Need to Brush up on your Sashimi Knife or Sushi Knife Knowledge?
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(If you do, then hang around to find out things like...)
What are the different Types of  Knives?
~ or ~
What is the Best Knife to get?
~ and ~
How do you care for, use and sharpen it?
(along with lots of other fun stuff!)

How to hold and slice with your Yanagiba (Sashimi) Knife

1. Grasp the handle comfortably with your right hand and extend your index finger out along the blade. This will give you better control.
2. When making a cut, start at the base of the knife (nearest your body) and draw the knife toward you completing the cut at the tip. The goal is to make the entire cut in one motion. 

Common Sashimi Knife Cuts

This is the easiest cut to make and is commonly used for sashimi, nigiri sushi, scattered sushi (chirashi sushi), pressed sushi and used for making "sticks" that go in Maki sushi.

To make this cut:

1. Place a block of fish horizontally in front of you roughly the size of your hand (approximately 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide and 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick).
2. Wipe the knife with a damp towel before each slice to keep the fish from sticking to the knife.
3. Place the knife's blade, towards the base, on the right hand end of the fish at the desired thickness. 
4. Smoothly pull the knife toward you through the fish in one stroke ending at the tip of the blade completing the cut. 
5. Move the piece to the right a few inches with your knife and tip it over.
6. Repeat until you have the number of pieces desired.
7. You can slice these pieces in half like in the pictures below to make matchsticks maki rolls.

Straight across Angled Cut ("Sogi Giri")

This first variation of the angled cut is the easiest one to make and is similar to the straight cut done above in that your knife cuts are straight across the fish.

It is used Nigiri sushi, sushi rice balls, pressed sushi, and inside-out rolls.

1. Place a block of fish horizontally in front of you roughly the size of your hand (approximately 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide and 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick).
2. Wipe the knife with a damp towel before each slice to keep the fish from sticking to the knife.
3. Place the knife's blade, towards the base, on the left hand end, straight across the the fish and at the desired thickness. 
4. Now tilt the knife slightly to the right and smoothly pull the knife toward you through the fish in one stroke ending at the tip of the blade completing the cut. 
5. Move the piece to the left a few inches with your knife and tip it over.
6. Repeat until you have the number of pieces desired.

Diagonal Angled Cut ("Sogi Giri")

This is the second variation of the angled cut. Instead of being a straight cut across the fish, it is at about a 45 degree angle diagonal to the fish.

This creates a more graceful looking, slightly longer and wider piece of fish that looks very impressive draped over the hand-formed piece of rice as in Nigiri sushi.

For this cut:

1. Place a block of fish horizontally in front of you roughly the size of your hand (approximately 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide and 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick).
2. Wipe the knife with a damp towel before each slice to keep the fish from sticking to the knife.
3. Place the knife's blade, towards the base, on the diagonal on the left hand end of the fish.
4. Now tilt the knife slightly to the right and smoothly pull the knife toward you through the fish in one stroke ending at the tip of the blade completing the cut. (The first cut will create a triangular piece that you can butterfly and open up to create a flat piece.)
5. Make your second piece by following the diagonal and angle established in your first cut, slicing whatever thickness you need.
6. Move the piece to the left a few inches with your knife and tip it over.
7. Repeat until you have the number of pieces desired.

How to hold and slice with your Deba (Fish) or Usuba (Vegetable) Knife

1. Grasp the handle comfortably with your right hand close to the blade end. The knuckle of your index finger should be almost on top of the handle, toward the blade end. 
2. Use your thumb to press into the side of the handle with your other fingers curling and wrapped around the handle.
3. These knives are so sharp that cutting in one gentle motion, backed by the weight of the blade should be all you need to complete cuts. 

Common Usuba (vegetable) Sushi Knife Cuts

Ribbon Cut

Ribbons are long wide strips of vegetables used commonly in Nigiri Sushi and Pressed Sushi. They will look somewhat like wood boards when they are sliced to give you an idea of what you're shooting for.

Thin ribbon cuts are the first cuts made for making "slivers" and minced vegetables. Thick ribbon cuts are the first cuts made for making "matchsticks" and cubes.

It's basically a building block cut.

Here's how you do it:

1. Start with a 3 or 4 inch long unpeeled cucumber (you can substitute whatever appropriate vegetable you want here).
2. Lay the cucumber in front of and pointing away from you.
   
3. Decide the desired thickness that you need (1/8 inch or less for thin ribbons (picture above on the left) and 1/4 to 1/3 inch for thick ribbons (picture above on the right) and using the front edge of the blade, push the knife away from you through the cucumber. (did you notice that the technique with the Usuba is to use the front end of the blade first and push instead of using the back end of the blade and pulling as done with the Yanagiba?)
   
4. Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 until you have all the slices you need. 

