Know the steel.
Choose the edge.
Japanese kitchen knives explained by someone who lives in the knife town — with measured tests, a steel database, and visits to the workshops where they are made.
Opening footage and photo are AI-generated illustrations.
Knife finderEight shapes,
eight jobs.
Pick a shape and watch the blade change. Each profile tells you what the knife is built to do.
- Blade length
- 210–270 mm
- Bevel
- Double
- Best for
- All-round
- Skill
- Beginner
The Japanese chef’s knife. A long, gently curved edge that rocks and slices — the one knife to buy first.
Steel explorerWhat the steel
does to your edge.
Pick up to three of 15 Japanese knife steels and compare the makers’ published numbers — carbon, chromium, hardness — and independent edge-retention tests.
Compositions are the makers’ published typical or representative values in mass %. “Maker hardness” is the hardening hardness the maker publishes (usually a minimum), not the hardness of a finished knife, which depends on the knifemaker’s heat treatment. Edge-retention figures are from Knife Steel Nerds’ CATRA tests (15° per side, 400-grit CBN finish, silica cardstock, total card cut in mm). Values marked † come from retailers, not the steelmaker. Checked 2026-10-21.
Edge geometryOne degree
changes everything.
Slide the sharpening angle and see the edge in cross-section. Thin edges cut cleaner; thicker edges last longer.
Made in SakaiFour hands
make one knife.
In Sakai, a blade passes between specialist workshops. Scroll through the journey.
Forging
The smith forge-welds a thin layer of hard carbon steel to a softer iron body, then hammers, anneals and quenches it. Photos and video from our workshop visits will go here.
Sharpening
A specialist sharpener grinds the blade on rotating wheels and whetstones. This is where the bevel and the final edge are decided.
Handle
Traditional wa-handles are fitted onto the tang by hand. Octagonal and D-shaped handles feel different in the hand.
Finishing
The wholesaler checks the finished knife, engraves the name and sends it to shops in Japan and abroad.
Knife towns of JapanWhere Japanese
blades come from.
Tap a town. Each one has its own style, steels and workshops you can visit.
Sakai堺
Single-bevel knives for professional chefs, made by a chain of specialist workshops. Our home town.
Landed costBuy from Japan,
or from a US shop?
Enter a price and see what you would really pay after shipping and duty. Rates change — check the date of each rate below.