Japanese Knife Types: Which Knife Do You Need?

This guide covers the ten knife types in our range. Most home cooks need one knife for everyday preparation and a smaller knife for detailed work. It is written for home cooks who are choosing their first or second Japanese knife.

For each type you'll find the lengths we stock and how many are online. Then come a short decision path, a note on steel, and where to hold the knives in person.

What are the main types of Japanese kitchen knives?

The main types are three all-rounders (santoku, gyuto and bunka), the small petty, and six more specialized types: nakiri, deba, yanagiba, sujihiki, kiritsuke and the Chinese cleaver. Each row in the table below links to its collection and, where we have one, a guide.

The counts are knives published in our online store on 3 November 2026: 105 in total, including some that are sold out and waiting on the next batch.

In the Edge column, double bevel means the blade is sharpened on both sides. Single bevel means it is sharpened on one side only, and the next section explains the difference.

For quick conversion: 150mm is about 6 inches, 180mm about 7, 210mm about 8¼, 240mm about 9½ and 300mm about 11¾.

You can browse every type on one page in Japanese knives.

What is the difference between single-bevel and double-bevel knives?

A double-bevel knife is sharpened on both sides. Some have different edge angles on each side, so check whether the knife suits your dominant hand.

A single-bevel knife is sharpened on one side only and flat (slightly hollow) on the other. That one-sided edge can be made very fine and lets food fall away from the blade, which is why traditional fish knives use it.

Seven of the ten types in our range are double bevel: santoku, gyuto, bunka, petty, nakiri, sujihiki and the Chinese cleaver. They behave the way any Western cook expects. The deba and the yanagiba are traditionally single bevel. They cut well once you learn them. They also steer slightly to one side in a straight cut, are made for one hand, and are sharpened differently.

For a first Japanese knife, buy double bevel. Come to single bevel when you have a specific job for it, usually fish. For the full picture, read single-edged vs double-edged knives.

Which Japanese knife is the best all-rounder?

The santoku, the gyuto and the bunka are the three all-rounders, and any one of them can be the only knife in a home kitchen.

They differ in length and tip shape, and those two things decide how the knife feels on your board.

Santoku: the everyday all-rounder

The santoku has a fairly flat edge, a tall blade and a rounded tip that drops down to meet the edge. The name is usually translated as "three virtues", meaning meat, fish and vegetables. It suits cooks who chop with an up-and-down or push motion rather than rocking the blade.

We carry 30 santoku online, in 150mm, 165mm, 170mm and 180mm. For most kitchens, start with 165mm or 170mm.

Shop the santoku collection or read the santoku guide.

Gyuto: the Japanese chef's knife

The gyuto is the Japanese version of the Western chef's knife. It is longer than a santoku, with a pointed tip and more curve toward the front, so it rocks, slices and handles large vegetables and big cuts of meat. If you already cook with a Western chef's knife, a gyuto will feel familiar, though usually lighter and thinner behind the edge.

We have 17 gyuto online in 180mm, 210mm and 220mm. Most of them are VG10, a stainless steel and the most common steel in our range. A 210mm gyuto is the usual first choice for someone moving over from a Western chef's knife. Pick 180mm if your board is small.

Shop the gyuto collection or read the gyuto guide.

Bunka: the santoku with a sharper point

The bunka has a flat edge like a santoku, but the tip is cut at an angle. That gives you a sharp point for scoring, fine dicing and getting into the corner of a chopping board. Cooks who like a santoku but want more precision at the front often end up here.

Our range has 16 bunka, from compact 80mm and 120mm blades to full-size 165mm and 180mm. Ten of them are Blue Steel #2, a carbon steel, and five are Ginsan, a stainless steel, so check the steel before you choose. The steel section below explains the difference.

Shop the bunka collection or read the bunka guide.

Which Japanese knife is best for vegetables?

The nakiri. It is a rectangular knife with a flat edge from heel (the end nearest the handle) to tip, so the whole edge meets the board at once.