Vegetable slivers are used in all kinds of sushi including scattered sushi, hand rolls (temaki sushi), maki rolls, and inside-out rolls.

They are used when you want a finer, more delicate vegetable texture in your sushi.

1. Start off by making thin ribbons (less than 1/8 inch) as explained in the ribbon cut section above.
   
2. Now, stack the ribbons on top of each other like boards.
   
3. Stair step the stack (kind of like pushing a deck of cards).
4. Using the front edge of the blade, push the knife away from you slicing the ribbons lenghwise into the thinnest slivers possible until the entire stack is sliced.
5. If you are wanting to mince this, then turn the whole "pile" of slivers you just made horizontally in front of you and cut as little off of the slivers as possible and continue till the whole pile is done.
   

Matchsticks kinda look like the skinny french fries you can get at McDonalds.

They are most often used in Maki rolls and Temaki Rolls (hand rolls) and are preferred when you want a less delicate and more predominant crunchy texture to the vegetables in your sushi.

1. Start off by making thick ribbons (1/4 to 1/3 inch thick) as in the ribbon cut section above.
   
2. Now, stack the ribbons on top of each other like boards.
   
3. Using the front edge of the blade, push the knife away from you slicing the ribbons lenghwise into 1/4 to 1/3 inch matchstick pieces until the entire stack is sliced.
4. If you are wanting to dice this, then turn the whole "pile" of matchsticks that you just made horizontally in front of you and cut across them making 1/4 to 1/3 inch pieces. Continue until the whole pile is done.

How to Care for your Sashimi and Sushi Knife

You paid good money for your sushi knife so you should take good care of it.

Here's a few things you need to do each time after you use it.

1. Wash your sushi knife with soapy water, rinse and dry it WELL by running the sushi knife through a dry towel. This is especially true for carbon steel knives as they will rust and pit if left wet.
   
2. Never put your sushi knife in a dishwasher.
   
3. Store your sushi knife in a case, wrapped and in a separate space in a drawer or on a rack. 
   

A couple more things to mention:

• Do not use a sharpening steel to sharpen your Japanese sushi knife; only use a water stone or whet stone. Follow your knife manufacturers directions for using a whetstone.
  
• When cutting acid sources like lemon, apples or sushi, try to wipe or wash the knife frequently
  
• Do not cut frozen food with your sushi knife. Doing so may chip it.
  

How to Sharpen your Japanese Sushi Knife

Keeping a Japanese sushi knife or sashimi knife continuously sharp is almost like a religious ritual to most sushi chefs. After all, it is their livelihood. And most chefs will sharpen all of their knives at the end of the work day so that they will be fresh, sharp and rested overnight so they will be ready for use the next day.

Some say that it is necessary to let the sushi knife rest overnight after sharpening or it will affect the taste of the food. The jury is till out on that one for me...but I'll tell ya, a lot of times there's truth in those weird sounding habits and traditions...

Now, even for the home sushi chef it is still just as important to keep your knives diligently sharp. And in actuality, the sharper a sushi knife is, the safer it is to use. Sounds counter intuitive, but its supposedly true.

Taking the time to touch up the edge of your sushi knife often, even while it is still fairly sharp, is an easier way to keep an edge pristine than letting the blade get dull before doing it. The difference can even mean spending a matter of minutes on it as opposed to an hour or more. 

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of sharpening your sushi knife though, let's first talk about the design of the sushi knife and its edge so you actually have some understanding of what it is you are trying to do. And then we will cover a few more important points before getting into basic knife sharpening.

Design of a Traditional Japanese Sushi Knife Blade

In the diagram above, this is the view you would see from the back of the sushi knife if you were holding it in your right hand and extended it out.

The right handed sushi knife is the most common, and the main edge is also on the right side.

Traditional Japanese knives are known for their precision and ability to be honed to an extremely sharp edge because of a unique single-edged design.

There are also western-style Japanese knives that have a double-edged design called "Ryoba", but we'll talk about that later.

Follow along with me by looking at the image above as we describe this single-edged design.

Starting at the top front face of the blade, the right side of the blade travels down until it is broken by the Shinogi line. This line is where the cutting area starts to taper down to the bottom edge. This tapered edge is called the "Kireha" or "Blade Road" and is very important in affecting the way the blade moves through food.

Important Point: Remember to never change, alter, or erase the Shinogi line when sharpening your knife.

If you will notice, on the back of the blade there is a slight curve. Looks kind of like it bows in. This curve is called the Urasuki and is present on the back of Yanagi, Deba and Usuba knives. This design allows food to separate cleanly after it is cut and also acts as a cushion for the knife, absorbing weight and pressure.

On Sharpening a Traditional Japanese Knife Blade

When you are sharpening a traditional Japanese Knife, it is necessary to use the shinogi line as a guide but know that you are only sharpening the very edge not the entire blade road.

