Sujihiki VS Yanagiba - JAPANESE KNIFE - Battle of the Slicers

[@SharpKnifeShop]

Are you team suji or team yani?! Let us know!

[@Maplecook]

Still on the fence!

[@Owieczkin]

Team Yani! Unique blade shapes ftw!

[@inthespread001]

Yani

[@Reza-nz2re]

Yanagi here

[@sonnythorelli-hw7rj]

Leaning to Yani. Maybe upcoming Christmas present to myself.

[@lessprogram123]

As a sushi chef, Yanagi all the way. I understand that there is certainly use and appeal to a suji, however I believe yanagi is superior. On the bar, you're going to have 2 knives on your board, one of which is a roll knife, I personally use a 165mm kurosaki r2 bunka. Great for rolls, any and every veggie, the tip is nice for small detailed work, and breaking down fish. Sharpening a yanagi is quite mindless once you get the hang of it, and it you will not beat the sharpness of a yanagi with a suji. There is also a thought that a sharper knife ruptures less cells in fish and preserves more umami, which a yanagi wins in

[@Reza-nz2re]

Yes, cannot imagine working is a sushi bar without yanagim

[@llltrac9143]

@@Reza-nz2re I ditched my Yanagiba for a Yoshikane SKD 240mm sujihiki and never look back. I dropped my knife sometime and it's a pain to fix chips on a yanagiba. It's more of a personal preference.

[@Reza-nz2re]

@@llltrac9143 someone drop my Yanagiba before and nothing happened. Not a chip, no bend, nothing thank god. My self I never drop my Yanagiba after 15 years works. If you make maki in a sushi bar it's ok if you use a suji but for a head chef who does sashimi Yanagiba is a must.

[@Bilbo0472]

Agree with you : I'm not a chef, I'm passionate about cooking and very facinated by sushi making, I will never change my yanagibas for any suji !! for all the japanese dishes I make, I only use a Deba for fileting big fish, 2 yanagiba (9" - 12") and a 8" gyuto for everything else (I have a santoku but don't use it as much). ANd I think you don't need anything more for 99% of Japanese cuisine. IMVHO !

[@Atreusz]

You would never be able to tell from a blind test whether the fish was cut with a rly sharp Sujihiki or Yanagiba. But of course you can convince yourself of a lot of things 😂😂

[@Reza-nz2re]

Yanagiba is a specialty knife for sashimi and slicing boneless fish for sushi neta etc.. Sujihiki is for slicing beef, turkey, and also great for cutting sushi rolls. Suji can be used for slicing sashimi and fish but you won't get a perfect cutting feel and precision

[@MrJhepz17]

Ive been using yanahiba fir yrs now then decided to try sujihiki miyabi 5000mcd67 and i love it very versatile..i work at a sushi restaurant and its my all around knife from slicing sashimi to cutting maki rolls chopping vegetables etc….

[@aungzayhlaing1387]

Pictures

[@mosttoothless]

I have a W2 Yanagiba and use it mostly to slice steak. Love it. Soooo sharp. And I like to sharpen it, not hard to do if you know how.

[@tuc4319]

I'm going to buy one of these knife and I'm a little bit undecided. Actually I would use it to slice roasts, meat and very rarely fish like sushi. Maybe for the applications above the best choice would be the sujihiki. I tend to think that the thickness of the yanagiba and the asymmetry would make me difficult to do some jobs. Yanagiba is very cool though. What would you suggest me? I was going to select a 24cm blade. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot and keep it sharp!

[@OriginalFallofMind]

I'd recommend a Gyuto for an all around knife if fish is last on your list. It was my first "good" knife. Vg10 stainless, low maintenance, wont flash rust or patina quick, just hand rinse and dry.still love it. Honestly you can use any knife for about anything besides bone. I fell in love with nakiri. Especially my cheaper kurouchi finished nakiri in shirogami #2 Perfect weight, razor sharp. Vegetables, boneless meats, it's my go to. But I can't help but collect them all. Be careful, soon you will be buying more, refinishing vintage, making wa handles and then forging your own. 😆

[@johanhammarstrom2790]

That is a hard bargain, as I have both styles in my kit, but I wholeheartedly agree that the Yani has the egde on looks and coolness.

