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If you consider yourself to be something of a MasterChef in the kitchen, it is only fair that you’ll want the right tools supporting you — and that includes high-quality knives. An invaluable tool in any kitchen drawer, the right blade will slice through food with technical precision without damaging or bruising it in the process. And when your ingredients are cut into equal segments, they cook evenly, making for a great-tasting dish.
The question is: which knife should you buy? With so many high-quality options available, it’s hard to know which model is ideally suited to your cooking style. In this article, we explain the difference between Japanese knives vs. German knives, discuss the various benefits of the former, and explain how investing in a Japanese knife can take your cooking to the next level:
While both Japanese knives and German knives are made from steel, they feature different grades that offer very different results and cutting experiences. Japanese knives typically use steel that contains more carbon, which makes for a harder blade that maintains its sharp edge for longer to make light work of precision cutting. This harder blade is more prone to chipping, however. Due to the harder steel, the Japanese blades can be thinner, reducing the weight of the knife. Japanese knives are produced with both ‘full-tang’ construction as well as ‘partial-tang’. With the ‘full-tang’ construction, the metal of the blade extends the full length of the handle, making the knife heavier than a ‘partial-tang’. German knives are only available in with a full-tang, making them inherently heavier than Japanese knives with a partial-tang handle.
German knives typically are made from steel that is a little softer than their Japanese counterparts. This softer steel is less likely to chip but also requires more frequent sharpening. German knives also have a ‘full tang’ construction, which describes a single blade that starts from the tip of the knife and continues through to the collar and handle. While this makes it much heavier than a Japanese knife, it can easily cut through dense vegetables like pumpkin or chop through rigid joints in a cut of meat. Japanese knives benefit from a lighter build that allows you to slice through the most foods effortlessly.
To assess whether a Japanese or German knife is best suited to your kitchen, consider your cooking style. Are you looking for one knife to use across all your meal preparation? Or do you want to cook with intention and precision? While the heavy-handed build of a German knife is useful for slicing through certain foods, it can bruise your ingredients if used carelessly or not maintained properly. Since Japanese knives are slighter, they allow you to carve vegetables and prepare vegetables or delicate seafood with finesse.
The sharpness of your knife’s blade is another huge factor when deciding between a Japanese knife and a German knife. With a thinner profile due to the harder steel, the blade of a Japanese knife makes for a sharper and more accurate cutting experience that cannot be rivaled.
There’s more than one type of Japanese knife, and each is meticulously engineered to tackle different tasks in the kitchen with maximum control. From a workhorse of a knife like Santoku, the famed Japanese boning knife, to the intricate Mukimono designed for detailed carving, Japanese knives will help you achieve the best results in the kitchen.
If you want to experience the benefits of a Japanese knife for yourself, browse our complete collection at Hasu-Seizo and invest in a kitchen tool you can enjoy for a lifetime. Guided by tradition, our master craftsmen hand-finish our Japanese knives using traditional techniques so you can enjoy their high performance at home.