You push-cut or chop straight down, and cucumber, cabbage and leek come apart in clean slices. A nakiri does not rock, and it has no point, so it is a poor choice for meat or for scoring.

We carry 12 nakiri online, in 120mm, 165mm and 180mm. Blue Steel #2 and molybdenum steel, a stainless steel, are the most common. Others are VG10 or Ginsan. SLD, a semi-stainless steel, is also available. 165mm is a good middle length for a first nakiri.

The nakiri has a single-bevel relative, the usuba, which professional kitchens use for paper-thin vegetable sheets. It is a specialist tool. Read usuba vs nakiri if you are weighing the two, and look in our specialty collection.

Shop the nakiri collection or read the nakiri guide.

What is a petty knife used for?

The petty is the small utility knife of a Japanese kitchen, for the jobs a big blade makes awkward: peeling and segmenting fruit, trimming a chicken thigh, mincing one shallot, picking herbs.

It is the natural second knife next to a santoku or gyuto.

Our 12 petty knives run from 80mm and 95mm (paring size) to 130mm and 150mm (closer to a small chef's knife). If you only buy one, 130mm covers the most ground. Petty knives come in both stainless and carbon steels, and the steel section below explains each one.

Shop the petty collection or read the petty guide.

Which Japanese knives are for fish and slicing?

Three types cover fish and slicing: the deba, the yanagiba and the sujihiki.

• Deba: takes a whole fish apart.
• Yanagiba: slices raw fish for sashimi.
• Sujihiki: slices cooked meat and boneless fish.

Only the sujihiki is double bevel, which makes it the easiest of the three for a home cook.

Deba: for breaking down whole fish

The deba is short, thick at the spine and heavy for its size. That weight lets it cut through fish heads and small bones, and the single-bevel edge follows the backbone when you fillet. It is the wrong knife for vegetables, and it should not be used on large bones or frozen food.

We have 6 deba online in 120mm, 135mm and 150mm, all in carbon steel. A 120mm or 135mm deba covers mackerel, sea bream and similar sizes.

Shop the deba collection.

Yanagiba: the sashimi knife

The yanagiba is long and narrow, with a single-bevel edge. You slice sashimi in one long pull from heel to tip, without sawing, so the cut surface of the fish stays smooth and glossy. A longer blade lets you finish each slice in a single pass.

Our 3 yanagiba are 270mm, 300mm and 330mm, in White Steel #2, a carbon steel, and Ginsan. All three were sold out on 3 November 2026, so check the collection for the next batch. 270mm is the usual home size.

Shop the yanagiba collection or read the yanagiba guide.

Sujihiki: the long slicer

The sujihiki is a long, double-bevel slicer. It carves roasts, slices ham and portions boneless fish with long, clean strokes. It is the slicer we suggest to home cooks who want one without learning a single-bevel edge.

We carry 3 sujihiki, at 270mm and 300mm.

Shop the sujihiki collection or read sujihiki and other niche blades.

What are a kiritsuke and a Chinese cleaver?

The kiritsuke is a long hybrid of the gyuto and the slicers. The Chinese cleaver is a tall rectangular blade used across Chinese and Japanese kitchens.

Kiritsuke: the long hybrid

The kiritsuke combines a long, fairly flat edge with an angled tip, a bit like a stretched bunka. It handles vegetables and slicing in one blade, and it rewards a push or pull cut more than rocking. Traditional kiritsuke are single bevel; many modern ones are made double bevel so more cooks can use them. Ask our staff which edge a knife has before you buy.

Our 5 kiritsuke come in 210mm and 240mm. Four are SG2, a powdered stainless steel, and one is VG10.

Shop the kiritsuke collection or read the kiritsuke guide.

Chinese cleaver: a tall, thin blade

The Chinese cleaver (chukabocho in Japan) has a tall, rectangular blade. Most are thin slicing cleavers made for vegetables, meat and garlic, and the wide face doubles as a scoop to carry food to the pan. A thin slicing cleaver is not a bone chopper.