[@smithgeorge6858]

In my opinion single bevel sharpening is much less stressful when you get the idea and your yanagiba is made well but sujihiki all the way for general purpose

[@robertmarsalis9296]

As a totally non-professional home chef who loves sushi, I’m team yanagiba.

[@yourbabybjornborg5049]

For thinly slicing protein, why go Yanagida when can go fugubiki! The Mine(spine?) and Ha(blade?) on Yanagida are similar to Gyuto so it's quite heavy and robust, so someone in the old country actually use it to butcher fish, but also it kind of lost some delicacy. But fugubiki, oh...... Its sole purpose is to thinly slice hard fish like pufferfish or Tai(Sea Bream, so tough), so good, love it.

[@OriginalFallofMind]

Yes! Fuguhikis are awesome 👌 love the lower profile for even cutting sushi rolls.

[@bidin5253]

Gauge is there a big difference between 240 and 270 when buying yanagiba...can save money a little bit if buying a shorter knife

[@itsmederek1]

If you have a gyuto already i mean yanagi all the way right?

[@jacobhoward1031]

As someone who in reality works in a kitchen and is a culinary enthusiast, I just have this to say: get double bevel knives and just avoid single bevel knives in general. The reason single bevel knives penetrate food slightly better but not by a lot is because there is only one bevel and not two to cut through the food, meaning slightly less resistance. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY ARE SHARPER! The number of downsides of using a single bevel knife are many as a knife is supposed to be a wedge that goes straight through whatever you are cutting. With a single bevel knife, it is going to go where it wants to go (whether it is a right or left bevel, it will go the opposite direction). Further, they are more prone to chipping and can be harder to sharpen and maintain. The only way a single bevel blade is going to work for you is if you are a machine like a mandolin or meat slicer, which you are not, as all human error is eliminated through the use of machines. In the case of being in a commercial kitchen or your own, you do not want the hassle of trying to control the direction that single bevel knife goes as in a commercial kitchen, you are on a schedule and have no time for such tools to be finicky. In your own kitchen, do you really want to go through that pain and hassle? I do not. So just do yourself a favor, avoid single bevel knives and go with double bevel knives. That is how knives were meant to be made.

[@MichaelSmith-on1ig]

Okay I guess I have to get a Yanagiba!

[@jimbroen]

I bought a yanagiba about a year ago. I use it once every week or so to slice up beef, chicken or lamb for a stew or soup. It doesn't work any better than the 20 year old Zilling slicer that I used to use but I don't care. It's very cool and the patina is coming along nicely. I have a deba than looks great on the mag strip but I can't seem to find any use for it. The biggest surprise I got was with a Nikiri. It's mostly replaced my chefs knives and not having a pointy end means one less way to accidently injure myself.

[@NANIVIRI]

late reply but maybe I can help u get the Deba some use. If you butcher whole chicken the Deba knife is a joy for that, as well as for certain fruits like oranges where u can turn them and it removes minimal flesh.

[@OriginalFallofMind]

Yes! I love my Nakiri. I use it more than any other style. If I'm prepping alot of vegetables for a meal I may as well keep using it, for the meat. after all it works perfect for just about everything, atleast 90% of what make during the week.

[@etherdog]

If my wife sees this, with her penchant for sashimi, I'll have to get a yanagiba to get those nice slices of fresh seafood. Fortunately (or not), we live in the Midwest where fresh seafood is almost nonexistent. Just waiting now to book a trip to Japan without having to join a tour.

[@OriginalFallofMind]

You have to fish more! Lol 😆 You have walleye, cat, oh and some smoked whitefish sushi. That's great. But apparently walmart and Aldi have some clean enough fish for sushi. Atleast that's what a ranked sushi chef told me on KZbin. No excuse not to buy more japanese knives!

