Nakiri: The One Knife to Rule Them All?

While unfamiliar to many in the west, the nakiri is quickly becoming one of the most popular Japanese knife shapes! Today, we're putting it to the test: is a nakiri the BEST multipurpose Japanese knife?? To find out, Lordy is chopping a bunch of vegetables and butchering a chicken with a nakiri.
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[@roggenkid]

Another advantage of the Nakiri is that it is incredibly simple and fast to sharpen

[@KnifewearKnives]

True!

[@hello.itsme.5635]

This is really a good point. Even thinning is pretty easy compared to other knives.

[@kiliang96]

Don't ask me why but the feeling when sharpening is way better, It's probably the straight shape and the tall blade that makes it for a really comfortable and easy sharpening

[@82delta]

Just an FYI....the point of a nikiri is the heel. Once you practice you can become so skilled using the heel of a nikiri you can remove small spots on potatoes or even make mini roses for garnish out of radishes.

[@lcritter]

My first Japanese knife was a Nakiri and I worried I should’ve bought a gyuto first. Now I have {enough less one} Japanese knives and my Nakiri is definitely the one I reach for the most.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Happy to hear it?

[@carolevilleneuve7411]

Me too

[@oracle_sean]

+1 for tall Nakiri. My first Japanese knife was a cheap (short) Nakiri. My daughter visited and fell in love with it-it somehow found its way into her luggage! I replaced it with the tall Massakage, and I can't imagine going back. It rewards a good pinch grip with wonderful precision cuts. The edge retention isn't superb (being my most-used blade may have something to do with it), but it doesn't take much to return it to wicked sharpness.

[@KnifewearKnives]

I agree, the height is a game changer!

[@manylch7964]

agree with all comments...I have acquired many knives over the years; santoku, gyuto, bunka, deba,etc but find I use my nakiri 80% of the time even for slicing meat. A number 2 Chinese chopper for is good meat with bones and a petty knife for delicate stuff. In the kitchen you only need 3-4 knives to cover all the bases.

[@UseVisine]

I believe it! A nakiri is essentially a smaller Chinese chef's knife (I forget what they call it in Mandarin right now). Watching Yan Can Cook all those years ago showed me it's an all purpose knife. So a nakiri is just a more delicate CCK really. I bought a Ryusen Fukaku Ryu on the recommendation of Naoto-san. Love it!2x And a Wusthoff Ikon for the rougher work.

[@gsutherland3614]

100% agree. I used a chinese cleaver ONLY for years, however, it can never do what a deba will do for fish, or a honesuki for meat, as well as the japanese blades... buuuuut there isnt a single japanese blade that can do what a single chinese cleaver can do overall (except maybe the Nakiri, but even then I'd go cleaver). i love how culture defines cuisine, cuisine influences knives, then the knives go back and influence the cuisine, and then re-shape culture

[@steveyarnell2.o]

Thank you knifewear for sharing this.

[@KnifewearKnives]

You bet!

[@JDAfrica]

Bought my first Nakiri, after using my 3 Santoku knifes for the last 16 years. Really enjoying it. It has a great balance, and the 10 degree blade allows much finer slicing in veg

[@KnifewearKnives]

Happy to hear it!

[@Guenounovitch]

that channel became my favorite, right before the day i receive my Nigara nakiri anmon

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@ScottKent]

I sort of agree...I tend to only use a nakiri except when working around bone (I love my nakiri too much to risk it). I use a honesuki around bones and it has become my go to as a petty knife too.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Nice, I love how versatile the honesuki is!

[@BrianMCarroll]

Inspiring. I just bisected a salmon fillet longitudinally. Effortless! The thin heavy blade made a beautiful clean cut. Thanks!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Awesome!

[@DJtheChemist]

"oh that was the wrong hand" hahaahha I felt that moment. ITS SO WEIRD when you do that by accident.

[@bruceswearingen7718]

This 1 is what I've been thinking..plus a paring & a serrated for breads & buns

[@barbarajohnson6398]

LOL. thanks for this great vid. As an old-ster--we only had skillet fry!

