities Of Kitchen Knives – A Cheat Sheet
May 20, 2017
One chart lining up Shirogami, Kigami, Aogami and the GIN stainless grades by hardness, price and what each blade is actually built for.
What Is Yasugi Steel And What Makes It So Great?
May 20, 2017
Smelted from sand iron in Shimane, Yasugi steel splits into yellow, white and blue grades. Top smiths favour the white and blue and skip the cheap yellow.
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