We have 1 Chinese cleaver online, 180mm, in VG10.

Shop the Chinese cleaver collection or read the Chinese cleaver guide.

Which Japanese knife should you buy first?

For most home cooks the first Japanese knife is a 165mm or 170mm santoku or a 210mm gyuto, in stainless steel.

Use these options to match a knife to the job. If you already own an all-rounder, start with options 5 and 6.

1. Do you mostly cook vegetables and rarely cut meat? Get a 165mm nakiri. Add a petty later for small jobs.
2. Do you already use a Western chef's knife and like rocking the blade? Get a 210mm gyuto (180mm if your board or counter is small).
3. Do you chop straight down or push-cut, and want one knife for everything? Get a 165mm or 170mm santoku.
4. Do you want that same santoku feel with a sharp point for detail work? Get a 165mm or 180mm bunka.
5. For small preparation jobs alongside an all-rounder, add a 130mm petty.
6. Do you buy whole fish or make sashimi at home? Add a deba or a yanagiba once you have an all-rounder. They are second or third knives.

Then choose the steel. If you want a knife that forgives a wet board and a busy week, choose stainless (VG10, SG2 or Ginsan). If you enjoy the care and want an edge that's easy to bring back on a whetstone, choose carbon (Blue Steel #2 or White Steel #2). The next section explains the difference.

Three common first-knife mistakes:

• Too long. A 240mm blade on a small apartment board is hard to control. Size to your board.
• Carbon steel without the habit. Carbon steel needs drying straight after use. If that sounds like a chore, buy stainless.
• Single bevel as a first knife. A yanagiba or deba is a specialist fish knife and a poor first all-rounder.

Stainless or carbon steel: which should you choose?

Stainless steel resists rust and stains, so it suits busy kitchens and first Japanese knives. Carbon steel takes a very keen edge and is easy to sharpen, but it will discolour and can rust if left wet.

Both cut well, so choose by how much care you want to give a knife.

The steels in our current range sort like this:

• Stainless: VG10 (the most common steel in our range, across santoku, gyuto, petty and more), SG2 (a powdered steel on santoku, gyuto and four of our five kiritsuke), Ginsan, also called Silver #3, and molybdenum steel.
• Carbon: Blue Steel #2 (the second most common in our range, and the steel of most of our bunka), Blue Super, White Steel #2 and SK steel (on some of our deba).
• In between: SLD, a semi-stainless tool steel. It resists rust better than carbon steel but can stain if left wet.

Finishes are a separate choice from steel, and three of them have their own collections:

• Damascus: a layered pattern over the core steel.
• Kurouchi: the black forge scale, left on the blade.
• Tsuchime: a hammered surface, often said to help food release. The look is the main reason to choose it.

Our damascus guide covers the first of those, and you can browse damascus, kurouchi and tsuchime knives directly.

Go deeper with knife steel types every cook should know, then shop stainless knives or carbon steel knives. For upkeep, see how to sharpen a knife using traditional Japanese methods. For the other half of the knife, read Japanese knife handle types.

Can you try Japanese knives before you buy?

Yes. ZAKU Knives has four stores in Japan where you can pick a knife up, feel its weight and balance, and compare a santoku with a gyuto in your own hand:

• Kappabashi, Tokyo: our main store, on the kitchenware street in Nishi-Asakusa, Taito-ku
• Asakusa, Tokyo: in Asakusa, Taito-ku
• Harajuku, Tokyo: on Takeshita-dori, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
• Kyoto Nishiki: on Nishikikoji-dori, by Nishiki Market

All four stores carry every type in this guide. You can test-cut before you buy and have your knife engraved. Our multilingual staff will walk you through the types side by side. Eligible visitors can shop tax-free: the consumption tax on a purchase of ¥5,000 or more (tax excluded) at one store on one day can be refunded after customs confirmation. Can I bring knives home from Japan? explains the steps.

Addresses and maps for all four stores are on our store locator. If you can't make it to Japan, every type in this guide ships from our online store.