Nakiris that don't wedge

I'm after a nakiri that is not going to wedge in large dense veg (e.g. large carrots).

I'm looking at the Watanabe KU 180mm nakiri and the Itinomonn stainless clad 180mm nakiri. I know people love the Watanabe one but there doesn't seem to be much information available on the Itinomonn.

From the JNS photos, the Itinomonn looks really thin behind the edge. I've also seen some choil shots of the Watanabe nakiri that make it look very thin. I'm after something that definitely won't wedge in veg!

Does anyone have experience of either nakiri wedging?

Murata blue #1. It is thin from the spine to the edge and is probably one of the best quality to $ ratio money can buy.

Awesome cutting power and release but it need light sanding/polishing at the spine and choil.

Thanks but I'm after something in the 180mm range. Would love to hear people's experiences of the Watanabe and Itinomonn.

As I recall, the Watanabe is very thin behind the edge, I've never handled the Itonomon.

I have used the 180mm Watanabe SS KU Nakiri on rutabaga and it wedged severely. I don't recall it wedging on any other tasks I've tried....and I'm not sure there is anything that doesn't wedge when quartering rutabaga. HTH!

Thanks, Zwiefel. I must admit, I've never cooked with rutabaga before! So it didn't wedge on large carrots? Would you recommend the Watanabe?

Mangelwurzel said:

Thanks, Zwiefel. I must admit, I've never cooked with rutabaga before! So it didn't wedge on large carrots? Would you recommend the Watanabe?

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I don't eat cooked carrots (too sweet) so I never get the big ones. For the range of tasks that I use it for, I'm pleased with it. gorgeous, reasonably thin behind the edge, nice weight, carbon core sharpens well and easily. I haven't used any other nakiris though, so I really only have gyutos to compare it to (actually, I did use the catcheside passaround nakiri last year, but don't feel like I did enough with it to make a good comparison).

It's an interesting challenge with nakiris to balance wedging and vacuum-trapping. Those that don't suction themselves in place are those that have a higher likelihood of wedging, and vice versa.

I suspect either option would be fine. I do not get "wedging" really with the Ichinomon, but the tall bevel is very flat on mine and gets suctioned in place a bit through dense wetter ingredients. Adding a bit of convex to the bevel would remedy that pretty well.

Thanks, Robert. So would you recommend the Itinomonn? What's the steel like?

I have the intinomonn. I flattened out the bevels and it gets friggin sharp. The pronounced bevel helps with stiction in my experience. Good size. I'm actually about to sell it if your interested.(gotta find more knife purchases!)

Woops, it's the bunka. Should read thread! Still basically a nakiri with a tip!

I can speak of Masakage Shimo nakiri. It's very thin everywhere, and does not wedge at all, but has some sticktion issues.
Also it's White #2 in iron clad, so it will react with food until patina. Good overall knife, especially after rounding the spine and choil.

IMO nothing beats a Kato kurouchi nakiri.

I hate to see a nakiri thread where someone hasn't mentioned Murray Carter. Most are a bit small for my taste, but they are excellent cutters.

chinacats said:

I hate to see a nakiri thread where someone hasn't mentioned Murray Carter. Most are a bit small for my taste, but they are excellent cutters.

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what this guy said

Only thing better than a Carter Nakiri is a Carter Nakiri with a Martell handle. (Though at 165ish it could be a little larger)

She's a real beauty Dave!