[@ShantarrDalrae]

Thank you for the information, hope you got more than the one bite!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you! I sure did.

[@miker7920]

I prefer my bunka as it also has the straight cutting side but also the K-tip.

[@82delta]

While I appreciate the nonsequitor tangent this video takes, from an entertainment perspective, I must remind you that the entire Japanese culture and the knife industry culture are geared to prevent this "one knife for everything" dilemma. The gyoto is the "jack of all trades" for convenience of in hand and at the ready use during peak time crunches at local fast grills during lunch time, but no respectable chef in a sit down meal and relax style environment will be without a deba, nakiri, petty, funyuki, santoku, bunka, kritsuke, yangiba, sujihiki, ad nauseam. The 1 knife concept is best regulated to the woods and to survival & bushcraft where you are away from home and have no kitchen or stove or reason to enjoy a multitude of speciality knives geared for and built for a very specific task and meant to be the best knife in the world at that task. (yes, I know santoku and bunka literally mean "multi purpose" lol ) Kinda like a single sharpening stone or a single burner stove....why? I want as many knives, sharpening stones and kitchen appliances as the law and my budget will allow me to have 😊

[@twinwankel]

The best knife for filleting a chicken is a western boning knife. I have a Honesuki and it's OK. It's too stiff and takes longer and you need to make a lot of small cuts with it. A flexible western boning knife is so fast, it can go around the breast bone in a couple of slices. I don't even know why the Japanese didn't make an equivalent. I have a Shun classic Nakiri and it's a great vegetable knife. Nothing sticks to it and it just glides through material. I also have a Mac Nakiri which is very sharp but onions sticks to it like a vacuum cleaner and I hate using it. It's good for slicing meat though.

[@georg9967]

I'm not sure if they exist. But for me a tipped Nakiri (like a kansai style usuba but double beveled) would be the ultimate prep knife. Currently I use a tall bunka as it's the second closest thing.

[@cdht942]

Mercer m20907, exactly what you're describing

[@Anis-m7i]

thxs

[@danielbottner7700]

The big advantage of a Nakiri is the durability of the front/tip of the blade, with a very thin profile behind the cutting edge. Thin blade push easier through high density foods. Most knife styles with small points/tips are thicker behind the cutting edge to withstand accidental encounters.

[@dawggonevidz9140]

I have a $3 thai made knife like a nakiri but quite a bit thinner. The heel of the blade (the last bit by the handle) is a very good for anything you need the tip for. It's my go to prep knife, and I also tend to get it for dressing meat for my jerky, trimming out the fat and silver skin. I can't think of many meals I can't do with just that one knife. One technique I use a lot with this knife is to choke right up on the back of the blade hardly holding the handle at all, especially when I'm smashing through stirfry prep.

[@DavidTumarkin]

Sounds like a Kiwi. Kiwi knives are awesome. 👍

[@sonkekoster3105]

Hi Lordy, nice demonstration! With the right skills the shape of the knife becomes less important. Always a pleasure to watch your content. Knifewear rocks! I personally tend more towards Gyutos and Kiritsukes as daily driver. When I choose a real tall knive, I pick up my chinese cleaver. But so far I have only one traditional NGA stainless do it all cleaver. This is good for coarse stuff and is able to cut through rips, chicken etc. But is not ideal for fine work. For that I have a Yu Kurosaki Shizuku Bunka - a true Laser. So let's cook!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Glad to hear it Sonke, thanks for watching!

[@philipp594]

A Chinese chef's knife can do it all. You just need to adapt the techniques - It has the acute tip. There is a medium heavy one for lobsters, seafood and chicken. That would probably be ideal.

[@KnifewearKnives]

We've got a Chinese cleavers video coming soon!

[@philipp594]

@@KnifewearKnives Those are always great. Looking forward to it!

