Nakiri

For many newcomers to the world of Japanese kitchen knives, nakiri is as strange as the intriguing shape of the knife. Unlike kiritsuke, which everyone likes, nakiri doesn't really attract attention with its beauty. However, his performance is just unreal. When you cut multiple peppers at once, it must have often happened to you that many of the cut pieces remained connected like paper dolls. This is because it is very easy not to cut the peel of the vegetable to the end with a curved blade. With its straight edge, the nakiri blade makes full contact with your cutting board. A fuller contact means a cleaner cut.

The use of nakiri initially requires little adjustment. This blade shape is not designed for rocking. Moving the knife back and forth or up and down works much better. Although swinging is very popular in the west, all knives work better by sliding forward or backward.

Since there is more material in the nakiri blade than in gyuto or santoku, the center of gravity of the nakiri is shifted forward, which makes the job easier.

If gyuto or santoku is your main knife in the kitchen, nakiri certainly deserves the place of co-chef. In cutting large leafy vegetables, potatoes, onions, peppers, as well as garlic and herbs it is unsurpassed and will do much of the work in preparing meals.

If you are prone to a meatless diet, this is your main knife.

Although it is made in lengths from 120 mm up to 240 mm, the most commonly used length is 165-170 mm. The height of the blade varies between 48 and 58 mm. Contrary to its appearance, nakiri is a very light knife with a thinner blade.