It is said that Japanese knives have the best quality of blades. They have thin and ultimately sharp blades that make it possible to cut through everything with ease. This is the reason why they are being adored by a lot of kitchen professionals around the world.
With that, we formed a group of chefs, stay-at-home mothers, kitchen bloggers, and people who love cooking to identify the best ones in the market. Each participant was provided with Japanese knives and was asked to grade them according to their thinness, sharpness, durability, material, and others.
After a week, we gathered the information to form a conclusion and rank them according to the scores they received. This gives us the list of the five best Japanese knives that are razor-sharp and pinpoint-precise.
Now, let us see this unbiased list and find the Japanese knife that would impress you the most!
Best Japanese Knives
Image | Japanese Knives | Rating |
|---|---|---|
 | 1 - Zelite Infinity Chef Knife | 94% |
 | 2 - FAMCÜTE Professional Japanese Chef Knife | 93% |
 | 3- Aonly Japanese Chef Knife | 92% |
 | 4 - Santoku Knife Japanese Sushi Knife by Tatara | 91% |
 | 5 - Shun Classic Chef’s Knife | 91% |
Want to learn more?
Before coming up to your conclusion, let us first study each knife closely. Take note of each one’s pros and cons and weigh them. After that, you can click the yellow buttons below to find the best Japanese knife that would help you make wonders in the kitchen. Let’s dive in!
Zelite Infinity Chef Knife
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Blade Material | Stainless Steel |
Item Weight | 9.9 ounces |
Dimensions | 12.95 x 0.94 x 1.77 inches |
Color | Black |
This perfectly-crafted Zelite Infinity knife makes ultra-smooth cuts with its 2.4 mm yet heavy-duty blade. It separates the food tissues with ease making you feel you are just cutting butter every single time you are using it. No more nasty blisters from gripping hard handles that require harsh “sawing” effort to cut foods. With minimal and gentle movements, you can now produce precise cut foods. Just put a gentle pressure and it will glide through any food you are cutting.
FAMCÜTE Professional Japanese Chef Knife
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Blade Material | Alloy Steel |
Item Weight | 12.2 ounces |
Dimensions | 15.35 x 2.76 x 1.42 inches |
Color | Brown/Black |
The elegant FAMCÜTE 8 Inch Japanese knife is built with intellectual design giving users a stress-free kitchen experience. It has an incredibly sharp Alloy steel blade that stands weeks and months without the need to be sharpened. It holds up its impressive performance for a long time giving you accurate, smooth cuts. There is no need to manually remove sticky meat to the knife as its clad dimple automatically causes food to be released. It is lightweight and its handle perfectly fits your grip. This makes it a perfect Japanese knife for both novice cooks and professional chefs.
Aonly Japanese Chef Knife
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Blade Material | High Carbon Stainless Steel |
Item Weight | 15.9 ounces |
Dimensions | 14.45 x 3.31 x 1.26 inches |
Color | Black |
The mirror-polished cutting angle of Aonly Japanese knife ensures exceptional cutting prowess. Its premium sharpness allows your rocking chopping motion to be light and extremely effortless. Its tapered bolster produces the perfect balance for your hands to have a natural and comfortable pinch grip. With this, users can execute perfect motions while using it.
Santoku Knife Japanese Sushi Knife by Tatara
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Blade Material | Damascus Steel |
Item Weight | 28 ounces |
Dimensions | 17.1 x 4.7 x 2.8 inches |
Color | Black |
Unboxing the Santoku Japanese sushi knife would leave you in awe. It is neatly packaged in a sturdy wooden case making it a perfect gift idea. Nonetheless, its capability to cut and slice neat cuts to food makes it a true superstar. It can cut seaweed rolls without producing messy flakes and messing with the arrangement of vegetables inside the rolls.
Shun Classic Chef’s Knife
Specifications | |
|---|---|
Blade Material | Carbon |
Item Weight | 7.13 ounces |
Dimensions | 15 x 5 x 3 inches |
Color | Black |
Shun Classic knife lets you do the graceful control of a traditional Japanese handle. It is harder, lighter, and sharper than typical knives in the market. It is made of high-end extremely hard super steel allowing it to take an incredible edge and hold it longer. On the other hand, It is specifically sharpened to 16 degrees to give it a steeper angle which is perfect for smooth, slicing motion.
Japanese Knife Buyer's Guide
Decide first how much you are willing to pay for a knife. A lot of promising Japanese knives come in huge amounts. Nonetheless, some can offer you almost the same quality that expensive ones have.
Decide for the length of the knife you are most comfortable with. Remember that Japanese knives are ultimately sharp. You need to use it with utter care to avoid accidents. Having a knife with the size you are not accustomed to can injure you.
Where would you use the knife? Do you need it for simple garnish? Chopping? Slicing? Are you going to use it to chop huge chunks of food? Answering these questions will help you identify if you need a heavy-duty knife or a small-sized one.
One of the major qualities of Japanese knives is its thinness as it helps them to retain their edge for a long time. Thus, choose a Japanese knife that at least has the average thinness it needs to produce clean cuts.
Always look for Japanese knives that feature sturdy, ergonomic, and comfortable handles. This wouldn’t just help you use the knife with ease but it could also protect your hands from slipping and getting injured.
FAQs
Hold the knife partially by the blade to get more control and find the balance point of your blade. Pinch the blade between your index finger and thumb, just below the spine near the handle.
Defining characteristics of Japanese kitchen knives are toughness, sharpness, edge life, and edge quality.
It can last for 10-30 years depending on sharpening technique, frequency, and original profile of the blade.
They are being honed on one side so it would be easier to create a much smaller, thus sharper, angle.