The ten Greatest Japanese Knives of 2025, Examined & Reviewed

Knife nerds (like us!) go ham over the trivia of blades: bevel angles, carbon proportion, carbon kind, esoteric blade shapes. There’s a lot to debate relating to this important cooking instrument. And one main sub-category that positively fizzes with excited chatter is Japanese knives. The sheer breadth and number of Japanese knife types could be overwhelming: deba, gyuto, kentsuke, honesuki, nakiri…and that’s simply scratching the floor. 

However, fortunately, we’ve reviewed tons of Japanese blades all through the years—lots of which our editors use each day. Listed here are 10 of the very best Japanese knives we’ve examined, whether or not you need an all-purpose workhorse or a specialised blade. 

What We Realized 

What Is a Japanese-Fashion Knife? 

There isn’t a hard-and-fast reply to this query since there are a lot of sorts of Japanese knives. Japanese-style knives may even be made by Western manufacturers, which additional muddies the definition. (A be aware on this: A few of our favourite knives, such the Tojiro petty knife, aren’t essentially Japanese-style however are made by Japanese manufacturers.) Nevertheless, they do usually have a number of commonalities, together with being product of high-carbon metal and having a barely totally different form than most Western-style knives. 

Whereas deba and nakiri are conventional Japanese blades with distinctive options, some Japanese knives are modeled after Western-style ones. Take the gyuto, for instance. This all-purpose knife is comparable in size and form to a Western-style chef’s knife, with a protracted blade and a stomach that curves up towards the tip. The distinction usually lies within the weight and extremity of the curve, in addition to the bevel and materials. Gyutos usually have an asymmetrical bevel, which means one facet of the blade is extra angled than the opposite. (Try our chef’s knife evaluate for an excellent visible.) Western chef’s knives, alternatively, usually sport a double-beveled edge. Paired with softer stainless-steel, the knife is simple to get again into form with a number of swipes on a honing rod. 

What Are the Totally different Sorts of Japanese Knives?

There’s a big number of Japanese knives, however right here I’ll give attention to those we’ve reviewed and written about. 

Gyutos, as I discussed, are Japanese-style chef’s knives. Like Western-style chef’s knives, they’re versatile blades, normally between six and 12 inches lengthy. Usually product of excessive carbon metal, they’re tremendous sharp and maintain their edge longer than stainless-steel blades. They have an inclination to have asymmetrical bevels, so whenever you select a knife, be sure it matches your handedness—in the event you’re a righty, search for a blade with a better left bevel, and vice versa in the event you’re a lefty. 

One other traditional Japanese blade is the santoku. This knife is formed like a sheep’s foot, and in the event you don’t know what that appears like, it’s flat on the underside with a high that tapers downward. It employs a push-cut movement moderately than a rocking slice, for the reason that leading edge isn’t curved. Santoku had been created as a extra approachable model of the gyuto. As Josh Donald of Bernal Cutlery advised us in our santoku evaluate: “Skilled cooks who had been making ready Western-influenced yoshoku meals readily adopted the gyuto, however dwelling cooks didn’t. It was too massive and too totally different from the nakiri, deba, and yanagi dwelling cooking setup. Knife-makers’ response was to make a knife that might be extra acceptable—good and fashionable however not an excessive amount of of a diversion from their mom’s knife equipment.”

Nakiri knives are rectangular blades that had been designed to cut and cube greens. Because the blade solely curves up close to the blunt finish, the chopping movement of those knives is kind of totally different from the rock-chop of many Western-style blades. As an alternative, a push-cut movement is required, like with a santoku. 

Deba knives are specifically designed for filleting fish. And whilst you would possibly envision a skinny, flexible filet knife, they couldn’t be extra totally different. As an alternative, the deba is a thick piece of metallic with a extreme bevel on one facet (known as a chisel edge). This weighty, sharp knife enables you to lower near the bone and has sufficient heft to chop by bone, too. 

One other task-specific knife is the honesuki, which is a Japanese boning knife that’s usually used for poultry. The sharp edge and triangular-shaped blade has a single bevel, like a deba, and slides neatly alongside bones and thru joints. 

The Standards: What to Search for in a Japanese Knife 

What to search for varies with blade fashion and use case, however there are some primary traits you’ll need. First, it’s gotta be sharp and, ideally, it holds its edge for a very long time. The deal with must be comfy to carry and use, too. The entire knives we’ve listed right here and examined have these qualities. 

The Greatest Japanese Knives 

What we favored: It is a tremendous sharp knife that retains a eager edge even after frequent use. The light-weight blade is balanced with a compact deal with, lending precision and management to every chopping stroke. It’s a knife that lots of our editors (like me, hello!) personal and attain for over different blades. 

What we didn’t like: It has an asymmetrical bevel, which may take some getting used to. It’s additionally expensive. 

Key Specs

• Supplies: Composite wooden deal with and stain-resistant Swedish metal blade
• Blade size: 8.2 inches
• Weight: 5.6 ounces

What we favored: Just like the UX10, this all-rounder of a knife was straightforward to wield and extremely sharp because of its carbon metal blade. The slim deal with was straightforward to grip, too. It’s additionally fairly priced for a high-quality Japanese blade. 

