This is a question customers ask us all the time. The answer is that, among the many kinds of Japanese knife, a sushi restaurant essentially needs only two: the Yanagiba and the Deba.
- The Deba is the knife used to break a fish down from a whole body into pieces, ready to be sliced further for sushi or sashimi. The Deba is broad and stout with a thick spine, so it transmits force well when breaking down fish. The blade has a slope on one side while the other side is flat, an angle that sits very well in the hand for this work, especially when running the blade along the line of the bones. The most suitable sharpness for this knife is 1000 grit, which counts as a medium edge; under a microscope it has fine teeth, which is best suited to transmitting force in this kind of work. Standard sizes run from 125/150/165/180/210 mm (blade only), but the most popular are 165 and 180 mm, because these two suit breaking down salmon best.
- The Yanagiba is the knife used to slice large pieces of fish into bite-sized pieces for sushi or sashimi. The blade is long and tapered to give enough length for the stroke, because making sushi or sashimi calls for treating the flesh very gently. Standard sizes run from 240/270/300/330/360 mm (blade only), depending on the size of the piece you want; the most popular are 270 and 300 mm.
Now we know which knives are needed for making sushi. The next thing we want to know is which brand and which model to choose — and that I will take up for you in the next article.