Kiritsuke vs. Sakimaru

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Brad Gibson

Brad Gibson

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Hey guys,

Basically these two knives are the most badass looking things around the sushi line. I am going to be trying to make my way onto the sushi line so I would like to equip myself with one of these two styles of yanagiba. I am hoping that someone with some experience with both could lend me some insight as to what the advantages of each are and which of the two you think would be the best knife for a new sushi cutter.

Thanks for your time and thoughts,

Brad
 
Brad I have only used the standard Yanagiba,but I really like the looks of the Kiritsuke Yanagi.I would imagine it is a great cutter as well:)
 
Brad I don't own a takobiki but I do own both a standard Yanagi, Kensaki Yanagi (Yanagi with Kiritsuke tip) as well as a full blown Kiritsuke. I have tried a fellow colleagues takobiki and I like my Kensaki Yanagi more. It has a similar slicing motion as a standard Yanagi while having a less curved tip so it's easier to do fine/nimble/accurate knife work without having to raise the knife as far up. I believe either would work for a new sushi chef because both profiles until close to the tip are flat. It only comes down to the tip and what's more comfortable for you. I hope this helps somewhat. Cheers
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I dont know why but I am in love with sakimarus. They just look so awesome.
 
Keep in mind the curve or belly of the edge of yanagiba. People tend to believe to it aids in slicing as more area of the edge should be cutting in the slicing action. Most kritsuke and takobiki have a flat profile. Also the more the knife curves from the spine to the tip, the thinner the tip will be: causing less drag at the end of a slice. Thirdly, in searching for regular yanagi: you'll have many more options.
 
Well, if you aren't going to be doing any veggie prep with it a kiritsuke may not be exactly what you are looking for. Unless you are already proficient with an usuba and are looking to save space on the line by having only one knife, I would recommend the tako over the kiritsuke. Also I'm not sure if it's true for every maker but my Tanaka sakimaru takobiki is a bit thinner than my Tanaka yanagiba for what it's worth.
 
Brad, I honestly say go with a yanagiba 1st. I've purchased -in this order:
Kiritsuke
Takobiki
Yanagiba

I honestly find the yanagi to be the best profiled knife. Although it doesn't look nearly as cool, you aren't cutting with looks.
I very seldom use the takobiki, and could honestly leave it at home most days. I just couldn't resist because it looks so cool, and I saw a good deal I couldn't resist.
If you fabricate(or plan to) a lot of fish, the kiritsuke is a poor choice because you WILL lose the tip several times to the cutting board. I one time fabricated 20lbs of Halibut into 8oz portions with my kiritsuke(because my yanagi was at MHenry's house getting new shoes) only to discover I'd broken(and lost) the tip somewhere in the process due to the cutting board.
It's not a cool thing to explain to your boss why you have to throw away 20lbs of fish, plus the wasted labor time.

My yanagi is the cheapest make out of all of these 3, but it is the best(by far) for slicing most things and for basic fish(side) fabrication. Did I mention it is my most used of all 3?

I'm sure you won't take my advice, I'm the kind of person that asks advice, but goes with my own mind too!
Let us know what kind of takobiki you buy.
 
Haha! In all honesty I don't like the square tipped takobiki, I only like the looks of the sakimaru. I think I am going to get a regular Yanagiba first or if an insane deal arrises maybe I will go with a sakimaru. Thank you for your advice and experience.
 
knyfeknerd said:
Brad, I honestly say go with a yanagiba 1st. I've purchased -in this order:
Kiritsuke
Takobiki
Yanagiba

I honestly find the yanagi to be the best profiled knife. Although it doesn't look nearly as cool, you aren't cutting with looks.
I very seldom use the takobiki, and could honestly leave it at home most days. I just couldn't resist because it looks so cool, and I saw a good deal I couldn't resist.
If you fabricate(or plan to) a lot of fish, the kiritsuke is a poor choice because you WILL lose the tip several times to the cutting board. I one time fabricated 20lbs of Halibut into 8oz portions with my kiritsuke(because my yanagi was at MHenry's house getting new shoes) only to discover I'd broken(and lost) the tip somewhere in the process due to the cutting board.
It's not a cool thing to explain to your boss why you have to throw away 20lbs of fish, plus the wasted labor time.

My yanagi is the cheapest make out of all of these 3, but it is the best(by far) for slicing most things and for basic fish(side) fabrication. Did I mention it is my most used of all 3?

I'm sure you won't take my advice, I'm the kind of person that asks advice, but goes with my own mind too!
Let us know what kind of takobiki you buy.
Click to expand...


+1000! I own a kiritsuke and lost the tip due to the cutting board. I was cutting a BIG bunch of herbs and lifted the heel of my knife way up high to do it and "stabbed" into my cutting board. The thing is, I didn't notice I lost the tip until I was done going through buckets of cut herbs! I was totally freaking out wondering whether there was a shard of steel in my bucket of herbs that I just spent 2 hours cutting and thankfully found the tip of my knife still stuck in the cutting board.

I don't think the tip of a kensaki yanagi is nearly as fragile as a kiritsuke, but this experience is enough to make me not get one. That thing is just asking to be broken off at some point... I don't own a sakimaru, but I do own a tokyo-style usuba in which the lack of tip has never (and I mean NEVER) been an issue for me, so I don't foresee it being an issue on a yanagi either...
 
I felt kiritsuke style yanagiba is much better in performance compare to sakimaru takohiki.

Look nice but, that's it.

But i prefer using normal yanagiba easiest to use & most useful.
 
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