The
yanagiba, or yanagi, is a knife designed to slice fish for sushi and sashimi.
Yanagiba translates into "willow leaf blade." The slender blade is tailored to cut the fish in one single stroke. Its ultra sharp edge slices through the fish with minimal pressure required, thus reducing stress to the flesh and minimizing cellular damage. The yanagiba is such a specialized knife that by using different cutting techniques the chef can enhance and change the visual characteristics and flavors of the fish. There are several styles of fish slicers employed by sushi chefs but the classic yanagi is the most favored. Yanagibas are long knives and usually do not come much shorter than 270mm. This ensures that the slice is made in one single stroke. Sawing is simply not acceptable in the preparation of sushi.
This is a long knife and you need to be sure of the work area size before considering anything longer. It is hand-fashioned from Blue Paper #2 steel with a ni-mai awase cladding (a single sided layer of iron). This is a gorgeous knife made better by the addition of a finely finished ebony handle and buffalo horn ferrule. Please note the attractive gapped machi.
Knife Brand: Takayuki
Blacksmith: Kenji Togashi
Construction: Hammer Forged
Grind: Traditional Single Bevel
Cladding: Soft Iron
Core Edge Steel: Aogami #2 (Blue #2)
HRC: 61-62
Weight: 9.1 oz (260 g)
Edge Length: 293 mm
Total Length: 455 mm
Spine Thickness at Heel: 4.3 mm
Blade Height: 35.2 mm
Handle: Ebony Octagonal