While not everyone is familiar with this knife shape and it may look intimidating at first, it is actually easy to use and is a great knife to have in your arsenal if you prepare a lot of meat and fish.
What is a Sujihiki?
Translating to "flesh slicer", the sujihiki knife features a long, thin and pointy blade that is short in height. This shape is perfect for effortlessly cutting through boneless proteins.
Quick Facts About Sujihikis:
- Sujihiki knives vary in length from 210-330mm.
- The most popular length for a sujihiki is 270mm.
- All sujihiki knives are double bevel, meaning the edge is ground and sharpened on both sides of the blade.
- The shape makes it perfect for cutting through meat in one clean motion so you can avoid "sawing" through the meat.
What Are Sujihikis Used For?
- Carving a turkey or roast
- Slicing sashimi
- Slicing brisket
Considerations When Buying a Sujihiki Knife:
Steel: Would you like a carbon steel knife that will be extremely sharp but require more care to prevent rust? Or perhaps you need a more low maintenance stainless steel or stainless clad knife.
Handles: Some sujihiki knives feature a Japanese Wa-handle while others have a Western Style handle. The handles come in a variety of materials such as natural wood, pakka-wood, stabilized wood, stag horn and micarta. Ask us about our custom handle options!
Finish: We have tsuchime, damascus, nashiji, migaki, kurouchi or mirror-polished sujihiki knives to choose from, a finish for every taste!
Sujihiki vs. Yanigaba: If you are shopping for a sujihiki, you may come across a similar knife shape called yanigaba and wonder what the difference is. At first glance, these knives do look quite similar. While they are both long and thin and intended for slicing through proteins, there are some key differences that set them apart. The yanigaba is a single bevel knife and the sujihiki is double bevel. Sujihiki knives also tend to be thinner and lighter than yanigabas. For these reasons, traditional Japanese sushi chefs often prefer using a yanigaba, but if you are a professional or home cook that is slicing a variety of proteins, a sujihiki is probably more suitable for you.
Three of Our Favourite Sujihiki Knives:
OUL VG10 Damascus 240mm Sujihiki