[@lawrenceragnarok1186]

They're just too big for cramped little American kitchens. Also they're expensive if you get one with decent steel. Also if you get the cheap ones they're often warped or have shitty edge retention. Chinese cleavers are very niche

[@philipp594]

@@lawrenceragnarok1186 I use mine in a tiny studio. They acutually have a lot more usable blade than a similar sized chef's knife. I use a cheap Zwilling one. You don't want a expensive hard steel. This is a workhorse if the steel is too hard you can't smack ginger or garlic with it or break bones with the spine. I used my cheap one in a professional kitchen serving 300+ guests per night and did not have problems with the edge retention. I can sharpen it on the back of plate in a few minutes. If you know how to hone and sharpen you will never be in trouble xD.

[@nickolastiguan]

@@philipp594 not a chief knife, but I love my Kau Kong; I use that sh!t to chop everything 😂

[@thiago.assumpcao]

Nakiri is more versatile than people think. Chinese Cleaver has similar straight profile and works really well as general purpose chef knife. Same applies to Nakiri. Despite that the Japanese tradition of having one knife for meat and another for vegetables makes sense. Aggressive edge goes really well with vegetables, 300-1000 grit finish that can cut paper towel is an excellent finish Raw meat goes well with high polish. If Im optimizing for raw meat I go at least 6K but 10-12k is even better. For a general purpose knife you need a compormise middle ground that is not optimized for either task but works decent for both. Usually people go 1-6K on general purpose, my preference is 3K.

[@michelepalermo2949]

Why you shouldn't do a 6000 polish even you mean do only veg the more sharp the better is

[@thiago.assumpcao]

@@michelepalermo2949 Most people don't know how to properly deburr on low grit stones but with good technique you can get an edge that is sharp enough to shave hair or cut paper towels straight out of a 300 grit stone. If we compare coarse and polished edge both cutting paper towels the polished knife will tend to slip on vegetable skin while coarse edge will tend to bite and cut. The high polish of chromium oxide is specially bad for vegetables, barbecue and fat layer.

[@michelepalermo2949]

@@thiago.assumpcao your words make sense sure, but I'm not totally agree, a polished edge can cut more linear ad smoothly, yeah he could slip a little bit on veg skin but just put just a little bit of strength to go , isn't it right ?

[@thiago.assumpcao]

@@michelepalermo2949 If you need more force to cut vegetables with polished edge is it really sharper than coarse grit? Definition of sharpness is complicated. I always try to optimize for best cutting capacity.

[@The_Slavstralian]

I cut meat with my Nakiri all the time. Its thin and sharp as hell, I find it perfect for slicing boneless meat especially flat filleting on using the board as the base can get a good even fillet if I am careful. I also have a Gyuoto I recently bought from a trip to Japan it is also a phenomenal beautiful knife.

[@3ngan498]

I never use the pointy tip of a knife like ever I have a Chinese cleaver but this look cool

[@olan5668]

Santoku or Bunka for me (for blade length 165-180mm). Minimum blade height (heel to spine) 55mm, flatter edge profile (gently curved), and good tip. Or Kiritsuke for longer blade (210-240mm). Minimum blade height 50mm.

[@rais3tong]

can you demo that masakage zero behind you looks really amazing !!!

[@kiliang96]

Another good use for a nakiri is removing the skin on a fish fillet, you can remove it way easier than win any other knife, other than a yanagiba, I don't have one so I butcher fish with my deba, another deba, a ajikiri one and my nakiri, those last ones as support knives

[@Psychonaut999]

Thank you for the video! I am currently struggling deciding between the Miyabi 5000mcd Santoku and Nakiri. I am vegan so a Nakiri would make sense. But their Nakiri is a bit of an untypical one. I love the Birchwood look though.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Yeah, their nakiri is closer to a santoku or a Bunka, but it's a beauty regardless!

[@jlastre]

There is a video on KZbin that shows an eel restaurant where the chef is using a nikiri to process the eels. I think the bone is thin enough for him not to worry

[@KnifewearKnives]

I would imagine so, that's interesting!

[@sto2779]

2:19 - Is that a pitted/hammered Nakiri? The cabbage shouldn't stick on to the knife like that if so...

[@KnifewearKnives]

It's a little textured, but not super rough which is likely why it's sticking.

