This awesome 堺秀岳鏡子 Sakai Hidetake Kyoko has a lot going for it. To me a yanagiba is a bit like a sujihiki, not my most frequently used knives but amongst my most coveted. If you're like me, you'll never get it sharp enough and you wonder if you can do just that little bit better. You cringe when someone else wants to hold it, and you consider taking it away with you on holidays.

If you've ever been to a good sushi restaurant, you've probably seen the chefs working with a yanagiba. A crazy sharp, long thin knife with which they very precisely cut thin slices of salmon or tuna. A yanagiba is explicitly made for cutting sashimi; that's why they are also called sashimi knives. Every serious sushi chef or home cook that wants to prepare these sort of meals will look to knives that will allow them to be as creative as they can.

Photos 2 and 13 show what looks a bit a highly polished ring around the edge of the blade. Between this can be seen the slight hollow grind on the backs of many hand forged yanagiba and deba fish knives. It allows for an ultra sharp edge which is highly sought after by chefs and home cooks to get the thinnest slices of fish for sashimi and sushi.

Photos 14 and 15 show the horn end cap that stops moisture penetrating into the handle from the end. The handle does not appear to be the original and the horn kakumaki collar has seen better days.

NERD BLURB

The knife industry in Sakai boasts a history of more than 600 years. Sakai is one of the three great knife and bladed tool producing regions in Japan. The knives individually hand-forged by craftspeople are particularly famous, boasting a domestic share for use by 98% of professional chefs*. Their incredible cutting edge, coupled with the massive boom of Japanese cuisine, makes them the focus of attention for the chefs from around the world.

*Sakai Tourism and Convention Bureau

In the mini doco you will see how incredibly sharp this knife really is. The slices of cucumber and radish are so thin that they are transparent. In some places the slice is so thin, the fruit is only a few cells deep and buckles and the resistance of the blade.

Photo 10 shows the knife in the process of being hand sharpened. All knives restored and sold by me are hand sharpened on a variety of stones ranging from 400, 1000, 3000, 5000, 8000, 9000 and 12,000 grit. Knives leaving my workshop can trim down free standing magazine paper.

DETAILS AT A GLANCE

• Spine Thickness above heel: 3.10mm
• Bevel: single RH bevel
• Handle: wood and buffalo horn
• Handle Treatment: varnished
• Blade length: 232mm
• Knife length: 372mm

Yanagiba 柳刃包丁 roughly translates in to English as "willow-leaf blade", a simile which perfectly describes the long and slender leaf-shaped blade of the knife.

Yanagiba knives are mostly used to slice boneless fish and meats.

The narrow blade and relatively acute edge angle of the Yanagiba are features which greatly reduce the effort required to cut through ingredients. The combination of cutting technique, acute blade angle, and sharp edge result in very little cellular damage in the cut surface preserving the flavour of your food.

Please note that I am not a chef, just a very enthusiastic home cook. I hope that by showing you what the knife can do, you too will try to get the most out of it and look to preparing the best meals you can.

Please note that I will combine shipping on multiple items or purchases made at the same time. Please ask questions if you wish. I generally get back within an hour or two. Please note that none of my knives come with a saya.

Shipping Info: Generally, any item paid for before 08:00 on a weekday morning will be posted on my 09:00 postal run.