What we didn’t like: Carbon metal knives require just a little extra care than stainless-steel. They have to be totally dried and possibly even rubbed with some mineral oil to stop rusting. Whereas they maintain their edge longer than stainless-steel knives, they do require extra care when sharpening. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Supplies: Composite wooden, Swedish carbon metal
• Deal with size: 4.5 inches
• Blade size: 8.5 inches

What we favored: The faceted deal with made this knife straightforward to grip and maneuver, a vital high quality for a heavy blade. It deftly sliced filets from fish and had sufficient heft to chop by bones, too. It is a nice selection for somebody new to utilizing deba knives; it’s product of stainless-steel, which is extra forgiving and simpler to take care of than carbon metal. 

What we didn’t like: The deal with was just a little massive. Chrome steel dulls extra shortly than carbon metal, although you should use a honing rod to realign the blade edge. 

Key Specs

• Deal with size: 4.75 inches
• Blade size: 150 millimeters (6 inches)
• Backbone thickness: 5 millimeters at widest level
• Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Supplies: Molybdenum vanadium stainless-steel, composite deal with

What we favored: It is a tremendous sharp santoku that’s nice for a wide range of duties, together with chopping greens and breaking down poultry. At six ounces, it was the proper weight, each agile and hefty sufficient to slice cleanly.  

What we didn’t like: The deal with was a bit massive and slippery, however aside from that it’s a superb knife. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 6 ounces
• Blade size: 6.5 inches
• Deal with size: 4.5 inches
• Supplies: ​Sub-zero tempered metal 

What we favored: This sharp, stainless-steel santoku has a barely curved blade, making it a terrific introduction to this fashion of knife. It swiftly lower by rooster joints with out snagging on the pores and skin and tackled hardy root greens and tender chives equally nicely. Because it’s stainless-steel, it’s simpler to take care of. 

What we didn’t like: It was just a little blade-heavy, which made it tougher to regulate. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 6.8 ounces
• Blade size: 6.5 inches
• Deal with size: 4.75 inches
• Supplies: Chrome steel

What we favored: This spiffy rectangular blade is a incredible knife for chopping onions, slicing peppers, and even chopping boneless meat. It’s cheap, sailed by our exams, and is an editor favourite. 

What we didn’t like: There wasn’t a lot to not like, actually. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 7.1 ounces
• Deal with materials: Pakkawood (a wooden and plastic resin composite)
• Blade materials: VG-10 stainless-steel core with 3-ply clad development
• Blade size: 6.5 inches
• Deal with size: 4.75 inches

What we favored: This nakiri has a barely curved blade, making it simpler to get used to the push-cut movement. It’s skinny, nimble, and sharp, making it a terrific each day driver of a prep knife. 

What we didn’t like: Whereas we prefer it, the all-metal deal with isn’t for everybody. This knife is on the pricier facet, too. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 6.8 ounces
• Deal with & blade materials: Cromova 18 stainless-steel (a mix of chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium that’s unique to International)
• Blade size: 7 inches
• Deal with size: 4.75 inches

What we favored: A paring knife could also be a kitchen underdog, however this Japanese metal magnificence will put it again in your radar. It stayed sharp all through our many rounds of exams, together with slicing tomatoes, hulling strawberries, mincing shallots, and supreming citrus. The blade is considerably formed like a santoku, with a downward tapered tip, making it significantly adept at mincing alliums. 

What we didn’t like: Because the blade is excessive in carbon metal, it’s liable to chipping if used improperly. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 2 ounces
• Supplies: Cobalt alloy metal core, 13 chrome stainless-steel coating, black laminated strengthened wooden
• Blade size: 3.5 inches

What we favored: This heavy, inflexible blade operates equally to a deba knife, with the heft serving to it lower near bones and cleave by joints. The pointed tip additionally enables you to make deep, exact cuts, like when eradicating rooster breasts from the chest plate. 

What we didn’t like: Having a separate knife solely for butchering poultry may not be vital for everybody. It additionally takes an skilled hand to sharpen accurately. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Supplies: Cobalt alloy metal, 13 chrome stainless-steel, black laminated strengthened wooden
• Blade size: 6 inches

What we favored: Whereas a bread slicer isn’t essentially a Japanese-fashion knife, Tojiro is a Japanese model and we’ve lengthy liked this serrated slicer. It’s extremely sharp out of the field, and the lengthy, straight blade cuts decisively by crusty boules and gentle loaves alike. It’s additionally fairly priced. 

What we didn’t like: It’s a skinny, flexible knife, so it did battle just a little to take away the pores and skin from a hardy butternut squash—however we’re splitting hairs right here. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 105 grams
• Blade size: 9.88 inches 
• Total size: 14.75 inches 

FAQs

What sort of Japanese knife is the very best?

There isn’t a greatest blade because it relies on your expertise and desires. A gyuto is a good all-purpose knife that’s akin to a Western chef’s knife. A pointy santoku or nakiri are incredible choices for produce prep. There are additionally extremely specialised knives, like deba and honesuki, that are used for fileting fish and breaking down poultry, respectively. 

What makes Japanese knives totally different?

There are a selection of things, together with blade materials, bevel, and form. It’s troublesome to generalize since Japanese blades are a various bunch with totally different qualities. 

Why We’re the Specialists

• Grace Kelly is a senior editor at Severe Eats, the place she’s been reviewing kitchen devices, together with knives, for almost three years. 
• She’s reviewed nakiri, deba, and santoku knives, and makes use of a wide range of Japanese blades for her each day meals prep.