Nakiri vs Usuba: The Difference, and Which Vegetable Knife to Buy

A nakiri is sharpened on both sides; an usuba is sharpened on one side and takes more practice to use. For most home cooks choosing a first vegetable knife, start with a nakiri. Both are Japanese vegetable knives with tall blades and flat edges.

Choose an usuba if you already cook a lot of Japanese food and want to learn traditional vegetable cuts. Skip it if you want one easy knife for weeknight prep.

What is the difference between a nakiri and an usuba?

A nakiri is sharpened on both sides; an usuba is sharpened on one side.

A nakiri works for right- and left-handed cooks. An usuba is made for one hand, and it takes practice to keep a cut straight. The learning curve and the sharpening differences in the table follow from that.

What is an usuba knife?

An usuba is a single-bevel Japanese knife for vegetables. The name means "thin blade", which describes the edge: it is ground very thin so it parts a vegetable cleanly instead of wedging it apart.

The spine is thicker, which gives the blade weight. The back of the blade is slightly hollow and flat at the rim, which helps reduce sticking.

It is a knife from Japanese restaurant kitchens, where the shape of a cut is part of how a dish is presented. Most usuba are right-handed by default. Left-handed versions are made, and you need to ask for one.

Kanto style vs Kansai style: what are the two types of usuba?

There are two common shapes, named after the two big regions of Japan they come from.

• Kanto-style usuba (Tokyo style, azumagata): a rectangular blade with a square tip. From the side it looks a lot like a nakiri.
• Kamagata usuba (Kansai, Osaka style): the tip curves down to a point. Kama means sickle, after that rounded tip. The point helps with fine detail work, such as carving a flower from a carrot.

What is an usuba used for?

An usuba is built for cuts where every slice has to be even:

• Katsuramuki: turning a length of daikon against the blade to peel it into one long, paper-thin sheet. It is a classic first test for trainee cooks.
• Fine julienne: rolling that sheet and slicing it into hair-thin strands, the kind served beside sashimi.
• Thin, even slices of cucumber, carrot and other firm vegetables.
• Decorative cuts, where the kamagata point comes in.

It is not a general knife. The thin edge can chip on hard squash skin, bones or frozen food, and it does not rock.

What is a nakiri knife?

A nakiri is a double-bevel vegetable knife with a straight, flat edge and a square tip. You use it with a push-cut: lift the knife, push it forward and down, and the whole edge meets the board, so slices come apart cleanly instead of staying joined.

It is thin and light, and because both sides are sharpened it cuts straight without any special technique.

Our online range has 12 nakiri, all double bevel, in 120mm, 165mm and 180mm lengths and five steels: Blue Steel #2 (a carbon steel, also called Aogami #2), Molybdenum, VG10, Ginsan and SLD.

Is an usuba harder to use than a nakiri?

Yes. A single-bevel edge pulls slightly to one side as it goes through food, so a beginner's slices tend to drift and come out uneven until the hand learns to correct for it.

Sharpening is harder too. An usuba needs careful sharpening of its front bevel and the narrow flat rim around its hollow back. Preserve the hollow; do not grind the whole back flat. A nakiri is sharpened on both sides.

Care depends on steel more than shape. Most traditional usuba are carbon steel, which rusts if it is left wet. Our carbon steel guide explains the routine. A stainless nakiri only needs a hand wash and a towel.

When either knife starts to slide on a tomato skin, our guide to sharpening with traditional Japanese methods walks you through the stones.

Nakiri or usuba: which one should you buy?

Buy a nakiri if you want a vegetable knife you can use well tonight. Buy an usuba if you want to learn katsuramuki and other traditional cuts, and you are happy to spend time on the technique and the sharpening.

ZAKU Knives sells 12 nakiri online and no usuba online. For most home cooks, the nakiri is the better first vegetable knife.

You can try an usuba at our stores. Stock differs by store. If no usuba is in stock when you visit, our staff suggest other knives or another ZAKU store.

If you are choosing a nakiri, start with length and steel:

• Small hands or a small board: Sumi Nakiri Blue Steel #2 Kurouchi Wenge / Black Buffalo Horn 120mm.
• A classic home size: Sumi Nakiri Blue Steel #2 Kurouchi Wenge / Black Buffalo Horn 165mm. Carbon steel, so dry it right after use.
• A longer blade for big vegetables: Onyx Hammer Nakiri Molybdenum Kurouchi Tsuchime Japanese Oak 180mm. Stainless steel, easy care.
• Stainless with a layered pattern: Cascade Nakiri VG10 Damascus Ebony. Damascus is a layered steel pattern around a cutting core.

The full range is in our nakiri collection.

Can you try a nakiri before you buy?

Yes. ZAKU Knives has four stores, our main store on Kappabashi plus Asakusa, Harajuku and Kyoto Nishiki, and our store locator lists test cutting at them. You test cut on daikon.

Try different blade lengths to find what feels comfortable. Ask staff about the care differences between carbon and stainless steel. The store locator also lists laser engraving and help in several languages. Find addresses and directions on the store locator.

Ordering from home and not sure which nakiri suits you? Tell us what you cook most nights through our contact page and we will suggest two to compare.