[@lancemillward1912]

The anatomy of the knife. 36 24 36 ;)

[@sean6lam]

I know the Japanese prefer very specialised knives aka one knife for one job, but as a semi-professional home cook, how much more use out of the yanagiba can I get? Like slicing a medium rare steak or even a medium rare duck breast? Google seems to be split…

[@OriginalFallofMind]

Just go with a hybrid then. Older styles are more specialized. Get a gyuto, Santoku, etc. Personally I love a good nakiri for about everything. If you want to break down around bone and have an all purpose get a medium sized deba.

[@sean6lam]

@@OriginalFallofMind i gave a gyuto and santoku. Unfortunately if you personally go to Japan to buy knives, sujihikis are actually relatively rare compared to other knife styles. So i bought a Yanahiba. I mean surely slicing boneless meat wouldnt do too much damage

[@OriginalFallofMind]

"Right for youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"!

[@fartingfoxmaster7852]

Great video and comparisons. I team yani :-)

[@sonnythorelli-hw7rj]

As you say in the title “slicer” so I don’t see why they should compete in silver skin. I would’t use this length of knife for that task. You emphasize Yanagiba for raw proteins, which I’d go with. Shall I udnerstand do not try Yanagiba on charcuterie like slicing paper thin Salami or Parma ham and similar dry hang meat? Have you tried?

[@Daniel-yj3ju]

I'm vegetarian. Would you recommend a good yani as part of the collection?

[@chillcooking3119]

No

[@gabek1381]

You can never have too many knives. If you want a yanagiba, get one. Most knives don't fall into the "need" category, but why care about that?

[@キョンシーの音楽]

not directly, as a vegetarian i would get an usuba first for single bevel knives

[@Galactusz007]

Get a plastic lightsaber.

[@dlevi67]

One thing that many of these comparisons (including this one) forget is that 10% of the population is left-handed. Finding the yanagiba you want is exponentially more difficult if you want it left-handed.

[@arnaudferrigno677]

You find a lot of yanagiba actually for left handed in Japan but they cost 20 to 30% more 😅

[@dlevi67]

@@arnaudferrigno677 Next trip to Tokyo... thanks for the hint!

[@kurtis4572]

Love every video. keep them coming!!! single beveled knives are the worst concept anyone has ever come up with

[@sonkekoster3105]

I only have one Yanagiba! in my opinion the Yanagiba is much better suited to break down small fish. I like to use my for this task and of course to prep sashimi, which I really like. My dream knife for preparing sashimi, would be single bevel Kiritsuke.

[@justbuck603]

Team suji purely based on practicality. I don't yet own a yanagi, and honestly have zero use for one. But as a collector of Japanese kitchen knives, their traditional status appeals to me. One can aspire.

[@carygriffin8698]

Cool, unless you're a lefty like me....

[@Owieczkin]

There are left handed yanagiba available. Not as many, but still are ;)

[@carygriffin8698]

They're substantially more expensive. Upwards of 30%!

[@Owieczkin]

@@carygriffin8698 you're looking for cheap AND premium cutlery? Japanese category might be quite limited here ;)

[@carygriffin8698]

Yeah, I know... I probably roll with a sujihiki.

[@dayannahkali]

I don’t like yanagi. Ok, maybe for doing maki where it is preferable to have one rough face sticking to the rice and one glassy side for aesthetics, yanagi may be better. (what is the hype about makis anyway, 50% rice, that very too much carbs) but honestly, the blade is very too much thick and each time I take my (yes, super very sharp) yanagiba for slicing sashimis (I eat a lot of it) I end up taking another thinner blade and doing the work 3 times faster. Like you can slice a whole filet without having to manipulate away each slice like you have to with fat yanagi blade. Plus, I’d say it does look bad on the rack, exposing this unappealing flat surface. Tradition is not always reason.

[@Reza-nz2re]

I don't recommend using yanagi for maki/ roll., Use suji or thinner Gyuto with less height at the heel. Yanagiba is for slicing fish (sashimi). This knife is a must have for sushi chef. I cannot imagine a sushi bar without a yanagiba.