Very Important Point: Remember to use the Shinogi line as a guide, but sharpen the very edge, not the entire blade road. 

So let's think about this a little bit. If you lay the knife down too far when sharpening, you risk getting into the blade road and Shinogi line. While you also don't want to have your knife up too far either or you will change the angle of the original edge.

At this point, just look at the picture above and be aware of why you have to try to be in that happy medium; where the spine of your knife is not too far up from the stone...or too far down either.

Edge Sharpening Technique

When you are actually sharpening a knife, place your fingers very close to the blade edge and use firm pressure to insure even contact with the stone.

Normally, a traditional Japanese knife should be sharpened one or two strokes in one section and then move your fingers on to the next section for one or two strokes. Do this and move continually down the full edge of the blade. This is especially important for the Yanagi (sashimi knife). The Yanagi has a thin and delicate blade that will become weak if you do too many strokes in one place.

Important Point:  Place your fingers very close to the blade edge using firm pressure to insure even contact with the stone and only for 1 or 2 strokes. Then move your fingers to the next section down the knife, repeating until the whole length of the blade has been covered.

Follow these techniques when sharpening until you feel a slight burr on the back edge of the knife.

Which Whetstones or Water stones do you need?

Ideally, there are 3 that you would need:

• Arato - This is a coarse grit stone used mainly to fix damaged edges and to create new edges. The average grit for Arato is around 400 or 600 but can vary higher and lower than this.
• Nakato - This is a medium grit that is mainly used for minor repairs and creating sharp edges. The average grit here is 1000 to 1200 but again this varies higher and lower than this.
• Shiage - Is a fine grit finishing stone. Here the average is 6000 to 8000 but varies also.

For at home use you could get by well with a combination stone that has Nakato on one side and Shiage on the other.

*One thing to note. When you are sharpening with a medium grade grit (Nakato), you are making small scratches on the surface of the metal. When you move to the finer grit (Shiage), you are polishing out those scratches to create a polished, sharp edge.

That's why it is important to keep a consistent angle of knife to stone the whole time you are sharpening so that you will be polishing along the same lines and in the same direction as you did when you created them with the more abrasive stone in the previous stage.

Time to get into sharpening your knife.

Knife Sharpening Basics

Preparing the Sharpening Stones

A level stone surface is necessary to sharpen your blade properly and to avoid damaging it. Water stones or whet stones and stone fixers should be soaked in water for 10 minutes before sharpening or until there are no more bubbles.

Take the edges down on the sides with the stone fixer first to bevel them and then "sand" the top of the stone until it is flat.

When you are done with that, place the stone (with the narrow end pointing away from you) on a damp towel to keep it from sliding during sharpening.

How to hold your knife during Sharpening

Hold the knife in your right hand with your thumb on the flat part of the blade, your index finger on the spine and your remaining 3 fingers wrapped around the blade.

Hold it comfortably, but not in a manner similar to using it for cutting. The angle of the knife to the stone should be around 60 to 70 degrees but it can vary to between 45 to 80 degrees. The most important thing is keeping the angle consistent for best results when sharpening.

Sharpening your Traditional Japanese Knife

I bet you were starting to wonder whether or not we were ever actually going to do this! :-)

1. With your knife on the front of the stone nearest your body, place 2 or 3 fingers on your left hand near the edge of the blade, starting with the tip.
2. Exert even pressure down on the blade edge where your fingers are when you push the knife down the stone because this is where you are focusing the sharpening.
3. Now, push the knife down the length of the stone. Release the pressure from your fingers when you bring the knife forward and back to the starting position again. Do this one more time before moving to the next section down the blade.  This is especially true for the Yanagiba because of its thin and more delicate blade. Either way, do no more than 5 or 6 strokes before moving to the next section.
   
4. Remember to keep the same angle on the blade edge to the stone (normally this would be about the space of a business card between the spine and the stone) as well as the same angle of knife to stone as you move down the blade. 
5. As you sharpen, you will start to feel a slight burr form along the edge. 
6. When you have a burr along the whole edge of the blade, reverse the blade placing it perpendicular to and flat against the stone (see the image below) at the far end.
   
7. Place the middle and index finger of your left hand gently against the blade edge and your thumb gently pressing against the spine.
   
8. Exert gentle pressure on your fingers and pull the knife toward you.
   
9. Think of this motion as trying to "scrape" water off the stone. And remember that you are not sharpening here, but only removing the burr.
   
10. Move to the next section as necessary to remove entire burr. When the burr has been removed from the whole length of the blade the sharpening is complete.
    

Note*** Add sprinkles of water to the stone as needed for lubrication and don't remove the sludge that forms because it actually aids in the sharpening process. 

Sharpening your Western-style Japanese Knife