[@LouCheezeYouSleaze]

I use my Petty every day, but it also doubles as a utility knife. I use my Bunka when doing precise cuts, like dicing an onion and staying just millimeters away from the head, and I use my Chinese vegetable cleaver whenever cutting thick root vegetables that even my Nakiri has trouble getting through....but my Nakiri? I rarely use it.

[@sharamkh]

What about a funayuki?

[@KnifewearKnives]

That's a fun one too!

[@michelepalermo2949]

Onestly you don't usa a gyuto or kiritsuke or deba or santoku and even nakiri for debone and fillet fish and honest I like santoku, bunka or gyuto style, , but if you have to cut meat in pieces or fish or obviously any vegetables you can do it without problem with a nakiri

[@KnifewearKnives]

Having a tip on your knife is super helpful when deboning! I personally use a honesuki when I'm doing poultry, and a yanagiba/deba for fish!

[@michelepalermo2949]

@@KnifewearKnives yeah but for deboning you need a small knife curve with a tip similar to fish, for this last one you use a similar but with a flexible blade , I wouldn't be confident with a deba

[@MarkasTZM]

Second the Chinese Chef Knife

[@bw7112]

what is the brand of the green handle knife hanging on the wall?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Hey, that's just a one-off custom handle we put on that knife!

[@roospike]

Bunka ... 48+ mm tall x 170 ish mm Slight curvature at the front, flat belly. Don't know about anybody else but once I started going to higher Rockwell hardness ratings Japanese knives I had to start to get away from rocking ... plink, plink ,plink across-the-board 😬 Feels like when you actually find her nice style everything started to come into place. I have a much like/ dislike relationship with santokus and short nakiris. Why in the world would they manufacture short nakiris and santoku is beyond me.

[@randysvids4774]

Dwight brought me here

[@jameswoods4656]

I've been using that same peeler since the mid nineties. The non believers persist though.

[@MarkasTZM]

kuhn rikon?

[@jameswoods4656]

@@MarkasTZM Best one in my opinion.

[@KnifewearKnives]

You know what's up!

[@nicksokaluk9518]

dude any chef worth his shit knows what to use to mix coleslaw

[@KnifewearKnives]

😂

[@justbuck603]

You're cutting with the wrong hand, Lordy

[@KnifewearKnives]

😅

[@SouthsideDon48]

No such thing as cutting with the wrong hand. I'm ambidextrous and i use both hands depending on what i'm cutting.

[@panganaranga]

A knive without a tip to rule them all? I am surprised to say the least. Started with the task the knive is made for and then kooks something you can cook with this knive. Is is usefull to have tip on the knive, not always? True, but if you need a tip itˋs usefull and a knive without a tip gets useless. 😂

[@jrk1666]

Prefer my kiritsuke

[@NodakSavage]

AAAWW, another leftie, did you have to get a special "left handed" knife?? I've been shopping for a couple new knives and this is becoming one of the most annoying things ever.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Try these: knifewear.com/collections/shop?view=products&q=left%20handed%20knive#/filter:mfield_knifestats_edge_bevel:Single$2520Bevel$2520-$2520Left$2520Bias/filter:mfield_knifestats_edge_bevel:Semi-Double$2520(70$252F30)$2520-Left$2520Bias

[@drinkingwithbeeh]

spending hundreds of dollars for the Japanese chef knife just not worth it talking about what's the right knife for certain things kind of funny in my opinion I can break it down a chicken for the $3 hunting knife nice skills are what's important. 10:57 hahahaaha hes not joking here.

[@playandfun3720]

You're thinking narrowly japanese artisan knife or chef knife you called it, it's for professional of course they are non professional ppl that buy these knife what these ppl call? enthusiast it's art it's culture it's not just a knife some blacksmith in japan even do ritual first before making it. Of course it's debate table for normal house hold to have it but still these many knifes has it purpose, you not that stupid that i have to tell you each one right?

[@Goonamus]

This is kind of a dumb video, a bunka does everything a nakiri does and more….

[@KnifewearKnives]

Bunka's are pretty slick too!